Homemade Fruit Roll Ups/Fruit Leather

I loved fruit roll ups as a kid, and still love fruit leather.  These are about halfway between a roll up and a fruit leather.  They turned out absolutely delicious and surprisingly stayed soft throughout the week. 

This recipe does require a bit of planning since it requires a long cook time (4-8 hrs) on a low heat in the oven.  My oven didn't get low enough (plus I'm convinced it runs 25 degrees hotter), so I left the door opened while it cooked.  I did run into a bit of a problem though when after about an hour in, I had to leave the house.  Not wanting to leave the oven while I wasn't home, I turned it off and shut the door.  Apparently even that was too hot because when I got home 3 hours later, it was done and the edges were burnt (see below).  While the burnt part did not taste good, once I cut it off, the rest of it was perfection.  So I guess, I just want to warn you to really watch it since every oven is a little different.

Notes: This made about one cookie sheet worth of fruit roll ups.  I did add a little sugar, probably 1/8 of a cup, but looking back, it might not have even needed it.  The original recipe said to strain it to get the seeds out, I left them in because i'm lazy and didn't mind having them in.   I also think this would be great with some other fruits... maybe mango, or raspberry.  I'm thinking you could probably use frozen berries if preferred.

Homemade Fruit Roll Ups/Fruit Leather
From: Georgia Pellegrini
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5-8 hours

Ingredients:
Strawberries
Lemon
Sugar - up to 1/4 cup(optional)

Directions:
1. Cut up strawberries into small pieces and place in pot.

2. Add a squirt of lemon juice.  Then stew them mostly covered until they are soft and mushy.

3. Place plastic or parchment paper over a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray or brush with olive oil.

4. Place in a blender or food process and puree.  Add sugar if desired (but not too much - it will sweeten up as it dries).

5. Pour mixture onto the covered tray and spread evenly to the edges.

6. Place in the oven on the at 140 degrees, or the lowest setting you have and leave door of the oven open for 5-8 hours.  It is done when it isn't sticky any longer.

7. Place on a cutting board and cut into strips with pizza cutter. Roll up in parchment paper (I tied them with some twine because they kept unrolling). Store in airtight container.