Applesauce Leather Squares
A jar of applesauce dried into chips. Eat them dry or turn them back into sauce with water.
- calories
- 160
- weight
- 1.6 oz
- cal / oz
- 100
- protein
- 1 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 120 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Snack
- No cook
- Cold soak
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Day hike
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Unsweetened applesauce | 1 large jar (about 24 oz) | |
|---|---|---|
| Ground cinnamon | 1 tsp | optional |
| Canned peaches, drained and crushed | 1/2 cup | optional, adds drying time |
| Strawberries, crushed | 1/2 cup | optional |
| Neutral oil | a few drops | for the pan, not the food |
Method
- At home: wipe a baking sheet with a film of oil so the leather releases. A paper towel is enough.
- Stir the cinnamon and any crushed fruit into the applesauce, then spread it across the sheet at an even quarter inch. Thin spots scorch, thick spots stay tacky.
- Dry at the oven's lowest setting, 120-140F, with the door propped open on a wooden spoon. Give it about five hours.
- It is done when it lifts off the pan in one piece and reads dry, not sticky. A dehydrator does the same job with less babysitting.
- Cut into half-inch squares and seal them in a heavy freezer bag.
- In camp: pour about 120 ml of cold water into the bag, seal it, and leave it alone while dinner cooks. Add more water if it stays stiff.
- Or skip the water and eat the squares dry out of the bag.
Applesauce is mostly water, which makes it useless to carry and easy to fix. Dried to a leather it loses nearly all of that weight and keeps the sugar and the acid, which is the whole reason you wanted it.
The quarter-inch thickness matters more than the temperature. Spread thinner and the edges turn to brittle glass before the middle sets; spread thicker and you get a sticky center that will mold in the bag. Added peaches or strawberries carry more water than the applesauce does, so expect an extra hour or two in the oven if you use them.
Packing
One bag per two servings. Press the air out; the squares stick to each other in heat, and a full bag is easier to pry apart than a half-empty one.
Variations
- Skip the fruit add-ins for the fastest drying time and the lightest bag.
- Stir the rehydrated sauce into hot oatmeal instead of eating it on its own.
- A pinch of salt in the puree makes the apple flavor read sharper on the trail.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/wild-childs-applesauce