Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips

Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips are a naturally sweet snack recipe prepared with just two base ingredients and a pinch of sea salt and a splash of lemon juice, if desired. In addition to being absolutely decadently tasty, these apple chips will leave your house smelling incredible, too! {Paleo + Vegan}

Spiriteds, if for no other reason than to enjoy the aroma of apples baked in lemon juice and cinnamon, you need to make these Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips. Your house will turn into an autumnal oasis, with the scent of lightly baked cinnamon and sweet and sour apples crescendoing throughout your abode.

This Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips recipe is one of my favorite fall treats, although let’s be real here, you can enjoy them any time you want. Speaking of which, in full disclosure, I am literally eating apple chips right now as I write this. And I don’t mean literally as in someone is “literally on fire” when clearly they are not. No, I mean I’m nibbling on these sweet treats in between writing these paragraphs. And once I got started, I COULD NOT STOP. 

I would say they are devilishly addicting, except there’s nothing devilish about them. These Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips are easy to prepare, smell wonderful, taste delicious, and are light on ingredients. You don’t need a fancy culinary degree (although if you have one, hats off to you!), nor do you need 500 utensils to bring this recipe to life. If you have two baking sheets, some parchment paper, and a gallon-sized baggie or a bowl, then you’re fairly set to go!

So grab those items, and let’s slice some apples! In the words of my second born, “It’s delicious time!”

Why bake your own cinnamon apple chips?

Yes, it’s a long bake time. I’ll grant you that. And, yes, it’s a good idea to spread the apple slices out over at least two baking sheets. So why should you go to the trouble of baking them? Omigosh, LET ME TELL YOU ALL THE REASONS.

• This recipe is a great way to use up a random quantity of apples that might not fit in other recipes. Sure, you can just bite into an apple and enjoy it that way. But who just wants to eat an apple straight all the time? (Okay, actually I do. I do that A LOT.) If you want to shake up your routine, though, and use up three random apples before they go soft, then this is a delicious way to do that!
• Your house will smell AH-MAZING. I’m not even joking, nor am I exaggerating. This recipe smells incredible. The scent is gentle yet definitive, and it oozes an entire fall mood.
• It’s a great on-the-go snack. Once the baking is complete, that is. If the long bake time causes you to pause, then refer to the previous bullet point, and remember your house will smell so wonderful during all that time. The prep time is next to nothing, and these tasty bites are super easy to snack on while you’re on the go. The wait time is is worth it.

Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips ingredients

• Three apples. In general, you can use whatever variety you have on hand. Keep in mind some apple varieties are juicier than others and may need a longer baking time to crisp up.
• Ground cinnamon. If you want to add other spices, then you certainly can. And if you want to keep this simple, then stick with cinnamon only. It’ll do the trick for a delicious baked apple chip.
• Optional ingredients: A pinch of sea salt and/or a splash of lemon juice (especially if you use a sour apple variety, like a Granny Smith).

Recipe best practices 

• Combine the cinnamon and sea salt in a separate dish and stir them together before adding to the apples. This way you don’t wind up with once apple slice covered in salt.
• Add only a splash of lemon juice. The lemon flavor is incredible, but we don’t want our apple slices to be too juicy or they’ll never crisp-i-fy. A little lemon juice will go a long way towards creating a delicious chip.
• Flip-flop the baking sheets halfway through the baking time so the sheet on the bottom rack is moved to the top, and the sheet at the top is moved to the bottom.
• Rotate the baking sheets 180 degrees halfway through the cook time. As you move the baking sheets from one rung to the other, also take a moment to rotate the sheets so the chips that baked closer to the door are now towards the back of the oven. This will help ensure a more evenly baked chip across all of the apple slices. This is especially true if the back of your oven bakes hotter than the front, like mine does.

Why are my Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips soft or soggy?

• The apple slices are thick. If this is the case, they may need a longer baking time.
• The apple variety naturally contains more juice. Similar to thicker slices, the extra moisture will likely mean a longer baking time is needed.
• The baking sheet is crowded. I spread the three sliced apples out over no fewer than two baking sheets. I also find that parchment paper helps soak up excess moisture.

If you feel like you’ve baked your apple chips long enough, and you’re worried about them going from soggy to burned, then let them sit at room temperature for a while. As they set, they’ll become drier.

And thank you to Erin at Well Plated for the idea in her Apple Chips recipe to leave the apple slices in the oven as it cools once it’s turned off. That worked wonders in this recipe to get the right consistency!

How to serve your apple chips

Let’s not kid ourselves, the options are endless. But below are three of my favorites:

• As part of an Apple Slice Charcuterie Board
• With Fruit Salsa {Paleo}
• With apple butter or another fruit butter, such as Paleo Pear Butter

More delicious-smelling fall recipes!

Here are a few more recipes to tantalize the tastebuds and make your home smell like an autumnal wonderland. Because that’s a thing, right?

• Baked Cinnamon Apples
• Homemade Apple Cider
• Cinnamon Apple Quinoa

Spiriteds, stay well and stay wild. As always, I’m glad you’re here. ❤️

Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips

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Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips are a naturally sweet snack recipe prepared with just two base ingredients and a pinch of sea salt and a splash of lemon juice, if desired. In addition to being absolutely decadently tasty, these apple chips will leave your house smelling incredible, too! {Paleo + Vegan}

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 3 hours
• Total Time: 3 hours 10 mins
• Yield: 3 servings 1x
• Category: Appetizers and Snacks
• Method: Oven
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

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• 3 apples
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice, optional
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt, optional

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Instructions

1. Set one oven rack on the bottom slot and another rack on the top rack (or second to top rack). Then set the oven to 200 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Remove the core from each of the apples, including any seeds. Then thinly slice the apples. 
3. There are two options to coat the apples. Option 1: Transfer the apple slices to a mixing bowl and add the cinnamon, sea salt, and lemon juice. Gently stir everything together until the apples are evenly coated. Option 2: Transfer the apple slices to a gallon-sized baggie, along with the cinnamon, sea salt, and lemon juice. Seal the bag, making sure to leave a little air inside. Then toss the bag until the apples are evenly coated. Some of the apple slices may stick together. Jostle the baggie in multiple directions or pry the apple slices apart and “re-jostle”, if necessary.
4. Then transfer the apple slices to the baking sheets, being careful not to crowd them on the baking sheets. Now place one baking sheet on the bottom rack and the other baking sheet on the upper rack. Bake the apple slices for 90 minutes.
5. Flip-flop the baking sheets and rotate them 180 degrees (See Notes below). Bake for another 90 minutes. Then turn off the oven and leave the apple chips in there to continue baking while the oven cools. This gives the apple slices a chance to solidify.
6. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the apple chips cool at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Notes

• Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Jonagold apples typically work well for this recipe.
• The thinner the slice, the crispier your apple chips are likely to be.
• At the 90-minute mark at the end of Step 4:
  • Flip-flop the baking sheets so the bottom sheet gets moved to the top and the sheet on the top gets moved to the bottom.
  • Rotate the baking sheets 180 degrees so that the portion that first faced the oven door is now moved to the back of the oven.
  • If desired, flip the apple chips over.

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