I've been picking a lot of blackberries. I mean a LOT of blackberries. I've got freezer bags full clogging my freezer, and more jam than we can eat for the next 10 years. Of course the jam is my dad's contribution, but that kind of eliminates that avenue for my use of the berries. Sooo...I thought back to how my grandma used to make fruit leather. It was the best thing ever. At that time, (and yes...I'm aging myself) the only place you could get fruit leather or dried fruit was at health food stores that smelt of yeast and wheat germ. My grandma's fruit leather was sweet and sticky and rare, and I wanted to try to recreate those memories for my kids. So here's what I came up with.
Blackberry Leather
Puree 2 quarts of blackberries by heating on the stove and straining through cheesecloth to remove the seeds.
Stir in 1/2 cup sugar, more or less to taste
Spread the mixture in a thin layer on a foil or parchment paper lined cookie sheet and dry in an warm (140 degree) oven until the fruit is dry yet pliable. This should take between 1 and 2 hours.
Remove the leather from the sheet while it is still warm and roll up.
This can be stored for a few weeks, but if experience means anything, I don't think storage will be a problem around my house.