We love dried fruit, but it can be really expensive. Anyway, we thought it would be fun to try to make our own in the stove. And it was so easy! I don’t know why we haven’t done this before. We pre-heated the oven to 210, cut up some strawberries in halves or quarters, added some blueberries, put in on a piece of parchment on a cookie sheet and let it cook for about 3-4 hours.
Later in the afternoon, when we opened the oven we were rewarded with a really nice smell. When I tried them, I was expecting them to be dried & crunchy (like they were freeze dried or something) but of course they were not. Not at all actually. But instead, we were pleasantly surprised with super sweet, warm jelly-like texture. It actually reminded me of fruit roll ups when those first came out. I can remember it clearly back when I was in the 1st grade. Do you remember that too? Anyway, little did we know (or care) at the time, that those are just a little fruit concentrate with some hydrogenated oil (there’s that word!), corn syrup, dried corn syrup (because we need more corn syrup), oh and then sugar and food coloring. I promise these baked berries did taste similar to me though, and without any added sugar!
I think if I had turned off the stove and let them sit another hour or so they would have gotten a little harder, maybe even crunchy, but I just couldn’t wait that long.
So I had to get a quick picture before the disappeared. As I kept checking on them in the stove, I needed to keep trying them. You know, just to be sure they were okay, and man were they okay! Did I mention that I just hit 3 weeks of a “no sugar” detox, so you have to know that my taste buds went crazy for this.
But…I wasn’t the only one who loved them, as you can see. You snooze, you loose around here…
What a fun, simple (it doesn’t get any simpler) and delicious treat!
Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful spring weather!
Mandy - Love this!! So funny, I was thinking of trying something similar today. These look fantastic, so I will try it tomorrow! mmmm:)
landriav - Ha, hope you guys like them Mandy! Might be a good class snack too, but you’d have to make a TON…and well, they really are good warm! Thanks for commenting!
Buttoni - I just recently dehydrated a ton of strawberries and they ARE good for a snack! Took a very, very long time to dry them totally (like 12 hours or so, because I cut them too thick). They are delightful!
landriav - Glad you liked them Buttoni! Thanks for your post. Just saw your lovely blog. Cant wait to read more. Thanks for your comment!!