Daily Archives: October 16, 2013

Healthy Organic Dried Apple Chips

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Healthy Organic Dried Apple Chips

 

I was recently gifted with a basket of organic apples by dear friend Lisa, the founder of abeautifullifeministry.org.  Thrilled, I took them home and quickly found numerous recipes to use them in.  This is just the first of several using these that I will feature here. 

I have always loved getting apple chips in salads when I go out to eat, so I decided to make them myself.  (Plus, have you noticed how expensive apple chips are?  Not on my food budget!)  The recipe is simple, but it takes your oven a long time to dry out the apple slices out.  I’ don’t own a food dehydrator, so yes, I had to take the oven route,  So, be sure to do this when you’re home, and have 2-5 hours to leave the oven on.  

Apple chips are healthy, low fat, and not only make a great topping for salad; they also are a healthy snack for yourself or your family. So, get your aprons on, wash up those apples, find a sharp knife and an apple corer, and let’s get going!

 

Diff:  Simple   Prep:  1 hr   Time:  7 hrs

 

Ingredients:

 

30 apples (any variety), washed thoroughly

1/2 c. lemon juice

 

Instructions:

  

  • Core apples.  It is not necessary to peel the apples; you will save yourself lots of time if you don’t!  (Plus, the red peel looks pretty…)

 

  • Slice apples thinly, 1/8 – ¼ inch.  (Thinner is better!)  You can slice them horizontally or vertically, it’s a matter of how you want them to look.

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  • Preheat oven to 200°F.

  

  • Put slices in large bowl of water (4 cups) with ½ c. lemon juice to prevent browning. Make sure slices are covered with lemon water; I had to keep dunking mine because the slices kept floating to the top!

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  • After apples are sliced, drain water and press as much moisture as you can from apples using paper towels; this will speed the drying process.

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  • Place apple slices in a single layer on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Oops!  Looks like a few of my apples got a little brown, those must have been the ones that were floating on the top. 

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  • Place baking sheets on first and third racks in oven and bake for one hour.  Turn apples and bake for one more hour, then test to see if chips are dry enough; if not, continue baking one more hour.

 

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  • Turn off oven, open oven door and let cool for one to two hours.  Remove chips from oven.

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  • Store dried apple chips in a sealed container or plastic bag for up to a week.  If storing more than a week, store chips in refrigerator for up to one month. 

 

Well, this is when my camera battery ran out…so no pix of finished product before we scarfed them down.  But take my word for it, they were delicious!

 

I hope you and your family will enjoy these wholesome chips.  Yummy in yogurt, chopped into granola, stirred into oatmeal or baked into cookies or cakes, these will help you get your “apple a day”!

 

Wishing you and yours all of God’s blessings, good health and happy eating!

 

Smiles, Maria