Just Baking

Oven-drying apple chips is a great way to get your fruit in snack form. It doesn’t take a lot of work, but it does require some patience. Apple chips are crispy and delicious, and make an excellent snack for adults and kids alike. Use a food processor to get the apple slices as thin as possible. Placing the apple slices on top of a rack in the oven allows air to circulate underneath them, speeding up the drying process. If you have a dehydrator, feel free to use it instead of your oven.

Oven-Dried Cinnamon Apple Chips

• 2 apples suitable for baking (I used Fuji), washed, quartered, and cored
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Bowl of ice water
• Cinnamon sugar for sprinkling, if desired

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and place a footed cooling rack on top of the parchment.
2. Slice apple quarters thinly. (I ran mine through my food processor with the slicing blade in place.) Add the lemon juice to the bowl of ice water, and place the apple slices in the water as soon as they’re cut. Let the apple slices soak in the water until the oven is preheated and all the apple quarters have been sliced, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove the apple slices from the water with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels. Blot dry. Arrange in a single layer on the rack on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, if desired.
4. Bake apples at 225 degrees F for about 3 hours, or until they seem dry and are becoming crisp. They will shrink and darken. They should feel dry and papery to the touch. They may not, however, feel crisp. If they’re done, they will crisp up as they cool. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Test the apple slices. They should feel dry and crispy. If not, return to oven, checking after 1/2 hour.
5. Store apple chips at room temperature in an air-tight container. They’ll keep for about a week.