Abstract:Natural drying （ND），hot air drying （HAD），and dry hot air drying assisted by weak microwaves（WHAD） were used to dry the composite sweetened roll made from apricot and rose paste. The effects of different drying methods on the physicochemical properties，active components and antioxidant activity of the composite sweetened roll were compared，and the drying method suitable for the composite sweetened roll was selected. The results showed that the optimal process parameters for WHAD were 5 minutes of hot air treatment，3.0 minutes of microwave exposure，and a sample thickness of 3.0 mm. Under the WHAD drying method，the drying rate of the composite sweetened roll was 15.47 g/（g·min），the ΔE value was 14.68，indicating well maintained overall color，with the soluble sugar content at 12.38 g/100g，the total acid content at3.83 g/100g，and the hardness at 5 512.75 g. The viscosity was 1 848.09 g，the chewiness was 1 179.94 mJ，and the sensory score achieved 89. Additionally，the VC content was 3.91 mg/100g，the total phenol content was 4.96 g/100g，and the antioxidant activity was the strongest among the tested methods，with a DPPH free radical scavenging rate of 88.67%，ABTS+free radical scavenging rate of 85.75%，total reducing capacity of 20.94 and FRAP value of 52.95 μmol/100 g. Therefore，compared with ND and HAD technologies，WHAD technology effectively retains the physicochemical properties and active components of the product while enhancing its antioxidant activity，makingit suitable for the drying of composite sweetened roll.