Cinnamon Apple Chips

2 ingredients, a low oven, and a few hours of mostly hands-off time turn apples into something genuinely crisp: real fruit chips, dusted with cinnamon, with all the crunch of a packaged snack and none of the additives.

Apples are a source of fiber and polyphenols, plant compounds studied for their antioxidant activity, and cinnamon adds warmth from a whole spice that belongs on the Autoimmune plate. Slow drying concentrates the fruit's own natural sweetness, so what you get tastes indulgent while staying genuinely low in sugar, with no sweetener added at all.

Slice thin, dust with cinnamon, and let them dry low and slow. Keep them in a jar where you can see them. Notice, when you reach for one, that you made it yourself, whole and simple.

Ingredients

• 2 apples, peeled and very thinly sliced (a mandoline gives the most even slices; sweet red apples like Fuji or Gala work well)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method

• Lay the apple slices in a single layer across your dehydrator trays. Dust them with the cinnamon.
• Dehydrate at 135 F for about 4 hours, until the slices are shriveled and crisp.
• Let them cool fully so they firm up, then store in a sealed jar.

Oven variation

No dehydrator needed. Lay the slices on parchment-lined trays, dust with cinnamon, and bake at 200 F for about 2 hours. Watch them toward the end so they do not burn, and rotate the trays to even out hot spots.

Air fryer variation

Some air fryers have a low dehydrate setting. If yours does, set it as close to 135 F as it allows, lay the slices in a single layer without overlapping, and check often, since air fryer baskets run small and hot. Times here are not tested, so watch closely the first time and pull the chips when they are crisp.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*