Baked apple chips are a crunchy, crispy, and healthy snack
Making them yourself is so very easy…not to mention cheaper than those you find at grocery stores and health food stores. Simply slice your apples as thin as you can, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, and baking at a low oven temperature for a few hours.
You can obviously make these chips in a dehydrator, but thankfully to make apple chips you don’t necessarily have to fork over the money to buy one.
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Ingredients
2 apples, thinly sliced…any variety will work
2 tsp sugar
1tsp cinnamon
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Preparing
Position oven racks in the upper and lower third of oven….Preheat oven to 200 ℉. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside. Do not set your oven temperature above 200ºF because the apples will quickly burn.
Slice the apples into as thin of slices that you possibly can….the thinner your apple slices, the better. If your apple slices are too thick, they will turn out to be mushy.
Work quickly, as the apples will begin to brown if left exposed to air for too long
Also make sure the apples are consistent in size, so they bake evenly.
Lightly dust each side with cinnamon for extra flavor and crispiness, using a sifter or strainer.
Cinnamon has a warm, sweet aroma and the flavor mimics the taste of sugar but without all of the calories. Spices other than cinnamon that you might try include nutmeg, ginger or cardamom.
You could also try mixing the cinnamon with some powdered sugar. This makes the cinnamon easier to sprinkle evenly on the chips. Not only that, powdered sugar contains cornstarch, so it helps keep the chips dryer when storing.
Many people also advise dipping the apples in lemon juice before sprinkling on the cinnamon in order to prevent browning…but this is optional.
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Baking
Bake for for an hour at 200ºF at 200ºF. Baking the apples at low oven temperatures ensures that your chips are crunchy chips…without tasting burnt.
Flip the slices over.
Bake an additional 1 hour. Note that the baking time will vary based on the thickness of each slice and the moisture content of the variety of the apples.
Bake until the pieces feel mostly dry and crisp on the edges.
Turn the oven off. Keep the apples inside the oven for one more hour. Sitting in the oven as it cools down, rather than sitting at room temperature, will help your apple chips crunch up much quicker.
To check if the chips are completely baked, let them sit on the warm sheet pan for five minutes. If they feel crispy, they’re ready. If not, keep drying in 15 minutes increments.
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Storing
Allow chips to cool completely before placing them in an air-tight container.
Apple chips are best served the day they are made….but you can store them at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.
But the longer you store the chips, the more moisture they will absorb from the air and the faster they will soften again.
Apple chips can be enjoyed chopped and sprinkled over yogurt with muesli, on top of salads, on top of oatmeal, served with caramel, or right out of the container.
