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Homemade Apple Chips Perfect for Little Hands

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I’m not sure who wins the easy contest, apple chips or the applesauce?!

The apple chips are the perfect snack food for you or your baby.  I love to leave them out on the counter and snack on them throughout the day or give them to the baby while I get his lunch ready.  He loves to crunch on them and the literally melt in your mouth.

First, like the applesauce you need to wash the apples well.  I put them in a sink filled with water and 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar.  I let them sit for 10 minutes or so and then drain and rinse well.

Next, I take the WHOLE APPLE and put it in the food processor on the slice setting.  One by one, I slice the apples.  In total, I can only fit 5 or 6 sliced apples in my food dehydrator, so make sure you keep that in mind and don’t go wild slicing only to find they won’t fit.

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Next you have two options.  Method 1, I put the sliced apples into a bag that I had 3 tablespoons real maple syrup and 2 tablespoons cinnamon.  I seal the bag with the apples, maple syrup mixture and air and shake it to get all of the slices coated.  The second method, I just lay the apples out on the dehydrator and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Try them both and see which you prefer.  I like the sweetness of method 1, but method 2 obviously is more wholesome for your family.

Apples after shaking in the maple syrup cinnamon mix!
Apples after shaking in the maple syrup cinnamon mix!

After you’ve prepped the apples if using method 1, you’ll need to lay them out on the layers of your dehydrator.  Try not to overlap too much or they will “bake” together into one large lump.  Also, when I first started doing apple chips I would spend a lot of time picking out seeds and whatnot, but now, I just bake with them on and find they fall out a lot easier when they are baked.

 

I let them sit in the dehydrator overnight (about 8 hours) and they are nice and crisp in the morning.  I honestly could make these every week I’m so in love with them!

Apples arranged before dehydrating
Apples arranged before dehydrating
And after a night in the dehydrator...notice some appear to be missing...the husband LOVES these too!
And after a night in the dehydrator…notice some appear to be missing…the husband LOVES these too!
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Apple chips are perfect for little hands!

 

Apples made using method 2 with sprinkled cinnamon on top.
Apples made using method 2 with sprinkled cinnamon on top.
I used a large pot full of apples, with 1 cup water and a heavy dose of cinnamon. I put the lid on and cooked on low.

Easy DIY Applesauce in Slow Cooker or on the Stove

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Applesauce is perfect for all of those leftover apples.  Applesauce is versatile.  Use it in baking as a substitute for oil, butter or eggs, use as a sauce for pork, as an easy snack for babies or just eat it as is in it’s simplistic deliciousness.

I like the idea of getting extra fiber when I eat and use applesauce so I do mine a little different then you’d normally see.

First I wash all of the apples really well.  I put them in a sink filled with water and 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar.  I let them sit for 10 minutes or so and then drain and rinse well.

Next, I slice the apples with my apple slicer/corer WITH THE PEEL ON!  I used to spend endless amounts of time peeling apples always feeling like, “Here goes that heart healthy fiber!”  So I now slice with the peels ON.  I just start accumulating all of the slices in a large pot that I’ll use on the stove.  I’ve also used my slow cooker to cook this all day.  The choice is your’s what you use.  The benefit of the slow cooker versus the stove is that you can use a slow cooker liner  and it eliminates a lot of the cleanup.  Either way add the apples to the pot or crockpot, add a cup or two of water and get cooking!

I used a large pot full of apples, with 1 cup water and a heavy dose of cinnamon. I put the lid on and cooked on low.
I used a large pot full of apples, with 1 cup water and a heavy dose of cinnamon. I put the lid on and cooked on low.

If you are using the crockpot, I cooked on low for 4 to 6 hours.  For the stove, I cooked on medium heat until the apples were soft enough to be cut with a spoon.  If you love cinnamon like we do, feel free to add some.  I don’t have an exact measurement, just add tablespoon or so.  An alternative is you can add the cinnamon after you’ve put the apples in a food processor or Magic Bullet.  NOTE: I do NOT add sugar to my apples. I’ve found that they are sweet enough as is.  But if you want to add sugar you can start with 1/2 cup brown sugar.  But be daring, try it without sugar and I doubt you’ll be disappointed!

See how much the apples cooked down over the course of 40 minutes?
See how much the apples cooked down over the course of 40 minutes?

Once you can cut the apples with a spoon, pour them into a food processor and pulse until you can’t detect peels and the mixture looks smooth.

I've placed the apples into the food processor and pulsed until smooth. I've also used the Magic Bullet when I do smaller batches or applesauce.
I’ve placed the apples into the food processor and will pulse until smooth.  Notice that right now, it’s still a little lumpy looking.  If you leave the skin on you’ll have to pulse until smooth otherwise you’ll have chunks of peel throughout. I’ve also used the Magic Bullet when I do smaller batches or applesauce.

After that you can decide how you want to store it.  I put mine into quart freezer bags and laid flat in my freezer.  You can also can it, or if your family loves applesauce it’ll hold in the refrigerator for a week or two.

 

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Apples all Winter Long-How to freeze apples to enjoy them all winter

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I was recently at a friend’s house and she introduced me to freezing apples.  Really this should have been a no brainer, but for whatever reason it never entered this girl’s brain!  Apple pie is one of my main go-to pies for company or special occasions and it’s always shocking to see the winter and early summer prices.  So when she asked me to help her prep her apples for freezing I was in!

First, I always wash my apples in the sink with a white vinegar/water solution.  I fill the sink half full of water and add about 1/2 cup vinegar.  Even though I’m going to peel my apples, I want as much of the pesticides and waxy residue off as I can.  I soak the batch of apples about 10 minutes and then drain the sink and rinse.

Second, we start peeling.  Some people hate peeling, but I’ve always kind of enjoyed it.  See it’s a game…how many apples can I peel from top to bottom making one continuous spiral of peel?  Come on, if you’ve ever peeled apples you know you’ve secretly done this.  And you know the disappointment you feel when that continuous chain is broken.

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Next, using an apple slicer, I divide each apple into perfect wedges and then place the slices in a bath of water and lemon juice.  No science necessary here, just a bowl of water with 5 or 6 squeezes of lemon juice in it.  Let it sit for a bit and then strain the slices out and place them in pre-labeled freezer bags.  If you’re into vacuum sealing you could do that as well, but for me, I saved my Foodsaver bags for meats.

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The assembly line of apple prep: 1. Peeling/cutting area with the ever important computer streaming Dave Ramsey!), 2. Lemon/water bath, 3. Straining and apple storage bowl and 4. The Ziploc bag labeling and storage area.
The assembly line of apple prep: 1. Peeling/cutting area with the ever important computer streaming Dave Ramsey!, 2. Lemon/water bath, 3. Straining and apple storage bowl and 4. The Ziploc bag labeling and storage area.

Now you’re set to seal them up, flatten them out and freeze them for a snowy day!  I’ll be using mine later this year to make things like applesauce, pies and who knows what else I’ll dream up!  Enjoy having fall’s harvest all winter.  Even better is all the prep work is done.  Just set in the refrigerator to defrost and VOILA, ready to use.  I might just go and buy another 30 pounds 😉