It’s a typical January in central Arizona, sunny and mild. Don’t get me wrong, compared to the rest of the country right now, it’s ideal. Call me greedy but I’d love some rainy weather or something colder than 76. Cold weather is our reward for making it through the hot summer. You’d think all this great winter weather would have me exercising all day, everyday but who really does that. We have a 1/2 marathon Sunday morning so this week’s running schedule is light. And that means I can’t go crazy with extra snacking. After the race we’ll take a week off before Mark begins hard training for his next triathlon. I’m looking forward to getting back on the bicycle myself.
A girl needs her snacks and preferably ones that crunch. These apple chips fit the bill perfectly. They are an all natural crunchy snack that will become a house favorite. I like to use granny smith apples but any firm apply will do. I don’t think red delicious would hold up but let me know if they work. I think honey crisp would be great, too. For me there is just something about the tart/sweet combo of the granny smith that keeps me coming back for more. This recipe is flexible so feel free to use more than one kind when you make it as you’d get a flavor variety in the box when snacking.
This is also an RV friendly recipe! Since there is a long oven time, you may want to do it when plugged into electricity and in smaller batches. The micro-convection RV oven will work for this recipe the same as a regular oven at home. If you have the gas RV oven and it runs hot like mine, lower the temp and keep an eye on it the first time until you hone in on what temperature works best for your oven.
Three ingredients is all you need: apples, cinnamon and sugar.
Set the oven to 200 degrees. I’ve tried it at 170 (the lowest my oven will go) and it took way too long. I tried it at 225 and while crunchy, they still weren’t right. For my oven, 200 is perfect.
Stir some cinnamon and sugar in a small dish for sprinkling on the apples. I stir a little of each. You can use just cinnamon if you’d like. If you’re looking for just apple flavor, you can even skip this step altogether.
Now it’s time to peel your apples. It’s okay to leave the peel on but I found the crunch is less and I definitely want crunch. Slice them as thin as you can using a sharp knife or mandolin slicer. A fancy spiralizer with the slice attachment will work as well.
Place the apples on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top and bake for 1.5 hours. I get one apple per baking sheet.
Remove from oven, turn over and sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mixture on this side and bake for a one more hour. Because I want a good crunch, I turn the oven off and let them sit in there for another hour or so.
You can store them in a Ziploc bag or an airtight container for a week; if they last that long.
Crunchy Apple Chips
- 2 Green Apples
- Cinnamon
- Sugar
Set the oven to 200 degrees. Stir cinnamon and sugar in a small dish. Peel apples, then slice very thin using a mandolin slicer or sharp knife.
Place the apples on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top and bake for 1.5 hours.
Remove from oven, turn over and sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mixture on this side then bake for a one more hour. For more crunch, turn the oven off and let them sit in there for another hour or so.