Hungry Happenings

  • RECIPES
    • All Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Decorated Cookies
    • Decorated Cakes
    • Cheesecake Recipes
    • Everyday Desserts
    • Homemade Candy
    • Everyday Meals
    • Readers’ Gallery
  • HOW TO
    • Chocolate Making Tips
    • Chocolate Making Course (video lessons)
    • Make Modeling Chocolate
      • Modeling Chocolate Recipe and Tutorial
      • How to Color Modeling Chocolate
      • How to Store and Work with Modeling Chocolate
      • How to Fix Greasy Modeling Chocolate
      • How to Fix Dry Modeling Chocolate
      • Use Colored Candy Melts to Make Candy Clay
    • Candy Clay Creations
    • How To Color White Chocolate and Candy Melts and Paint Candy Molds
    • How to Use Food Coloring Markers
  • HOLIDAYS
    • ALL HOLIDAY RECIPES
    • Valentine's Day
    • St. Patrick's Day
    • Easter
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
      • Hungry Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • New Year's Eve
    • MORE HOLIDAYS
      • Mother's Day
      • Father's Day
      • April Fools
      • Chinese New Year
      • Cinco de Mayo
      • Day of the Dead
      • Earth Day
      • Mardi Gras
  • PARTY FOOD
    • Super Bowl
    • Graduation
    • Birthday Party
    • March Madness
    • Summer Fun
    • Baby Shower
    • Wedding Shower
    • School/Teacher
    • Movie and T.V. Characters
    • Kid's Treats
    • Fun Party Recipes
  • MY COOKBOOKS
  • ABOUT
  • MY BLOGS
    • HowToMakeCerealTreats.com
    • HowToMakeEasyCookies.com
    • HowToMakeEasyFudge.com
    • TheSugarAcademy.com
menu icon
go to homepage
  • recipes
  • chocolate tips
  • about
  • cookbooks
  • subscribe
  • holiday recipes
  • Halloween recipes
  • party food
  • appetizers
  • decorated cheese balls
  • cute food for kids
  • dessert recipes
  • chocolate recipes
  • homemade candy
  • decorated cakes
  • cupcake recpes
  • cheesecake recipes
  • cookie recipes
  • rice krispie treats recipes
  • fudge recipes
  • modeling chocolate treats
  • ice cream recipes
  • popcorn recipes
  • everyday meals
  • recipe roundups
  • readers' gallery
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • recipes
    • chocolate tips
    • about
    • cookbooks
    • subscribe
    • holiday recipes
    • Halloween recipes
    • party food
    • appetizers
    • decorated cheese balls
    • cute food for kids
    • dessert recipes
    • chocolate recipes
    • homemade candy
    • decorated cakes
    • cupcake recpes
    • cheesecake recipes
    • cookie recipes
    • rice krispie treats recipes
    • fudge recipes
    • modeling chocolate treats
    • ice cream recipes
    • popcorn recipes
    • everyday meals
    • recipe roundups
    • readers' gallery
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » School Treats

    Fruit Leather Books

    Modified: Jul 19, '24 · Published: May 31, '11 · By: Beth Klosterboer · Commission earned on paid or sponsored links.

    Jump to Recipe

    These fun Fruit Leather Books are a simple and tasty treat to make for back-to-school, a teacher's gift, a book club meeting, or a graduation party. Each chewy little book-shaped treat is easy to make and tastes great.

    fruit leather school books.

    How cute are these edible books? Each little book is made with 2-ingredient modeling chocolate made with white chocolate and honey and store-bought fruit leather.

    I used cherry, raspberry, strawberry, and apricot fruit leather. The fresh fruit flavor blended harmoniously with the honey-scented, creamy vanilla, flavor of the modeling chocolate. Plus the fruit leather made the books like real leather-bound books.

    Whether you are looking for a unique teacher's gift, a fun back-to-school snack, a book club meeting treat, or a graduation party dessert, these books will get an A+.

    fruit leather back to school snacks

    Let's make some Fruit Leather Books.

    Ingredients

    white candy melts or white chocolate - You can use wafers, bars, or chips.
    honey or corn syrup - Either works well to make the white modeling chocolate pages for inside the books.
    assorted fruit leather bars - I used Stretch Island Cherry, strawberry, apricot, and raspberry fruit leather. Try to find fruit leather that is very fresh for the best results. The leather needs to be pliable enough to fold in half without breaking. When you open the package, they will be sticky on one side which works great for this project.
    powdered sugar - Used to dust your work surface so the molding chocolate won't stick.

    Supplies

    rolling pin
    ruler
    pizza wheel or knife

    Instructions

    Before you begin: If you haven't made modeling chocolate before or haven't melted chocolate, you should read my chocolate-making tutorial. All brands of white chocolate or white candy melts have varying amounts of cocoa butter or oil, so this recipe is just a guide. You may need to add more honey or corn syrup if the modeling chocolate feels too dry.

    how to melt candy melts in the microwave

    Melt the white candy melts.

    Melt the white candy melts or white chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler.

    If using the microwave, heat on high for 30 seconds, then stir. Heat for 20 seconds, then stir vigorously. If needed, heat for 10-second increments, stirring after each until melted.

    To use a double boiler, fill a saucepan with 1 inch of water and set a snug-fitting bowl over top so the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Pour the white chocolate into the bowl. Heat over low heat, stirring often until about 75% of the chocolate has melted. Remove it from the heat and stir until melted.

    Allow the chocolate to cool to about 91 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring often.

    If you don't have a thermometer, test the temperature of the melted chocolate by putting a drop on your lip. It should feel cool. If it's hot, let it cool longer, stirring often to make sure the chocolate at the edges of the bowl does not harden.

    If you add the honey when the chocolate is too hot, the cocoa butter or oil will rise to the surface and you will have a greasy mess. If this happens, read my How To Fix Greasy Modeling Chocolate troubleshooting post.

    honey modeling chocolate

    Blend the honey and white chocolate together.

    Pour in the honey. Stir until well incorporated.

    The mixture will become thick very quickly, so scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate all of the melted chocolate. 

    Pour the modeling chocolate out onto a countertop, preferably marble or granite. Knead until glossy and smooth.

    My hands tend to be rather warm, so I use a plastic bench scraper to help me knead the modeling chocolate so that I don't overheat it as this can bring out the oils in the chocolate.

    how to cut modeling chocolate

    Cut the modeling chocolate into rectangles.

    Lightly dust your work surface and a rolling pin with powdered sugar.

    Roll out the modeling chocolate to about ⅜" thickness.

    Use a ruler and pizza wheel or knife to cut 1 ⅞" x 1 ½" rectangles. Re-roll the modeling chocolate as needed to create 12 rectangles.

    making edible books out of fruit leather and white modeling chocolate.

    Make the books.

    Unwrap your fruit leather bars and set them, sticky side up, on a cutting board. Use a pizza wheel or knife to cut off the thicker rounded edges. S

    et one rectangle of white modeling chocolate on the right side of each fruit leather strip. Fold the left side of the fruit leather strip over and press down firmly.

    The apricot fruit leather was not sticky enough to hold the books together, so I added a bit of honey. These books held together for a while but did eventually open. The cherry, raspberry, and strawberry fruit leathers were more pliable and sticky and they held the white chocolate pages without needing any honey.

    edible books covered in plastic wrap with a baking tray and a can on top.

    To ensure the books would stick together, I covered them with some plastic wrap and set a baking sheet on top then added a heavy can to weigh it down. I left the books under this weight for over an hour.

    None of the books made with the cherry, raspberry, or strawberry leathers came apart even after a few days.

    edible books made out of fruit leather and white modeling chocolate.

    Storage

    Store in an airtight container for up to a week. Do not refrigerate or the fruit leather will harden and dry out. 

    Variation

    How to make fruit roll notebook for a fun back to school snack.

    You can use Fruit Rolls instead of the fruit leather. These books are smaller and thinner but are super cute too.

    Assemble the books.

    • cut your white modeling chocolate into rectangles that are the same width as the Fruit Rolls
    • cut the Fruit Rolls so that they are a tiny bit longer than the white chocolate fudge rectangles
    • set one Fruit Roll piece down
    • set one white chocolate fudge rectangle on top
    • set another Fruit Roll piece on top of the fudge
    • press down to make it all stick together
    • repeat
    • use a black food coloring marker to draw 5-7 dots along one long edge of the top piece of Fruit Roll
    • draw short straight lines from the dots to the closest edge of the Fruit Roll
    • if desired, add the names of class subjects, doodles, or your child's name to each notebook

    NOTE:

    If your books won't stick together, dab some sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, or honey on the white chocolate fudge pieces before attaching the Fruit Roll pieces.

    Depending on how thick you roll out the wh

    Related Recipes

    Whether you want to surprise your kids when they head back to school or thank a teacher for a job well done, these cute school and teacher's treats will score you an A+.

    If you are looking for more fun Back to School or Teacher Appreciation Gift ideas be sure to check out all these other amazing food craft and recipe ideas on my School & Teacher Treats Page. You might also enjoy making School Book Sandwiches or Rice Krispie Treat Books.

    Recipe

    fruit leather school books.
    Print
    Fruit Leather Books
    Prep Time
    45 mins
    Cook Time
    2 mins
    Resting Time
    1 hr
     

    Make cute little edible books using assorted fruit leather and white modeling chocolate. These bite-sized treats are perfect for teacher's gifts, book club meetings, graduation parties, and more.

    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: fruit leather, modeling chocolate, white chocolate
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 173 kcal
    Author: Beth Klosterboer
    Ingredients
    • 8 ounces white chocolate or white candy melts
    • ¼ cup honey
    • 12 assorted fruit leather bars (cherry, strawberry, and raspberry)
    • powdered sugar to dust work surface
    Instructions
    1. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave on high heat for 15-30 second bursts of high power stirring after each until melted.
    2. Allow the chocolate to cool to about 91 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring often.
    3. Pour in the honey and stir until well incorporated. The mixture will become thick very quickly, so scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate all of the melted chocolate.
    4. Pour the white modeling chocolate out onto a counter top, preferably marble or granite.
    5. Knead until glossy and smooth using a plastic bench scraper or spatula.
    6. Lightly dust your work surface and a rolling pin with powdered sugar.
    7. Roll out the modeling chocolate to about ⅜" thickness.
    8. Use a ruler and pizza wheel or knife to cut out twelve 1 ⅞" x 1 ½" rectangles.
    9. Unwrap your fruit leather bars and set them, sticky side up, on a cutting board.
    10. Use a pizza wheel or knife to cut off the thicker rounded edges.
    11. Set one rectangle of white modeling chocolate on the right side of each fruit leather strip.  Fold the left side of the fruit leather strip over and press down firmly.
    12. To ensure the books stick together, cover them with a piece of plastic wrap. Set a baking tray on top of the books and then set a heavy can or book on top.
    13. Let the weight sit on the books for at least an hour. This will ensure the fruit leather covers stay stuck to the white modeling chocolate pages.
    Recipe Notes

    Tips for making modeling chocolate. 

    If you don't have a thermometer, test the temperature of the melted chocolate by putting a drop on your lip. It should feel cool. If it's hot, let it cool longer, stirring often to make sure the chocolate at the edges of the bowl does not harden.

    If you add the honey when the white chocolate is too hot, the cocoa butter or oil will rise to the surface and you will have a greasy mess. If it becomes greasy, set it aside and let it cool for 20-40 minutes. Then, knead it on a cool surface (granite, marble, or a metal baking tray) until the grease is soaked up into the modeling chocolate. 

    Storage

    Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week. 

     

    • Author
    • Recent Posts
    Beth Klosterboer
    Beth Klosterboer
    Hi, I'm Beth Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com
    Beth Klosterboer
    Latest posts by Beth Klosterboer (see all)
    • Irresistible Sweets with Dixie Crystals® - July 13, 2024
    • How to make peanut butter? - February 15, 2024
    • OREO Penguins - December 20, 2023

    More Back to School Treats and Teacher Appreciation Gifts

    • Chocolate Popcorn Bowl Football set on astro turf on a white background.
      Chocolate Popcorn Bowl Football
    • fun school lunch ideas including schoolbook sandwiches, stamped sandwiches, monkey sandwiches, and school house sandwiches.
      Fun School Lunch Ideas
    • a Bookworm Snack decorated with cheese and olives in served with a bowl of marinara on a white plate set on a book.
      Bookworm Snack
    • decorated apple cookies filled with red M&Ms and topped with icing that is flavored with apple juice.
      Apple Cookies

    About Beth Klosterboer

    Comments

      Please leave a comment. Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Anonymous says

      August 07, 2012 at 3:24 am

      What if I use dark chocolate? Will the recipe change? Please tell me. Thanks alot!!!!!!

      Reply
      • Beth Jackson Klosterboer says

        August 07, 2012 at 12:37 pm

        You can certainly use dark chocolate, but the flavor will be completely different. Dark chocolate is more solid than white chocolate, so start out with 3 tablespoons of the honey. If the modeling chocolate feels dry, you can add more honey. Just knead it in, I suggest wearing food handling gloves to do this as the honey will be very sticky.

        Reply
    2. Margo says

      May 24, 2012 at 1:48 am

      These are so darling! My kids would love these!

      Reply
    3. Beth Jackson Klosterboer says

      May 18, 2012 at 2:33 pm

      Thank you so much for the feature, Adelina!

      Reply
    4. Adelina Priddis says

      May 11, 2012 at 2:43 pm

      This is so fun! From a book loving family, I'm definitely going to have to make these for our next get together

      Reply
    5. Diane Balch says

      May 11, 2012 at 1:09 pm

      I'm a former English teacher how could I not love these. Please share this on my foodie friday party today.

      Reply
    6. Seaweed and Raine says

      May 09, 2012 at 11:12 am

      Fantastic! I have never heard of modeling chocolate before - but I love the honey idea. My kids aren't quite in school yet (next year) but as a former teacher, I think these would even be brilliant at an end of year party. I'm bookmarking this for next year! Thanks. 🙂

      Reply
    7. Lisa @ Flour Me With Love says

      May 09, 2012 at 2:15 am

      Oh my are these cute! I'll have to see if I can find some fruit leather at the store. Thanks so much for sharing at Mix it up Monday 🙂

      Reply
      • Beth Jackson Klosterboer says

        May 09, 2012 at 12:13 pm

        Thanks Lisa. I shop at Krogers and they carry the fruit leather in the health food section. I also buy them at my local health food store and know Whole Foods carries them.

        Reply
    8. Crystal Marcos says

      April 11, 2012 at 6:08 am

      These would make a perfect gift wrapped with a book! Also like the idea of using cheese and meat for a fun snack!

      Reply
    9. ButterYum says

      February 05, 2012 at 3:17 am

      Again, so very cute!!! My girls would get such a kick out of these. My sister too (she loves all things tiny).

      🙂
      ButterYum

      Reply
    10. Beth Jackson Klosterboer says

      January 02, 2012 at 2:34 am

      HI Jal,

      I'm so glad you were able to use my troubleshooting information to fix your greasy modeling chocolate. I'd love to see your pictures, you can send them to my e-mail and I'll post them here.

      beth@hungryhappenings.com

      Reply
    11. Jal says

      January 02, 2012 at 2:31 am

      Sorry, I just sent a message re: Chocolate books addressed to Beverly - it should read Beth. My apologies.

      Reply
    12. Jal says

      January 02, 2012 at 2:29 am

      Dear Beverly,

      We made these books today (New Year's day) and it eventually turned out fabulous. Not having a thermometer, we added the honey a bit too soon, and as you suspected the oil oozed out. Referring to your troubleshooting section, we persevered and it turned out really good. Many thanks. In fact, we have taken some pictures and would love to share them with you but we don't know where and how to post it on your site? Do let us know. Once again, our hat's off to you and your innovative idea!

      Reply
    13. Beth Jackson Klosterboer says

      December 06, 2011 at 4:00 am

      Hi Lisa, I think they would make great snacks for a Harry Potter themed party.

      Reply
    14. Lisa Pomares says

      December 06, 2011 at 12:57 am

      I actually saw these and immediately thought of harry potter. perhaps they would work for a harry potter themed party.

      Reply
    15. Beth Jackson Klosterboer says

      August 18, 2011 at 12:15 pm

      Thanks Beverly.

      Miss Cuisine - thanks for posting a link on your website!

      Reply
    16. Miss cuisine says

      August 18, 2011 at 8:30 am

      A pretty good recipe. I am impressed with the results, congratulations. I put forward on my French blog with a link to this article.

      Reply
    17. Beverly says

      August 13, 2011 at 4:27 pm

      Super fun - love your blog! New follower - can't wait to make these books!

      Reply
    18. Beth Jackson Klosterboer says

      August 13, 2011 at 3:57 pm

      I've had a lot of comments and pins (on Pinterest) about using cheese. Some will use it with the fruit leather, but it you want to use meat as the book cover as Kathy the Cook did, just spread some mayo or mustard on the cheese to help the meat cover stick. This would make a great first day of school snach.

      Beth @ Hungry Happenings

      Reply
    19. Kathy the Cook says

      August 13, 2011 at 3:32 pm

      I did something similar years ago, but a savory instead of sweet. I used cheese and thick sliced deli meats. But for the life of me I cant' remember how I got it to stick together! I don't remember if I used toothpicks or if I put something between the cheese and meat.
      I wouldn't have thought of the chocolate and fruit leather. Brilliant!

      Reply
    20. Beth Jackson Klosterboer says

      August 12, 2011 at 5:45 pm

      Hi Eve,

      Fruit leather is made from actual pureed fruit which is cooked and dried then cut into rectangles. Although Fruit Winders and Fruit by the Foot are made from fruit, real fruit leathers are thicker, have more natural looking colors, and actually look a bit like leather. If you have health food stores in your area, you may want to check there. For years that is the only place I could find them. Now we have them in our grocery stores, but they are usually found in the health food section of the store. You can also make homemade fruit leather. I found quite a few recipes on-line. Some require you have a dehydrator, others simply use your oven. Hope you can find something to make this recipe work for you. Good luck.

      Beth @ Hungry Happenings

      Reply
    « Older Comments
    Newer Comments »
    Beth Jackson Klosterboer

    Welcome to Hungry Happenings!

    I'm Beth. I've been a professional chocolatier & baker for over 30 years, have written 5 cookbooks, and love creating fun food for holidays and special occasions.

    Read more about me →

    Popular

    • Mini cheesecakes collage of images with plain cheesecakes, cheesecake cups with toppings, and decorated edible flower cheesecakes.
      Mini Cheesecakes
    • homemade candy bars including dark chocolate bars, milk chocolate cashew bars, white chocolate cookies and cream candy bars, and more
      The Best Step-by-Step Chocolate Bar Recipes
    • Marry a chocolate cake ball with a chocolate dipped maraschino cherry to get these amazing Chocolate Cherry Bombs.
      Chocolate Cherry Bombs - Cherry Filled Cake Balls Dipped in Chocolate
    • Giant Reese's Cup on a cake stand with a slice cut and served on a small dessert plate.
      Giant Peanut Butter Cup
    • Cakesicles with red and green drizzle, rainbow sprinkles, and chocolate drizzle
      How to make Cakesicles (cake pop popsicles)
    • Delicious chocolate truffles coated in chopped cashews, shaved dark chocolate, cocoa powder, cookie crumbs, and a blend of dark and white chocolate shavings.
      Chocolate Truffles Recipe

    Buy my cookbooks

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    use policies

    • privacy policy
    • photo-use policy
    • terms of service

    join us

    • subscribe (newsletter)
    • our online courses
    • readers' gallery

    contact

    • contact
    • about Beth
    • FAQ

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025 Hungry Happenings