What Is Fruit Leather?

Fruit leather is simply pureed fruit that is dehydrated on a sheet until it becomes a chewy snack. The store-bought version is often called a fruit roll-up since it easily rolls up for storage.

Pepperidge Farm describes their Pirouette cookies as “Slender. Graceful. Delicious. A pastry-like wafer, baked to a delicate crisp, surrounds a luscious, creamy filling.”   Growing up, I always found Pirouettes at fancier events – although Pirouettes are just as common as Chessmen Cookies.  Pirouettes weren’t an after-school kind of cookie; rather, they were more of a breaking-out-the-fine-china cookie.

I’ve wanted to make Pirouette cookies for years, but never could quite figure out how to do it.  By studying cookie cookbooks, I decided that the best way to make a pirouette is to use a recipe for tuiles cookies (French cookies that are less than 1/16 inch thick).  Traditionally, tuiles are just slightly curved and look a bit like potato chips.  The same batter can be formed into a variety of shapes – like the cigar shape needed for Pirouettes.