Fruit Leather Recipe

Today, I tried something new.  I made fruit leather using apricots.  Last week, I got a big box of apricots at Costco.  I wasn't sure of how I'd finish them all, so I started to think of ideas and came across the idea to make something similar to a Fruit Roll-up. 

First, I took the apricots out of the fridge, and left them on my kitchen counter for a few days until they were ripe.  This ensured that they really tasted like apricots, and were sweet.

I diced up around 2.5 cups of pitted apricots.  I placed them in a pan on the stove with about 3/4 cup of of raw sugar, and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. 

Once the sugar melted, I let the mixture cool a little before putting it into the blender.

I pureed the apricot mixture in the blender.  Then, I poured it out onto a cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap.

I placed the cookie sheet in the oven on 200 degrees for around 6 hours, propping the door open just slightly with a wooden spoon.
When the leather is finished, it will be dry and no longer sticky.  After it dries, you can cut it into strips and store in an airtight container.  I left the plastic wrap on the back of each piece, so that it doesn't end up sticking together in the box.