Millions of peaches...peaches for free...
Okay, I didn't get them for free--just on a good sale. But I was so excited to make something with them. And this fruit leather has been a hit around here!
My kids LOVE Fruit By the Foot, Fruit Roll-Ups, fruit snacks--so much so that I rarely buy them. I joke that they are like crack in my house. If my kids know any of these items are in the house, that is ALL they want to have for snacks until they are gone! And they are mostly sugar. Not really a health food.
Well, these fruit snacks ARE healthy. No refined sugar. Packed with real fruit. And yummy! They actually taste like peaches! Mmm, mmm.
Here's how to make 'em:
You'll need: About 10 medium peaches and 1/3 cup of honey; cooking spray, plastic wrap, and cookie sheets with sides.
1. Follow the directions to peel peaches found here on Our Best Bites.
This process is an AWESOME time saver.
2. Remove the stones from the peaches, and put the peeled halves in a blender with 1/3 cup of honey.
3. My 10 peaches made about 6.5 cups of puree. I kind of wanted to pour some on ice and just drink it. It looks tempting, huh?
4. Cover a couple of walled cookie sheets, with plastic wrap. Make sure it is firmly over each edge. Spray it lightly with cooking spray, then pour the puree on to the pan, spreading it until it is 1/4 inch thick everywhere.
5. Place in an oven set to 175-200°. Bake for 6-8 hours. You can do this overnight, but I suggest the lower temp, longer cooking if you are leaving it unchecked. Otherwise, check it at about 5 hours. The liquid content of peaches varies, so yours may take less or more time, depending on how juicy your peaches were.
6. Remove from the oven when it is the texture of a fruit roll-up--sticky but not wet. This is what it will look like when you remove it from the oven.
7. Once it has cooled, roll it up with the plastic still on. Cut the roll into 1-2 inch pieces. I did this using a pair of kitchen scissors. A sharp knife would work as well.
These are easy grab-and-go snacks. I store all of them in zip-lock bags in the pantry. Now my kids can snack on REAL FRUIT all they want to!
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