Scrumptious fruit rollers

Fruit snacks and fruit roll ups are great, but why are there so many ingredients? I mean do you, or anyone, really understand what all that stuff is? We thought we could do better. These homemade fruit roll ups are not only delicious, they are free of any processed sugars or artificial colors.  Plus who doesn't like the smell of fresh fruit slowly (but not too slowly) drying in their oven?

Start with fresh fruit. For this one we are using two Red Delicious apples, two bananas, six strawberries and about one squeeze of honey. You don't need much because the bananas are full of natural sugars, our kids just aren't crazy about strawberries. This is a great time to use fruit that is bruised or bananas that are a little too brown to serve plain. It's all getting pureed so no one will know the difference. Now pre-heat your oven to 175 degrees.

 Chop all of the fruit. Stick it in the blender.

 Blend

 We prefer the Silpat silicone baking sheet. Its nonstick properties are really great and it cleans up really easily, plus it's made in France, so you know it's awesome. If you don't have one of these not to worry, you can always use parchment paper. Our baking pan is 16x12. 

 Pour the fruit puree onto your baking sheet and spread it out with a spatula. You will have 1/2 cup of the fruit mix left when you've poured enough. This could make a second fruit roll up in a 9x13 pan, but we mixed it into some Greek yogurt for the kids snack. Make sure you stay away from the edges and try to make as consistent a layer as possible. Have fun trying to get it as smooth as you can. Just remember it still has to go into the oven.

 Place the baking sheet in the oven. Make sure the door is cracked just a little bit. We prefer the whisk handle to prop the door, but you can use whatever you want as long as the air can circulate. The more circulation the better. We keep our ceiling fan on. A fan in the kitchen aimed toward to oven would work just as well. Now walk away for about 4hours and 25 minutes.

Just when you've forgotten that there's anything in the oven your timer should go off. Check the fruit roll up. It should feel springy, but not squishy. Firm enough that your finger wouldn't leave an indent when lightly pressed. It also shouldn't stick to your hand. Remove pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack for six to seven hours. You'll know it's ready when the fruit pulls up nicely and isn't tacky underneath.

Place fruit on top of wax paper and roll it up. Cut the rollers into desired width. Tie them up with whatever you choose. Keep in an airtight container for up to two months, or so I'm told. These never last that long.