Apricot & Lavender Fruit Leather

Summer is finally in full swing here in Seattle and I could not be more thrilled. I love the rain so Seattle winters do not bother me, however, come June I am always ready for the sun. Growing up in the south June was always a hot month full of beach trips, swimming pools, cool watermelon and young Chilton County peaches.  Luckily I no longer have to endure the high temperatures and horrid humidity (sorry mom!) , but  I am so very thankful for the fond memories of my youth and the magical Junes of the past. 

Another reason I love June is because the freshest, juiciest, most beautiful produce starts poppin' up in our markets. Ripe strawberries, fragrant citrus, and sweet apricots were the first summer fruits to adorn our fridge. I love eating apricots plain but when deciding which flavor fruit leather to make I found these golden gems to be the perfect fit. 

If you've seen some of my recipes from the past you can tell I have a crush on lavender. If I can somehow sneak it into a recipe, I will. So bear with me because I just bought a new stash of this magical fragrant herb :) Of course you can omit the lavender, heaven forbid, if you wish to do so. But I encourage you to try it. At first bite of the leather you get a zing of lavender but as you chew it fades into a soft ball of sweetness and you are overwhelmed with apricot. Delish!

 Since we are not eating sugar(aside from honey) we are limited on what sweet "snacks" and "treats" we can have so these fruit leathers are just perfect for when we have a craving. You can use any kind of fruit combonation you like. Raspberries, bananas, mangos and apples all work well in a leather. There are also several ways to make leather, the most common is made in a dehydrator which is the method I prefer but you could also use an oven on a low temperature.

When you make a batch of fruit leather you will have more than enough so put some in a pretty package and give a neighbor, friend, or coworker a healthy and sweet snack!

Apricot And Lavender Fruit Leather

• 8-10 ripe apricots chopped  (make sure they are ripe and sweet and not too tart)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 6 pitted dates (If you don't want to use dates you could omit them and use more honey, but the dates add a wonderful sweetness, also, if the dates are dry make sure you plump them up in hot water for about 10 minutes)
• 1/2 tsp dried lavender
• 1/4 cup of filtered water ( you can use the water the dates soaked in if you like)

Place all of the ingredients in a high powered blender and process until smooth. Taste and see if it is sweet enough for you. Apricot leather lends a more tart flavor than other leathers, which I prefer, so I don't like to add too much sweetener.

For drying in a dehydrator: Pour the mixture onto your Teflex sheets with your mesh screen underneath. Spread evenly until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. Dehydrate for 8-12 hours at 105F**, or until it is completely dry. I make mine in the evening and dehydrate overnight. 

For drying in an oven: Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Pour mixture onto parchment paper and spread evenly until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. Dehydrate for 4-6 hours at the lowest temperature possible (145F or so)

**Note: Most dehydrator manuals tell you to dehydrate fruit leather at 135F or 140F. You are welcome to use these temperatures but remember that any temperature above 118F can kill the active enzymes in the food which aid in digestion. I prefer to dehydrate at this low temperature to keep these important enzymes intact despite the longer drying time. 

When your leather is completely dry cut using a pizza cutter or scissors, roll up and enjoy! 

To store, put in a airtight glass container and keep it in the pantry. But let me warn you...you might eat them all in one day!

Enjoy!

Comments

[Chocolate Shavings]

Those fruit leather look absolutely perfect!

[veggie wedgie]

These sound delicious! I love your blog layout!

[Sherri B.]

Your photos are always just beautiful. Would you mind sharing what camera you use? Great presentation of the fruit leather....I agree about the rain. Living in the NW we feel we pay our dues in the winter so a little sign of summer is nice.

[Helene]

Apricots and lavender are the perfect couple in my mind. Takes me right back to my native Provence. Simply delicious and gorgeous presentation!

[Golubka]

Oh, that looks absolutely perfect! Your packaging is so spot on :) Will have to try the apricot-lavender combination, thank you for the inspiration.

[Kristin]

I love your blog. It's so picturesque and refreshing. From reading many of your posts it's obvious you have a unique take on food and cooking. I may have overlooked this, but is this diet for detox purposes or a life change? Just curious. I've tried similar programs (like the clean program) and I was curious as to how you are liking this way of eating and what changes you've experienced.

Thanks for integrating your love for the Bible on your site too!It's beautiful.

[Nicole @cookingafterfive]

What a great idea! Love the presentation, too. I might try making these for everyone in my office.

[summer]

yummmmm.
and so pretty too!
thank you!

[Baking Serendipity]

I love, love, love fruit leather, and for some crazy reason, never even considered making my own until I stumbled upon your site. Thanks for the inspiration!

[Mansi]

The name sounds intriguing, but the recipe is beautiful! can't wait to try these out!

[Dawn (KitchenTravels)]

My kids would love this. Lavendar grows in my garden. Do you think I could use fresh and just increase/decrease the amount?

[Sara]

I'm only mid way through our trip and my bod feels so gross from lack of exercise and eating mediocre foods. I am researching your current diet and welcome and advice or feedback! Love the presentation, so pretty!

[Sarah]

Gorgeous pictures and the recipe sounds amazing! I need a blender, and then I will try it. Thank you for sharing!

[Golubka]

We liked your idea so much that we used the apricot-lavender pairing in breakfast biscotti that we made: http://g0lubka.blogspot.com/2010/06/apricot-and-plum-breakfast-biscotti.html

Thanks again for the inspiration, it was delicious.

[Heather]

Tried theses today and they were super yummy! I omitted the lavender based on personal preference but otherwise followed exactly and used the low temp oven. I took one tray out at 6 hours and the center was still a bit mushy...so my second tray is still in now and I think will be perfect after another hour or so! Thanks Caitlin, the girls and I had fun making them! I'm excited to try other flavors for the kids too!

[Kamille]

Hello Coco--my friend Julie Hill mentioned I should check out your blog a while back and here I finally am. Your photos are beautiful. I will be trying a variation of this recipe out. Homemade fruit leather will be a for sure hit with my two little ones. Thanks:)

[Missy]

Coco, I am buying the ingredients to make a few different kinds of fruit leathers this week.. I am debating on getting a dehydrator (I think it will come in handy), but I was curious as to what one you have? I have been doing some research, but I would love to know what other people like and are using. Thanks, and I can't wait to try this recipe out!

[Coco]

Missy, I have an Excalibur dehydrator which is the king in the dehydrator world. They are pretty pricy but they are so versatile and they last forever! They have a 10 year warranty! I have the 5 tray which is plenty for a family of two, but once we have kids down the road Im sure we will upgrade to the 9 tray to make big batches of stuff. I bought the newest model which has a timer up to 26 hours which is nice because I can set the timer for certain things and it will shut off automatically when its done. The older models do not have timers and are $20 cheaper.

This newest model with the timer and 5 trays is $209 (and only sold on excaliburdehydrator.com) The older 3900 series, without the timer, 5 tray dehydrator is $189 both at Amazon and excaliburdehydrator.com. I personally think the extra $20 is worth it for the timer but its a personal preference. Both at excaliburdehydrator.com and Amazon shipping is free.

If this all seems a bit much Im sure there are other fine dehydrators out there but I use mine just about every day so I wanted to pay extra for a really good and reputable product. Lately, Ive been making fruit leathers, veggie chips, yogurt, and granola. The possibilities are endless!