When I was coming up with my recipe for a sugar free fruit leather, I had in mind all those parents in mind who dread candy-centric holidays like Valentine’s Day. If their kids have food allergies, they spend hours in the store checking the candy labels for signs of gluten, dairy, nuts, and possibly food dyes.
So when Cuties asked me to be part of their #SweetAsCandy campaign to encourage kids to swap sweets for fresh fruit this Valentine’s Day, I’d thought I’d help out by making a delicious but healthy fruit roll up candy made with Cuties Clementines. There’s nothing better than making homemade fruit snacks yourself. That way you know exactly what’s in it!
I also wanted to create an easy fruit leather recipe, so that kids and mom or dad (or a grandparent or babysitter) could make these together as a Valentine’s Day – or any day – activity.
Flavoring the fruit leather
My Sugar Free Spiced Orange Fruit Leather recipe has an Indian flair to it. I was influenced by some Indian candies my husband was given by a colleague. I knew there was ginger and orange in it, but I couldn’t figure what was the other spice. I was going through my spice cabinet one day when I found it – cardamom! I knew the combination with a bit of lemon would be a wonderful addition to my Cuties #SweetAsCandy fruit roll up candy recipe.
I sweetened the fruit leather with monk fruit, which is a natural, no calorie sweetener. Even though Cuties are naturally sweet, I knew that adding the lemon, cardamom and ginger could make it a bit bitter. If you don’t like monk fruit, feel free to add honey or another sweetener.
This Mama’s tips for making sugar free fruit leather
Equipment
I’m sure you’re thinking that you’ll need a food dehydrator. Frankly, I think it’s a bit easier if you have one because 1) it uses less energy 2) this recipe takes 6 to 8 hours and you may need the oven for something else. A basic food dehydrator costs $30-35 and once you have one, you’ll find uses for it. However, with a little planning, using your oven is fine.
I also found that if you go the oven route, having silicone baking sheets for your baking pans is helpful. I was concerned that the fruit leather would stick to parchment paper. Plus, I didn’t want to risk plastic wrap or wax paper melting in the oven.
How long to cook fruit leather?
The trick to making the sugar free fruit leather recipe is figuring out how long to bake it. If you’re baking it in your oven, it depends on how low you can set it. (My oven goes down to 170 degrees F.) However, my hydrator goes lower (165 to 115 degrees F), but has a fan and the fruit being dehydrated is in a much smaller enclosed space.
So my advice is to check your fruit leather at the five hour mark. If the top is sticky, come back in an hour. If it’s not sticky, see if you can peel it off all the way. If the center is still sticking to the mat/tray, put it back in the oven/dehydrator and check back in 30 minutes. Timing will depend on so many variables such as the moisture of your Cuties, the weather and humidity in your home, how well your equipment is working, etc. So I can’t give you hard and fast rules for times.
However, if you do overcook your fruit leather, it’s still edible so don’t throw it out! Break it up and turn it into fruit chips. I sprinkled and dipped them in yogurt – so delicious! I may “accidentally” make fruit leather chips again!
Making fruit roll ups
If you’re using a hydrator, the round trays make it hard to cut the fruit leather into long strips. Instead, while the fruit leather is still warm, place it on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll it up tightly. Then using clean kitchen shears, cut the roll into four pieces. Tie each one with kitchen string. The fruit leather rolls won’t be perfect. Instead, they’ll look like old fashioned “foot roll up candy” that are just right for placing in lunch boxes or candy bags in lieu of regular Valentine’s Day candy.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Cuties
One way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with Cuties is to write a message on a Cuties with a permanent marker instead of using a card. Put that in your child’s lunchbox or your spouse’s briefcase!
Another way is to make the pledge to swap candy for Cuties this Valentine’s Day by downloading their sweet anthem. If Cuties gets to 10,000 song downloads the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, the city with top downloads will be taken over by Cuties, spreading sweetness and love. The takeover will be broadcasted live on Periscope, so everyone can follow along as Cuties spreads the love!
You can connect with Cuties at cutiescitrus.com and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, too!
Until then, let’s snack on some yummy spiced orange fruit leather rolls!
Ingredients
- 4 cups peeled and segmented Cuties Clementines
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons monk fruit
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch sea salt
Directions
- If using oven, set it to lowest setting (probably 170 degrees F).
- Place all ingredients in a high performance blender or food processor. Blend on high until fruit is frothy, about 20-30 seconds.
- Pour liquid into a medium saucepan. Make sure to scrape down sides of blender or food processor bowl with a spatula to get everything into the saucepan!
- Bring liquid to a boil over medium high heat. Keep liquid boiling over medium heat. Stir frequently with a whisk. Cook for 10 minutes until liquid has thickened into a puree. (It should be like a runny applesauce.)
- If using dehydrator, pour into 1 or 2 trays. Bake for 8 hours or so until the puree is no longer sticky and you can peel it off the trays without it sticking. When it’s still warm, peel it off and wrap the fruit leather in parchment paper, if desired.
- If using oven, place silicon baking mat on a 11 x 17 baking pan. Pour orange puree on silicon baking mat and spread evenly with an offset icing spatula. Leave a half inch of room around all sides. Bake for 8 hours or so until the puree is no longer sticky and you can peel it off the silicon mat without it sticking. When it’s still warm, peel it off and wrap the fruit leather in parchment paper, if desired.
- Serving size: Varies
This blog post is part is sponsored by Cuties. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.
