Classic Snacks Made From Scratch: Sweets And Candies

Sweets & Candies are always a great pick me up after a long hard day and now with Classic Snacks we can enjoy some popular sweet treats on any occasion.So if your really interested in taste testing, this chapter does include some delicious homemade snacks such as caramel corn,Sour Patch Kids, Snack Pack Puddings,Mallo Cups,Peeps and even the big childhood favorite, the Fruit-Roll Up.Did I get your attention now? Well if I did? Then just think, all these unique little snacks could be enjoyed on a movie night, as a quick dessert or just a grab and go snack for lunch.These simple treats can be enjoyed anytime of the day, to really perk up, every one's spirit.

This chapter has a treat for everyone and for me it was the homemade strawberry fruit-roll up that drew me in.The recipe was quite impressive with how simple these fruit snacks were to make and even gave some very helpful tips to prevent any problems that might arise.Also, what was quite surprisingly was that these fruit treats were only made with three simple ingredients.It included a pound of fresh strawberries,fresh lemon juice and less then a cup of sugar.These were all the ingredients needed, along with no additives or preservatives to create a homemade fruit-roll up.

Now the basic idea to create these fruit leathers, is by achieving a mixture similar to strawberry jam in the process of boiling and then dehydrating the spread in the oven.This is the simplest way to describe what happens in this recipe;however you do need lots of time and patience to be able to make these since it can take up to 5-6+ hours in baking.So I tell you now, be sure your able to stay around for that long and definitely keep yourself busy.

 Now the time and patience part is kind of annoying;however its well worth the wait because once your done its time for the assembling and taste testing part.So to make your own roll-up is actually a very quick and fun process, that is pretty self explanatory.Then from there you have 12 completed strawberry fruit roll-ups, all individual wrapped in wax paper.They all look very similar to a store bought fruit snack,except they are a wide square instead of a strip.However this can easily be adaptable to the strip form of fruit-roll up.Its all your choice anyways and I think I'll try that adaptation next time.

Now on to the taste testing,which is by far the best part to reviewing any recipe.These strawberry fruit-roll ups are highly impressive in flavor and texture.These have a very strong fresh berry flavor that is quite surprising along with a chewy and light texture.These combinations work so well together that I highly recommend everyone to make these yourself,regardless of the time.These are a extremely healthy fruit snack with such a beautiful appearance of a vibrant red.That let alone those two attributes will draw people in to taste test for themselves.

So I hope you take on the challenge of making Casey's Fruit leather because you will be quite impress and if you have children they will definitely love them, So enjoy and have a great day! 

Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups

Yields : 12 rolls (5 by 5 inch size)

Total Time: 6-7 hours,plus cooling time

Difficulty: 2

Special Equipment:potato masher,blender,silpat liner

(recommended)

1 pound strawberries,hulled

3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)

I cut the strawberries in half and mashed roughly with a potato masher in a large bowl.I got about 2 cups of mashed berries.

Then I stirred in the fresh lemon juice and granulated sugar to the berries.Then I let it sit at room temperature,covered for about 30 minutes to help breakdown the berries slightly.I stirred once or twice while the sugar dissolved.

Then I poured the berry syrup mixture into a blender and blended for about 1 minute to reach a smooth purée.



Then I poured the syrup into a large high sided pot and brought to a low boil over medium heat. (Can also use a high sided pan or Dutch oven, the wider the better to help evaporate the liquid evenly) I then cooked the berry liquid for about 20- 25 minutes,stirring often.The liquid will foam,then clarify as the bubbles slow and the purée thickens.Then the purée will be thick and will mound slightly when pushed across the bottom of the pan with a spatula.

Then I preheated the oven to 175 F and line 2 rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper,however silpat liners can be used as well.

Then I divided the cooked fruit between each baking sheet and used a spatula to spread evenly into a thin and wide rectangle as much as possible.I spread the jam no thinner then 1/8 inch thick and evenly opaque as I could manage. I also tried my best to avoid making it to thin and translucent,since that will create brittle.

Then I placed the fruit leather in the oven and heated the fruit for about 5-6 hours until the fruit became slightly tacky and no longer sticky.The timing will depend on the humidity as well.Rainy days will make it a longer set.

Then I transferred the parchment to a wire rack and cooled the fruit leather completely.Then I peeled the fruit leathers off the parchment and placed them on wax paper that were large enough to leave an overhang on all sides.



Then I used kitchen scissors to cut the fruit leather from each pan into 6 ( 5 by 5 inch) squares.Then with each piece, I used the extra wax paper to fold the edges with before rolling so they wouldn't fuse.

Store the Roll-Ups at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.