Make Apple Chips
When you really want a potato chip, but not all the fat and other nasties, then you can have apple chips! They are quite easy to make and are good for you, too, and can be lightly flavored depending on your tastes.
Steps
- Preheat your oven to 200ºF/100°C. This ensures you have a nice, slow cook. You don't want to burn the apples. Rather, you slowly dehydrate them, getting them crispy but still retaining a little bit of the gummy, fruity chew.
- If you want completely crispy apples, you can get those too. You'll still need the oven at 200ºF, however.
- Wash the apples. This is especially important if you're keeping the skin on. After washing, pat them dry as well.
- Optionally, peel and/or remove the apple cores. This is not really necessary as the cooking process will make everything crispy and edible. However, for more basic chips, use a peeler or pairing knife to cut off the skin, and an apple corer to remove the center. Again, however, this isn't strictly needed.
- Cut the apples into thin, uniform slices. You want them all to be the same thickness. Slice horizontally, parallel to the stem, and aim for roughly 1/8" thickness. A mandolin or meat slicer works best, but a knife works as well if you go slowly.
- Lay the apple pieces on a clean metal cooling rack in one single layer. A pizza screen, baking sheet, or another heat-resistant platter will work, but aim for something with holes and airflow whenever possible. It is alright for the slices to touch, but do not allow them to overlap -- you need them to be exposed to air to dry out.
- You can lay your wire rack on top of a baking sheet to capture any dripping juice.
- Sprinkle with some powdered or cinnamon sugar. A little bit of sweetness will take these to the next level. You can use powdered sugar, or mix up equal parts cinnamon and granulated sugar and dust the apples with this. For a lighter notch of sweetness, you could also drizzle the apples with honey.
- Cook the apple chips in the oven for about 2 hours, flipping halfway through. Leave the oven cracked open slightly to vent the moisture from the apples. You can safely wedge a wooden spoon in the oven door gap for venting at this low temperature. The time needed will vary based on the thickness of the apple slices; more for thicker slices, less for thinner slices.
- Use a spatula to flip the apples at the one hour mark. If you're using a non-mesh or wire baking sheet, where air can't escape the apples from below, turn them every 30-45 minutes instead of just on the hour.
- Cool for an hour in the oven for crispy chips, or an hour outside the oven for chewier chips. Either way, turn off the oven. The chips will be a bit rubbery while warm, but will quickly turn as crispy as potato chips when cooled. If you leave them in the oven as they cool, this will speed up the drying and lead to a crispier, crunchier chip.
- Store in an airtight container until ready to eat. The chips will last several weeks in a cool, dry place, as long as they are in an airtight container.
Tips
- Watch the chips in the oven; the cooking time is approximate and each oven varies.
- Experiment with different apple varieties. Pink Lady apples have a great sweet and tart flavor that does not require any additives.
- Keep an eye on the apple chips. They tend to cook quickly and can blacken and burn easily.
- Don't cut the apples too thick or they will take awhile to cook and may burn on the outside.
- Slightly dust cinnamon and sugar before cooking so the chips can have some extra flavor.
Warnings
- Do not leave the apples unattended while in the oven.
- Do not heat the oven to a higher temperature to save time, the apples will not cook properly.
- The apples and pan will be hot when coming out of the oven.
Things You'll Need
- Oven
- Cooking rack or other cooking screen
- Mandolin/slicer, knife and/or peeler
- Airtight container
Related Articles
- Make Potato Chips
- Make Candy Apples
- Make Chips in the Microwave
- Make Corn Chips
- Cook Apples
