Apricot Leather Recipes

APRICOT LEATHER

Steps:

• Place apricots in a small saucepan and cover with water by 1 in. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until soft. Drain and cool slightly., Place apricots in a blender; add sugar. Cover and process until smooth. Add extract., Preheat oven to 175°. Line two 15x10x1-in. baking pans with silicone baking mats. Spoon half of apricot mixture onto each baking mat, spreading to form a 12x8-in. rectangle; repeat with remaining fruit. Bake 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until almost dry to the touch. Cool completely on a wire rack., Transfer to a cutting board; dust both sides with confectioners' sugar. Cut into 1/2x8-in. strips; roll up. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

HOW TO MAKE FRUIT LEATHER

Steps:

• Clean and prep the fruit: Rinse the fruit. If you're working with stone fruit, take out the pits. Chop the fruit. If you're working with apples or pears, peel and core them, then chop. If working with grapes, de-stem them. Taste the fruit before proceeding. Note how sweet the fruit is. If very sweet (ripe Concord grapes, for example) you won't need to add any sugar. If still a little tart, you may need to add some sugar in the next step.
• Boil the fruit with water, then mash: Place the fruit in a large saucepan. Add 1/2 cup of water for every 4 cups of chopped fruit. Bring to a simmer, cover, and let cook on a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the fruit is cooked through. Uncover and stir. Use a potato masher to mash up the fruit in the pan.
• Season with sugar and spices, if desired: Taste the fruit and determine how much sugar, lemon juice, or spices to add. If needed, add the sugar in small amounts (1 tablespoon at a time), to your desired level of sweetness. Add lemon juice 1 teaspoon at a time to help brighten the flavor of the fruit. Add a pinch or two of cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices to augment the flavor, if you'd like. Continue to simmer and stir until any added sugar is completely dissolved and the fruit purée has thickened, another 5 or 10 (or more) minutes.
• Purée the cooked fruit: Put the mashed fruit through a food mill or chinoise. Alternatively, purée the fruit thoroughly in a blender or food processor. The purée should be very smooth. Taste again and adjust the sugar/lemon/spices, if necessary.

APRICOT FRUIT LEATHER ROLLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160 degrees with rack in center. Place apricots in a large bowl, and cover with the water; let soak until they are completely soft, 30 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a fine sieve; drain, and reserve liquid.
• Place apricots in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade; add honey and sugar. Process until mixture is very smooth and easily spreadable. If it is too thick, add up to 1 tablespoon soaking liquid.
• Cover two 10-by-15-inch baking sheets with plastic wrap. Divide puree between the sheets; spread in a thin, even layer with an offset spatula. Let dry in oven until mixture is firm but slightly tacky, about 8 hours or overnight. Remove from oven; let cool.
• Peel fruit leather from plastic wrap, and cut into 1-inch-wide strips using a pizza cutter. Roll tightly into cylinders, and serve.

APRICOT LEATHER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°F. and oil a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
• Pit apricots and coarsely chop. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook apricots and sugar over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cook mixture at a bare simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 40 minutes more. In a blender purée mixture until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Transfer purée to baking pan and spread evenly over bottom.
• Dry purée in middle of oven until it feels drier but slightly tacky, about 1 hour. Cool leather completely in pan on a rack.
• Peel leather out of pan and roll up in wax paper. Leather keeps, wrapped in plastic wrap, at cool room temperature 1 month.