Actually, when I travel back home to Wisconsin to visit my parents, we still make the apple orchard one of our stops. In the usual small-town style, of course we know the family that runs the orchard, and usually split a huge caramel apple while sampling the cider.
Apples picked from the tree always taste better to me. Baked apple chips are a great idea for that bushel of apples you bring home from the orchard. I have seen these popping up around the web so I wanted to try a sugar-free version, which makes it a great snack for kids too.
Two ingredients- so very simple! For the recipe, make sure to use apples that have a great flavor to begin with, that you would enjoy eating raw. Otherwise the chips might turn out bitter and you’ll be wondering why.
It can become an addictive snack, though if you’re short on time you might want to do something like these kale chips instead. Since you are basically dehydrating the apples ion low heat in the oven, it can take up to 3 hours. I like to make the apple chips on a weekend morning so that they are ready for a late afternoon snack. They take very little prep work, only about 5 to 10 minutes, and then you can throw them in the oven and forget about them for awhile.
The baking time varies, depending on your oven and how thick the apple slices were cut. You want to cut them as thinly as possible. Usually, mandolins work better for this sort of work, but I have found that the whole apple can be too wide for a mandolin. I use a sharp knife – which is why the thickness varies a teeny bit.
I usually eat these as soon as they are out of the oven. You want them to be crisp when you take them out. It is a great way to get a serving of fruit in your day- eating chips! As a bonus, apples are included on Paleo Grub’s list of the 20 Healthiest Paleo Approved Foods. They are a good source of fiber, and there’s a saying you may have heard about apples and keeping the doctor away, because they are so good for you. Next time I make these (almost guaranteed again next weekend) I might also drizzle them with some maple syrup, which would really complete their fall-perfection.
Ingredients
- 1-2 apples (I used Honeycrisp)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Directions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
- Using a sharp knife or mandolin, slice apples thinly. Discard seeds. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange apple slices on it without overlapping. Sprinkle cinnamon over apples.
- Bake for approximately 1 hour, then flip. Continue baking for 1-2 hours, flipping occasionally, until the apple slices are no longer moist. Store in airtight container.
Servings
Time
More Good Baked Apple Chip Recipes
Maple Cinnamon Apple Chips
Instead of reaching for a bag of carb-laden chips or sugary candy, try some of these maple baked apple chips instead. A healthy alternative snack, these crunchy apple chips are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. Instead of baking plain apples, the chips are first dipped in maple syrup and cinnamon. Their baking time varies depending on your oven and how thick the apple slices are cut.
Ingredients
2 Honeycrisp apples
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a sharp knife or mandolin to thinly slice the apples. Discard seeds.
2. Stir together the maple syrup and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Carefully dip each apple slice in the mixture, letting extra syrup run off, and arrange the apple slices on the baking sheets without overlapping.
3. Transfer the baking sheets to the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour, then flip. Continue baking for an additional 1-2 hours, flipping occasionally, until the apple slices are no longer moist. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes to harden. Store in an airtight container.
Fahrenheit or Celsius?
Fahrenheit for baking
Haha.. Should’ve read this comment before I started baking. Mine are verrrrrrrry crispy. 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! They turned out great, nice and crunchy. I used golden delicious. My toddler loves them too.
Mine didn’t turn out. Total cook time was around 4 hours and still nothing!!! So I broiled them for a couple minutes and still didn’t turn out
I can’t stop making these! Thank you!!
Looks great! Can’t wait to try.
how long do these stay fresh??
How long will a batch last? The recipes says store in air-tight container… at room temp? in fridge?
They keep their flavour in a storage bag in the freezer….I do that ever year;)
Hello
I really want to try your recipes but i can’t find out how much i am allowed to eat of each meal .
Can you advise please.
I make apple chips in my dehydrator. My recipe includes a quick dip in a mixture of lemon juice and water (juice of 1/2 lemon in about a quart of water). This prevents the apple slices from turning brown during the process. Unfortunately I don’t have access to an apple orchard so, I buy from Sam’s and peel the apples before dehydrating. The mandolin is definitely the way to go. I can whip through five pounds of apples in about 15 minutes. That five pounds will fit in a one gallon freezer bag when they are all dehydrated. These make a great snack for hiking…
The next time I do this I will definitely add the cinnamon. That sounds delicious.
Hi John, Can you pls tell me how long and what temp in the dehydrator? TIA 🙂
I’ve got a batch of these in the oven now. The kitchen smells great. For fun, I added some Door County dried cherry sprinkles on a few of them. Yayehhh, Wisconsin!
On Wisconsin fellow CheeseHead. Door County Cherry sprinkles yum!
Hi Rebecca,
I was wondering if you get the same texture from making these in a dehydrator? I just the to have the oven running this long.
They look great, but I see a challenge (for me) Did you really use just 1 teaspoon of cinnamon on the apple slices in that picture? What do you use to sprinkle 1 teaspoon over all those slices?
Do you have to use parchment paper? Would foil work?
We have a flat rack above our wood stove and I dry my apple chips there. Then I store them in the freezer…they stay very fresh all winter. Sometimes I sprinkle nutmeg only on them, other times a combo of cinnamon and nutmeg. Yummy!
Well I’m sooooo glad I scrolled down and read the comments as I had my lot in the oven @ 200 Celsius for 20min before I realised fahrenheit doh!! Have adjusted temp now so fingers crossed! Great looking recipe though yum yum 🙂
I loved reading the positive comments. On some sites people are so critical if it doesn’t turn out for them. I thought the rack on the wood stove was a good idea. I’ll have to try it. We always put a pan of water on our stove to help put moisture into the air, so it stands to reason that the apples would dry there. I also like the dehydrator idea which I will have to try. It’s nice having different ideas to try. It’s great to have so many tasty treats to try. Jess, you keep showing us that food doesn’t have to be boring to be healthy.