Pumpkin Fruit Leather – Tastes Like Portable Pumpkin Pie
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‘Tis the season for all things pumpkin – but sometimes our pumpkin treats are more than a little messy. Enter pumpkin fruit leather! It has all the flavor of pumpkin pie in a grab and go snack. It’s gluten free and free of refined sugars, too. (Confession – while I was writing this I went and grabbed some to munch on – it’s the best.)
This recipe is adapted from Mary Bell’s Dehydrator cookbook, which is my “go to” book for all things dehydrated.
I prefer to use organic spices whenever possible, as they are not irradiated or sporting excess chemicals. The flavor and aroma generally knocks the socks off the average grocery store spices, too.
Using homegrown pumpkin and you-pick or homegrown apples for applesauce, bulk dried coconut and honey helps make this treat budget friendly.
Portable Pumpkin Pie AKA Pumpkin Leather recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (one 16-ounce can) pumpkin – I use home prepared pumpkin puree
- 1 cup canned evaporated milk or coconut milk (I prefer organic Thai Kitchen coconut milk for its great coconut flavor)
- 2 cups homemade applesauce or unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup dried shredded coconut, unsweetened – Order coconut online
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon – Order cinnamon online
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg – Order nutmeg online
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice – Order allspice online
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped dried cranberries or raisins
Directions
Mix all ingredients together. Adjust spices if needed, but keep in mind that drying will intensify the flavors. You may want to try a test batch or half batch before adjusting. I made a half batch the first time through. When I made it the next time, I made a double batch.
Spread mixture on well oiled fruit leather sheets in dehydrator (I oil mine with coconut oil), or drop by the tablespoon to make “cookies”. If doing “cookies” leave about 1/2″ to 1″ between rounds. I spread mine in sheets because it was faster and easier, but if you liked the cookie idea you could use a pastry bag to make the cookies in a hurry. Just load your mix in and squirt away. I like to use my pastry bag for making cream puffs, too.
One half batch nearly filled two fruit roll sheets in my American Harvest snackmaster dehydrator. A double batch filled four sheets in the Excalibur dehydrator.
I made two sheets plain, and sprinkled chopped cranberries over the other two sheets. I arranged the cranberries in lines on one sheet and just sprinkled them over the other, but once they were finished, cut and rolled, they didn’t look that different.
Do make sure to finely chopped your raisins or cranberries, otherwise you’ll end up with sticky spots.
Dry 8 to 24 hours at around 135°F (57°C). I loaded mine at night and unloaded it the next morning.
As you can see, the mixture will darken as it dries. Cut in squares or strips. Roll up if you like. The coconut will make this recipe less sticky than some other fruit leathers.
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How to Store Fruit Leather
Mary Bell recommends the following for storing fruit leathers:
Stack sheets of fruit or vegetable leathers on top of each other. If desired, and this is optional, you can sprinkle the finished sheets with cornstarch or arrowroot to prevent them from sticking together. Roll up, wrap securely in plastic wrap, and put them in an airtight container.
I’ve never dusted mine with anything, and I typically cut them into strips before storing to encourage munching of only small amounts at one time.
After all, even though they’re all natural, it’s still a fair amount of concentrated sugars.
I store mine in plastic bags or glass jars, in the cupboard or fridge depending on the expected length of storage time (and how much room I have in my fridge). Refrigeration will extend shelf life, but properly dried fruit sealed in airtight containers should keep for months as is.
Check out more fruit leather recipes here.
Note: Winter squash is high in vitamin A, vitamin C, dietary fiber, manganese, vitamin B6, potassium, vitamin K, folate, tryptophan, copper, riboflavin, omega 3 fatty acids and magnesium. Now you have even more reasons to give this treat a try!
I’m so glad I tried out this recipe – it’s a keeper! This pumpkin leather makes a great snack food or lunch box stuffer.
You can also use it to add a little extra nutrition to a hot breakfast by slipping some into your oatmeal or other hot cereal. If you don’t like coconut or dried cranberries or raisins, just leave them out.
PrintPumpkin Leather – Tastes Like Portable Pumpkin Pie
This dried pumpkin leather is a tasty, easy to make snack that tastes like pumpkin pie. Nutritious, portable, and doubles as a way to store extra pumpkin.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
- Category: snacks
- Method: dehydrating
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 cups (one 16-ounce can) pumpkin or home prepared pumpkin puree
- 1 cup canned evaporated milk or coconut milk
- 2 cups homemade applesauce or unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup dried shredded coconut, unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped dried cranberries or raisins (optional)
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together, except cranberries or raisins.
- Spread mixture on well oiled fruit leather sheets in dehydrator (I oil mine with coconut oil), or drop by the tablespoon to make “cookies”. If doing “cookies” leave about 1/2″ to 1″ between rounds.
- Sprinkle cranberries or raisins on top of pumpkin mix, if desired.
- Dry 8 to 24 hours at around 135°F (57°C).
- Cut in squares or strips. Roll up if you like.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Refrigeration will extend shelf life, but properly dried fruit sealed in airtight containers should keep for months without refrigeration.
Note: If you’re purchasing a dehydrator such as the Excalibur or Snackmaster, you should also order the fruit leather sheets.
It looks like the current Snackmaster comes with one sheet, which won’t get you very far if you are drying a large amount of something like applesauce or tomato puree.
The Excalibur does not include fruit leather sheets by default.
For more tips on dehydrating, including how to safely use your oven for dehydrating, see Home Food Drying – 6 Things You Need to Know to Dehydrate Food at Home.
You may also enjoy:
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries
- How to Make Pumpkin Wine
- Pumpkin Spice Scones
- Pumpkin Spice Waffles with Maple Cinnamon Whipped Cream
Originally posted in 2011, updated in 2018.