Homemade Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups

DIY Classics

By Sarah McColl, Shine staff | Team Mom – Fri, 15 Mar, 2013 

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Ulysses Press/Judi Swinks Photography

We don't make a habit of looking at the ingredients lists of some of our favorite snack foods. We're well aware there's unpronounceable, death and disaster-causing gook in there, but look, we really, really love Cheez-Its. "Classic Snacks Made From Scratch" takes all our beloved greasy-fingered treats (Fritos, Pop-Tarts, and Hostess Cupcakes, we're looking at you) and makes them from perfectly normal, find-it-in-the-grocery-store, easy to pronounce ingredients.

Make no mistake: author and culinary whiz Casey Barber isn't out to make these treats low-cal. She's an enthusiastic cook and self-described "DIY fanatic" who loves the mad scientist deconstruction of factory-produced treats. "It's supremely gratifying to nail a recipe and find those flavors that have such strong emotional connections," she writes,"but without preservatives or weird chemical aftertaste."

Let's look at one of our favorite school lunch sweets, Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups. You won't find a single strawberry in the store-bought version, though you will be chowing down on pears from concentrate, two kinds of corn syrup, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, and red 40. (We know! You don't want to hear it!). But set out to make these sticky, fun treats at home you'll need just strawberries, sugar, and fresh-squeezed lemon juice.

See more: Best recipe for homemade doughnuts

Barber recommends making big double batches of these in the spring, "when tiny, sweet berries are in season, for a Roll-Up more luscious and pure than any you've tasted before." Seasonally-appropriate snack foods? We're sold.

If you've been eyeing Silpats (those non-stick silicone baking mats Martha Stewart swears by) at the fancy cooking supply store, this is the perfect excuse to spring for them. "I find Silpats the best surface, hands down, for evenly spreading the thick fruit jam for roll-ups," Barber advises. "They won’t bunch and tear on you the way parchment paper can—and who wants to scrape the jam off a ripped sheet and start again?"

Homemade Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups

1 pound strawberries, hulled
¾ cup (5¼ ounces) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about ½ lemon)

Yield: 12 rolls, 5 by 5-inch size

Cut the strawberries in half or quarters, depending on size, and mash roughly with a potato masher in a large bowl. You should have about 2 cups mashed berries. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to break down the berries slightly. Stir once or twice while they sit to dissolve the sugar.

See more: How to make Starbucks scones at home

Pour the strawberries and their natural syrup into a blender and blend for 1 minute, until a smooth purée forms. Pour into a high-sided pan or Dutch oven (the wider the better, to help the liquid evaporate evenly) and bring to a low boil over medium heat.

Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often. Visual cues are your best friend when you’re cooking fruit: the liquid will foam, then clarify as the bubbles slow and the purée thickens. At the final stage, the purée will be consistently thick and almost opaque, and it will “mound” slightly instead of immediately seeping back when pushed across the bottom of the pan with a spatula.

Preheat the oven to 175˚F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat liners.

Divide the cooked fruit between the baking sheets and use an offset or silicone spatula to spread evenly into as thin and wide a rectangle as possible. The jam should be no more than ⅛ inch thick but still as evenly opaque as you can manage; thinner, more translucent spots will harden into brittle.

See more: Delicious twists on traditional chocolate cake

Heat in the oven for 5 to 6 hours, or until the fruit feels slightly tacky but no longer sticky. The timing will depend on the humidity level; a rainy day makes for a longer set.

Transfer the parchment or Silpats to wire racks and cool completely then transfer the fruit leather to sheets of waxed paper large enough to leave overhang on all sides. Use kitchen shears to cut the fruit leather from each pan into 6 (5 by 5-inch) squares. Fold the extra waxed paper over the edges before rolling so they won’t fuse.

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

Booze-Infused Holiday Goodies

Get your party on by whipping up sweets spiked with liquor.

These tipsy treats are the perfect things to bring to a holiday bash, and they also make a great, cheap DIY present—wrap them in a pretty tin, and give them to friends along with a bottle of the booze that’s in them. An even better gift? Include a copy of Lucy's fabulous book, The Boozy Baker: 75 Recipes for Spirited Sweets.

Dirty Girl Scout Cookies
Makes about 32 cookies

For the cookies:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
32 Junior Mint candies

For the glaze:
1 1/4 to 1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur (like Bailey’s)
1 tablespoon coffee liqueur (such as Kahlua)
1 tablespoon crème de menthe (use white not green)

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.

In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and light brown sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla, and espresso powder. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat to combine.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed.

Drop the dough into rounded balls (about 3 tablespoons each) onto the cookie sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake until the cookies have flattened, about 15 minutes. (If you don’t have room on the baking sheets or in your oven to bake all the cookies at once, simply work in batches, refrigerating the extra dough.)

Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cookies have cooled, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar with the liqueurs and stir with a whisk until smooth. Set the wire rack with the cookies on it over a row of paper towels. Using a spoon, drizzle about 1 teaspoon of glaze over each cookie, and gently press a Junior Mint into the center. Don’t worry if the glaze dribbles off the sides of the cookies a bit — it will firm up once it dries.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Orange Liqueur 
Makes about 32 cookies

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange
11/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat the butter and both kinds of sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla, orange liqueur, and orange zest and beat until combined.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating to combine. Stir in the oatmeal and the chocolate chips.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until light golden in color and still somewhat soft in the center. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the sheets, then remove them and cool completely on a wire rack.

Banana ice cream, yum!

Someone just told me: You can make really delicious ice cream, without dairy, by freezing bananas and then pureeing them into ice cream.
How exactly?
Peel them, cut in small slices, freeze for couple of hours and blend them. Put smooth mixture back in the freezer in airtight container. You can add some coco before freezing or peanut butter...
Bon Appetit!