Caramel Apple Fruit Leather

Our very first foray into making homemade fruit leather was a bit of an odd fruit leather recipe: Bananas Foster Fruit Leather.

It included rum and nuts, after all - not common ingredients for making homemade fruit roll ups!

So, it seemed kind of fitting that our second recipe for homemade fruit roll-ups was another “weird” one - Candy Apple Fruit Roll Ups!

The idea for this one came to me in a dream - marbling together 2 different flavors of pureed fruit. Literally woke up one morning with the whole recipe theorized in my head, ready for development!

Remember those bright green sour apple lollipops with the caramel on them? That was my inspiration - I’ve always loved the flavour combination of a sour apple, with caramel.

So, part of this tasty snack involves a “sour green apple” portion of apple puree, dyed green.

Then, there’s the “caramel apple” portion - with a little brown sugar and caramel flavouring added.

The two are marbled together for a fun fruit snack that tastes a bit different with every bite!

Also, it’s just a really funky, pretty fruit leather, don’t you agree?

Anyway, let’s look at what you’ll need in order to make your own batch of caramel apple fruit leather!

Ingredients

This recipe uses a mix of simple ingredients that you can find in any grocery store, and a few that you’ll want to visit a cake decorating supply shop for.

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 good consistency, and take the additional flavouring and colours well.

When it comes down to it, though, anything you’d make applesauce with would work!

Flavouring

This recipe uses two flavour oils to manipulate and boost the flavours in the apple fruit leather.

Lorann Green Apple Flavor Oil is what flavours the green sections of fruit leather.

It takes it from a true apple flavour, to more of a candy green apple flavour - and strengthens that flavour, against the caramel.

Also, I use Lorann Caramel Flavor Oil to boost the bit of caramel flavour that you get from the brown sugar being added to the brown apple mixture.

These are both from the “Super Strength” line of Lorann Oils, and are much stronger than other flavor extracts on the market.

If you use a different brand, expect to use 50-100% more.

Citric Acid

I use a little Citric Acid to boost the flavour of the green part of the fruit leather, giving it a slightly “sour apple” flavour.

This makes for a really nice contrast against the “caramel apple” (brown) apple mixture.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Green Food Coloring
Granulated Sugar
Brown Sugar
Salt

... I just really don’t have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go. Very basic ingredients!

Equipment

There are two specialized pieces of equipment that I use for making fruit leathers, beyond basics like spoons, bowls, and measuring cups:

A Food Dehydrator

While you can apparently make homemade apple fruit leather in a regular home oven, I’m not a fan of running one for hours on end.

I’ve had food dehydrators before - the basic kinds with no time or temperature controls, and I didn’t really use them much.

When I got into making jerkies, though, I upgraded 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 a couple 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.

How to Make Caramel Apple 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 granulated sugar and salt.

Blend to a smooth puree.

Divide the fruit mixture into small mixing bowls.

In one bowl, add the green apple flavoring, citric acid, and food coloring - if using. Stir to combine.

In the other bowl, add the brown sugar and caramel flavoring, stir well to combine.

Divide each of the two mixtures between two silicone dehydrator trays, aiming to get half of each on each tray, in random drops. (Ours are about 11 x 10", and we used 2, perfectly. )

Use an offset spatula to spread the mixtures and LIGHTLY swirl together to form an even thickness on each tray.

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 caramel apple fruit leather into strips. 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)

See below for how to condition your fruit leather (better for long term storage).

Condition the Caramel Apple 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 caramel apple fruit 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 caramel apple fruit leather is fully dry and moisture isn’t coming out, transfer them to an airtight container for longer term storage.

Other Dried Fruit 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
Cardamom Pear Chips
Mango Fruit Leather
Maple Cinnamon Apple Chips
Pumpkin Spice Chicken Jerky
Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather