Sweet & Tangy Cranberry Orange Fruit Leather: The Ultimate Leftover Cranberry Sauce Solution!
Are you staring at a bowl of leftover cranberry sauce after a holiday feast, wondering how to make it disappear without wasting a single delicious bite? Look no further! This Cranberry Orange Fruit Leather recipe offers a delightful and ingenious solution. It’s a wonderfully sweet and tart, portable treat that your entire family, especially the kids, will absolutely adore. Forget the traditional methods of using up leftovers; this transforms that festive side dish into a fun, healthy snack that’s perfect for school lunches, after-school energy boosts, or even a guilt-free dessert. It’s incredibly easy to make, requires just three simple ingredients, and a little patience as it slowly dehydrates into a chewy, flavorful fruit snack.
For as long as I can remember, the responsibility of bringing the cranberry sauce to our annual Thanksgiving dinner has fallen to me. While I genuinely enjoy a good spoonful of cranberry sauce, and some other family members share my enthusiasm, it seems no matter how much we consume during the meal, I always find myself with a significant amount of leftovers. It’s a consistent holiday tradition – the leftover cranberry sauce. Determined to find a creative and enjoyable way to utilize it beyond the typical sandwiches or yogurt toppings, I embarked on a mission to discover a fun and exciting solution.
This Cranberry Orange Fruit Leather emerged as the perfect answer. Not only is it an excellent method to transform that surplus cranberry sauce, but it also creates a snack that my children genuinely get excited about! While they wouldn’t dream of touching a spoonful of the original cranberry sauce, they will absolutely devour an entire batch of this homemade fruit leather in mere minutes. Its vibrant sweet-tart flavor profile, combined with its fun, chewy texture, makes it an irresistible treat. The best part? It’s astonishingly simple to prepare, calling for only three basic ingredients and an oven that’s willing to work its magic over several hours.
One of the truly fantastic aspects of this easy fruit leather recipe is its adaptability concerning the type of cranberry sauce you can use. Whether you have a generous amount of homemade cranberry sauce, a can of whole berry cranberry sauce, or even the classic jellied cranberry sauce – affectionately (or sometimes comically) dubbed “canberry” sauce by many – they all work wonderfully. This flexibility makes it an ideal recipe for truly minimizing waste after any holiday meal or simply when you’re craving a unique, healthy snack.
The choice of cranberry sauce will slightly influence the final texture of your homemade fruit leather. If you opt for the smooth, jellied cranberry sauce, your fruit leather will have a consistent, uniform texture. On the other hand, using whole berry cranberry sauce will result in a fruit leather with a bit more character, as the tiny cranberry seeds usually won’t completely blend into a silky puree, providing a pleasant, subtle texture. Regardless of your choice, the result will be a delightful, chewy, and flavorful Cranberry Orange Fruit Leather that’s far superior to any store-bought version. The sweet tang of cranberries perfectly complements the bright citrus notes of orange, creating a flavor combination that’s both refreshing and satisfying. This simple fruit snack is a fantastic way to introduce kids to the goodness of fruit in a fun and appealing format, making it a staple in any health-conscious household looking for natural fruit snacks.
If you’re still on the hunt for more innovative ways to repurpose your holiday cranberry sauce, you might also enjoy exploring this Cranberry Apple Fluff. It’s another delicious recipe that celebrates the versatile cranberry and is perfect for brightening up any meal or snack time.
What Do I Need to Make Delicious Cranberry Orange Fruit Leather?
Creating this delightful, chewy cranberry orange fruit leather is incredibly straightforward and requires just a handful of essential items. The beauty of this recipe lies in its simplicity, making it accessible even for novice bakers or those with limited kitchen equipment.
Essential Ingredients:
- Cranberry Sauce: This is the star of our recipe. As mentioned, you can use any variety – homemade, whole berry canned, or jellied. If using homemade, ensure it’s about 1 3/4 cups. If using canned, a standard 14-ounce can works perfectly. The cranberry sauce provides that signature sweet and tart base for our homemade fruit roll-ups.
- Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce is ideal here, as it adds natural sweetness and acts as a fantastic binder and softener, ensuring a smooth, pliable fruit leather. It also balances the tartness of the cranberries. You’ll need about 1 3/4 cups.
- Orange Zest: The zest of an orange infuses our fruit leather with a bright, aromatic citrus flavor that beautifully complements the cranberries. It’s a simple addition that makes a huge difference in the overall taste profile, elevating it from good to truly exceptional.
Necessary Equipment:
- Parchment Paper: Crucial for preventing the fruit leather from sticking to your baking sheet and ensuring easy removal.
- Half Sheet Pan: A standard baking sheet is perfect for spreading the fruit mixture thinly and evenly. The larger the surface area, the thinner your fruit leather will be, potentially speeding up drying time.
- An Immersion Blender or Blender/Food Processor: Essential for achieving that silky-smooth puree, especially if you’re starting with whole berry or lumpy cranberry sauce. A smooth mixture ensures a consistent texture in your finished fruit leather.
Step-by-Step Instructions: Crafting Your Own Cranberry Orange Fruit Leather
Step 1: Prepare the Fruit Puree. Begin by combining the cranberry sauce, applesauce, and fresh orange zest in a deep mixing bowl. The depth of the bowl is important to prevent splashes during blending. Now, using an immersion blender, thoroughly blend the mixture until the cranberry sauce is completely and smoothly incorporated into the applesauce. You want a consistent, lump-free puree. If you don’t have an immersion blender, a standard blender or a food processor will work just as well. Simply transfer the ingredients to your chosen appliance and blend until silky smooth. This step is crucial for achieving that classic fruit leather texture.
Step 2: Spread and Prepare for Dehydration. Line a half sheet pan (or a standard baking sheet) with parchment paper. This non-stick surface is vital for easy removal later. Carefully pour the cranberry-orange mixture onto the prepared parchment paper. Using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the mixture out as evenly and smoothly as possible. The key here is uniformity; an even thickness ensures that the fruit leather dries consistently. Aim for about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Thicker areas will take longer to dry, while thinner spots might crisp up too much. The consistency of your spread directly impacts the final texture of your homemade fruit roll-ups.
Step 3: Bake to Perfection (Dehydrate). Preheat your oven to a low temperature, specifically 170 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 77 degrees Celsius). This low heat is essential for slowly dehydrating the fruit mixture rather than baking it. Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake for 6 to 8 hours. The drying time can vary depending on your oven’s calibration, the thickness of your fruit puree, and the moisture content. To check for doneness, gently press your finger into the fruit leather. It should feel slightly tacky but not wet, and no indentation should remain. If it’s still sticky, continue baking in short intervals (30 minutes to an hour) until it reaches the desired texture. Avoid over-drying, which can make it brittle and hard.
Step 4: Cool, Cut, and Store. Once the fruit leather is perfectly dehydrated, remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack. This cooling period is important as it allows the fruit leather to firm up further. Once cool, use kitchen scissors to trim away any excess parchment paper around the edges. Then, cut the fruit leather into strips, or any desired shapes. You have two main options for storage: you can leave the parchment paper attached to the strips, which helps prevent them from sticking together, or you can carefully peel the parchment paper off each strip and roll them individually into compact rolls. Both methods work well, simply choose what’s most convenient for you.
We prefer to store our homemade fruit leather in the refrigerator. While this does tend to reintroduce a slight amount of moisture, making the fruit leather a little stickier, it also keeps it wonderfully fresh and extends its shelf life. For longer-term storage, individually wrapped fruit leather rolls can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3-6 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, simply thaw at room temperature.
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Cranberry Orange Fruit Leather
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Ingredients
- 1 14 ounce can cranberry sauce* See notes for homemade equivalent
- 1 3/4 cups applesauce
- 2 teaspoons orange zest.
Instructions
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Add the cranberry sauce, applesauce and orange zest to a deeper mixing bowl. Using an immersion blender, blend until the cranberry sauce is completely incorporated into the applesauce. Alternately, you can use a blender or a food processor if you don’t have an immersion blender.
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Line a half-sheet-sized baking pan with parchment paper. Pour the cranberry sauce mixture onto the parchment paper and spread it out as evenly and smoothly as you can.
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Bake in the oven at 170 degrees for 6-8 hours or until a finger gently pressed into the fruit leather does not leave indentations
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. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Using scissors, cut any extra parchment paper away from the fruit leather, and then cut the fruit leather into strips. You can leave the parchment paper on to help prevent the fruit leather from sticking together, or you can remove and roll into individual rolls.
Notes
We like to store our homemade fruit leather in the fridge, though this does bring more moisture back into the fruit leather and makes it a bit stickier.
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