This apple cinnamon fruit leather recipe takes only a few minutes of effort, and makes a delicious apple fruit leather. Like Fruit-Roll Ups, but healthier!
Living in Hamilton, we’re blessed with easy access to AMAZING orchard-fresh apples... including my all-time favourite, Mutsu apples.
I’ve always loved cooking and baking with fresh apples... some of my favourite recipes include Apple Cinnamon Rolls, Apple Pie Cookies, Gluten-Free Apple Cake, Campfire Baked Apples - and Campfire Apple Crisp! - as well as Maple Cinnamon Apple Chips.
They’re also great for making your own fruit leather - AKA homemade fruit roll ups!
I’ll sometimes use them as a base - blending with a combination of fruits, for different flavors - but today’s recipe is a really basic recipe: Apple Cinnamon Fruit Leather.
There is a little sweetener added, just to balance out the apple flavour and tartness - it’s not a LOT of sugar overall, though.
Anyway, it’s a tasty snack that takes very little effort, is a great way to use up some apples, and tastes WAY better than store-bought - and healthier, too!
So, let’s take a look at what you’ll need to have on hand, to make your own cinnamon apple fruit leather!
Ingredients
This recipe uses only a few simple ingredients - you won’t have any trouble finding what you need in any grocery store. You know, assuming you don’t already have it on hand!
As always, I have a few ingredient notes for you:
Fresh Apples
I recommend using Granny Smith apples for this recipe, though Mutsu is another great option. They both have great flavour, cook down to a cook consistency, and take the additional flavouring and colours well.
When it comes down to it, though, anything you’d make applesauce with would work!
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you will need:
Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
Salt
The only thing I really have to say here is that you could use maple syrup instead of brown sugar, if you prefer.
Equipment
There are two specialized pieces of equipment that I use for making homemade fruit roll-ups, beyond basics like spoons, bowls, and measuring cups:
A Food Dehydrator
While you can apparently make homemade apple cinnamon fruit leather in a regular home oven, I’m not a fan of running one for hours on end.
Last year, I upgraded our crappy old dehydrator to a Cosori 6 Tray Food Dehydrator, and LOVE it.
It was only like $200 Canadian, and it’s paid for itself MANY times over, between all the Maple Cinnamon Apple Chips and jerkies I’ve been making!
Think of it this way - The same size of jerky that I tend to make goes for about $4 in a gas station.
I get about 10-15 strips out of a batch (varying by recipe) - let’s average that out to 12. That’s $48 worth of jerky, for $8 or less. Make 5 batches, that’s your $200 in savings!
Anyway, we’re using a dehydrator a LOT more, now that we have a nice one. Having the control over the temperature really opens up the possibilities.
Silicone Dehydrator Trays
You’ll need some Silicone Dehydrator Trays, with a bit of a rim.
The ones you’ll buy will depend on the size of your dehydrator. For our dehydrator, we use these Silicone Dehydrator Mats Compatible with Cosori CP267-FD.
With our size of dehydrator trays, this recipe uses 2 of them.
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How to Make Apple Cinnamon Fruit Leather
The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through:
Simmer apples and water - covered - for 10-15 minutes, or until the apples are cooked through and soft.
Transfer apples and any remaining water to a high speed blender or food processor, along with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Blend until it’s a smooth puree.
Use an offset spatula to spread the mixture to an even thickness on each of the dehydrator trays.
Dehydrate at 135 degrees F for 6 hours.
Before and after drying.
If it’s not dried yet, put it back in the food dehydrator until it is. Generally speaking, it’ll be 6-8 hours. Thicker fruit leather takes a bit longer!
Use a pizza cutter, kitchen scissors, or sharp knife to cut the apple cinnamon fruit leather into long strips or squares.
We like to stick each one to a square of parchment paper (or wax paper) and roll them up, before storing in an airtight container. (Usually a Ziplock Bag)
Condition the Apple Cinnamon Fruit Leather:
Keep an eye on the fruit leather for the first 3 days or so.
If you see any evidence of residual moisture in that time frame - droplets on the bag, etc - return the apple leather to the dehydrator and let it dry a bit more.
If at any point you see any evidence of mold, throw the batch out.
Once you’re sure the cinnamon apple fruit leather is fully dry and moisture isn’t coming out, transfer them to an airtight container for longer storage.
Other Dried Fruit - and Vegetable! - Recipes
Looking for fruit leather and other dried fruit recipes? Here are a few to get started:
Bananas Foster Banana Chips
Bananas Foster Fruit Leather
Beet Chips
Caramel Apple Fruit Leather
Cardamom Pear Chips
Chili-Lime Mango Fruit Leather
Mango Fruit Leather
Maple Cinnamon Apple Chips
Pumpkin Spice Chicken Jerky
Pumpkin Spice Fruit Leather
Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather
Apple Cinnamon Fruit Leather [Cinnamon Apple Fruit Roll-Ups!]
Equipment
- 1 Food Dehydrator
- 2 Rimmed Silicone Dehydrator Trays
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Granny Smith Apples Cored, Peeled, and Chopped.
- ½ cup Water
- ¼ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- Pinch Salt
Instructions
- Simmer apples and water - covered - for 10-15 minutes, or until the apples are cooked through and soft.
- Transfer apples and any remaining water to a high speed blender or food processor, along with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Blend until smooth.
- Divide mixture between two silicone dehydrator trays. (Ours are about 11 x 10", and we used 2, perfectly.) Use an offset spatula to spread the mixture to an even thickness on each tray.
- Dehydrate at 135 F for 6 hours.
- At 6 hours, check your fruit leather. It should pull up from the silicone relatively easily, and be soft without being sticky. If it’s not dried yet, put it back in the food dehydrator until it is.
- Once you’re happy with the dryness, remove the pans from the food dehydrator and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Use a pizza wheel or sharp knife to cut the apple cinnamon fruit leather into strips. We like to stick each one to a square of parchment and roll them up, before storing in an airtight container. (Usually a Ziplock Bag)
- See notes on how to condition your fruit leather.
Notes
Nutrition
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Porters
One of our favourite fruit leather recipes, and it's super easy to make. Hope you love is as much as we do!