Whether you're looking to make homemade fruit leather for yourself, your kids, or grandkids, this homemade Chokecherry Fruit Roll Ups recipe is it! It's pleasantly tart and slightly sweetened with brown sugar. You can also make it with cherries, or try my apricot fruit rolls ups!
It's chokecherry season here in Montana and many of the roads are lined with loaded chokecherry trees just begging to be picked. You can tell the chokecherries are ripe when they turn a dark shade of purplish-black.
It's been a weird year as far as berries go, at least here, in Montana. It seems like the berries ripened earlier this year, especially huckleberries and chokecherries.
While picking chokecherries this year, I also noticed many trees were covered with tent caterpillars. These caterpillars are not only an eyesore, but they, along with their webbed nests, defoliate and damage the trees.
When picking chokecherries, remember that the darker they are, the sweeter. I know someone out there will say "you have to wait until the first frost." The problem with waiting too long is that the birds will have the trees picked clean. So, wait if you want, but I went ahead and picked some to make this homemade fruit roll ups recipe. 🤓
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- Homemade fruit leather is easy to prepare and way healthier than packaged fruit roll ups.
- You control the amount of sugar in this healthy fruit roll ups recipe!
- Chokecherry fruit leather makes a wonderful and healthy on the go snack!
- If you don't have chokecherries, you can make cherry fruit leather instead.
- These fruit roll ups are low in calories, 36 calories per roll, for guilt-free snacking!
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chokecherries: You'll need 2 cups of chokecherries to make chokecherry juice. If you don't have chokecherries, you can replace the chokecherry juice with cherry juice.
- Cherries: I find it easier to use frozen, pitted cherries, but feel free to use fresh cherries. Make sure you use a cherry pitter to remove all the pits!
- Sugar: I used ¼ cup brown sugar. You can use more or less, based on your preference. You can also use honey.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice brightens up the flavor. Use either fresh or bottled lemon juice.
🔪 Helpful Tools
- medium sauce pan
- cherry pitter
- immersion blender or regular blender
- baking tray
- rubber spatula
- kitchen shears
🍒 How to Make Chokecherry Fruit Roll Ups
Step 1: Add chokecherries to a saucepan and cover with water. Simmer for 10 minutes as you mash the chokecherries. Strain chokecherry juice into a measuring cup. Add as much pulp as possible but avoid the seeds!
Step 2: Strain the juice back into the saucepan. Add cherries, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Use an immersion blender to blend the cherries until smooth.
Pro Tip: If the mixture is still too liquidy, you may need to cook it longer until it thickens. If the consistency is thinner than ketchup, you'll want to reduce it further.
Step 3: Line a 12x17 baking tray with parchment paper and pour chokecherry mixture into the center of the pan. Gently jiggle the pan or use a rubber spatula to distribute the fruit leather mixture into an even layer.
Step 4: Bake the chokecherry mixture in a preheated 175℉ oven for 4 hours or until the surface is no longer tacky. Remove from oven and cool.
Step 5: When the fruit leather is cool enough to handle, use kitchen shears to cut it into 1" strips (width-wise). Do not peel away from parchment paper. Roll strips and store in a plastic bag.
Pro Tip: If you cut the strips length-wise you'll have less strips but they'll be longer. The long strips can be cut into two portions to make more fruit roll ups.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Fruit roll ups are made with fruit (fresh or dehydrated), water or juice, and sugar. Lemon juice is often added to brighten the flavor.
Fruit, water, sugar, and a splash of lemon juices are simmered over low heat, then blended until smooth. The paste is then spread or poured over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The mixture is then slowly baked until no longer tacky. Fruit roll ups can also be prepared in a dehydrator.
Yes, fruit rolls up can be stored in the fridge. Since homemade fruit roll ups don't contain any preservatives, they should be stored in the fridge to keep longer.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- If you want to add even more cherry flavor to this homemade fruit roll ups recipe, add cherry juice instead of water!
- Store chokecherry fruit roll ups in a plastic bag or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
- If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender.
- Instead of adding overly processed snacks in your children's lunch bag, add these yummy chokecherry fruit roll ups instead!
- You can also make this homemade fruit leather recipe in a dehydrator. Just follow the recipe steps, but pour the blended mixture into your dehydrator's fruit leather trays, then dehydrate on the lowest setting until no longer sticky to the touch.
🍓Related Recipes
If you love this healthy fruit roll ups recipe, you may also enjoy these related recipes!
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📖 Recipe
Chokecherry Fruit Roll Ups
Ingredients
- 2 cups chokecherries
- ¾ cup water (or cherry juice)
- 3 cups frozen pitted cherries (may use fresh)
- ¼ cup brown sugar (more or less, depending on taste)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Add chokecherries to a saucepan and cover with water. Simmer for 10 minutes as you mash the chokecherries. Strain chokecherry juice into a measuring cup. Add as much pulp as possible but avoid the seeds!
- Strain the juice back into the saucepan. Add cherries, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Use an immersion blender to blend the cherries until smooth.
- Bake the mixture in a preheated 175℉ oven for 4 hours or until the surface is no longer tacky. Remove from oven and cool.
- When the fruit leather is cool enough to handle, use kitchen shears to cut it into 1" strips (width-wise). Do not peel away from parchment paper. Roll strips and store in a plastic bag.
Notes
- If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender.
- If the mixture is still too liquidy, you may need to cook it longeruntil it thickens. If the consistency is thinner than ketchup, you'll want to reduce it further.
- If you cut the strips length-wise you'll have less strips but they'll be longer. The long strips can be cut into two portions to make more fruit roll ups.
- Store chokecherry fruit roll ups in a plastic bag or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
- Instead of adding overly processed snacks in your children's lunch bag, add these yummy chokecherry fruit roll ups instead!
- You can also make this fruit leather recipe in a dehydrator. Just follow the recipe steps, but pour the blended mixture into your dehydrator's fruit leather trays, then dehydrate on the lowest setting until no longer sticky to the touch.
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