Make Your Own Apple Chips!

What you need:

Apples 
Parchment Paper
Mandoline or a  sharp knife and cutting board
Baking Sheet

Wash ripe apples and core them with a apple corer (you can keep the peels on).   Using a mandoline or sharp knife, cut apple into rounds as thin as you can manage.  Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Preheat  your oven as low as you can go.  That would be about 200 degrees or lower.     Bake in the oven until apple look and feel leather like.  Turn oven off and let cool in oven.   Once the apple slices are cooled, they’ll be dry and crispy.

After cooling completely, store the dried apple slices in an airtight container.  Keep in a cool and dry place.

Having  a  dehydrator would be nice but you can get good results without one.  A good  reason to buy  a dehydrator is  if  you  have so much produce that you can't consume it all and you need to be able to preserve and store food.   Another good reason is that you can set a lower baking temp than your oven which will keep in more nutrients .   The recommended temp is about 135.  I've  made banana chips, dried pears,  plums, and tomatoes all in the oven.  Making your own dried fruit  is fun and rewarding.   It made me a more conscious eater, knowing  how many apples it takes to make one bag of chips changed how much I ate!  ( it least I try to eat less)  

 Tips

• Dried apple slices can be frozen
• You can cut the apples into thicker rings or pieces, adjust the heating time.
• For an extra treat, lightly sprinkle the apple slices with cinnamon before putting them in the oven.  ( good with oatmeal!)
• If you’d like to rehydrate the dried apple slices before using them, pour boiling water over them and let sit for about 5 minutes or so.