Cinnamon and Pear Fruit Leather

Heat the oven to 170°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat and place on a flat work surface; set aside.Peel the pears, cut them in half, and remove the cores and stems.

Cut into large dice and place in a medium saucepan.

Add the water, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.

Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pears are knife tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and add the lemon juice.

Remove the small cap from the blender lid (the pour lid) and cover the space with a kitchen towel (this allows steam to escape and prevents the lid from popping off); blend the pear mixture on high speed until you’ve got a very smooth purée, about 1 minute.Slowly pour the purée onto the baking mat, tracing the inside of the colored border to create a rectangle. (If your baking mat has no border, leave a 1-inch border from the edge.)

Pour the remaining purée within the borders of the rectangle in a zigzag pattern (do not pour it all into the middle of the baking mat). Using the rubber spatula, push the purée to cover any empty parts within the rectangle (the surface will not be even). Keeping the baking sheet on the work surface, grasp the edges of the sheet—pressing against the exposed border of the baking mat with your thumbs—and gently shake back and forth to even out the surface of the purée, rotating the baking sheet and shaking as necessary.

Place in the oven and bake until the surface of the fruit leather is slightly sticky to the touch but, when pressed in several different places, a finger does not leave an indentation, about 6 to 7 hours.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, place on a wire rack, and let cool completely.Set aside a 16-inch-long sheet of waxed or parchment paper. Starting at one short edge of the cooled fruit leather, pull it up from the baking mat and transfer it to the paper. Using clean kitchen scissors, cut through the fruit leather and paper to form desired-sized strips, shapes, or pieces and roll up, paper and all (to prevent sticking). Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.