Good afternoon, all! Getting a little bit of a late start because I finally got my husband home last night. I’m thinking weekends may have to be quick and easy posts so that Jamie can get a little attention during the 36 or so hours I’ll get to see him for the next few months.
As you know, I am recovering from a super fatty food run and on the lookout for new snack items to feed my hungry gang and myself, so this week we remembered how much we love fruit chips.
There is almost no fruit that can’t be dried, but we went with mango, apples and bananas. You can do these in a food dehydrator or an oven and they are an easy, delicious snack. Because fruit isn’t exactly bursting with flavor this early in the spring, I used lemon juice and cinnamon sugar on my chips.
I’ll break this down into three separate recipes since I’m giving oven directions and temperatures vary, but you can tweak it depending on the fruit you choose or whether or not you use a dehydrator. I also recommend dipping your fruit in, or brushing it with, lemon juice to enhance the fruit’s natural flavor, but it’s not mandatory.
Apple Chips
Oven: 225° Prep time: about 10 minutes Cook time: 45 min-1 hr Serves: 4 (for about 10 minutes in this house)
Ingredients
- 4-6 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (a mandolin works great)
- Lemon juice for brushing
- Cinnamon sugar, if fruit is not sweet enough
Directions
- Arrange apple slices on a baking sheet and brush with lemon juice.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake in preheated oven until edges are dry and begin to curl, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Banana Chips
Oven: 200° Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: about 3 hours Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
- 2 bananas, peeled
- Lemon juice
- Cinnamon sugar
Directions
- Peel bananas and slice into 1/4 inch slices. Place on a greased cookie sheet and brush with lemon juice and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake, turning over once, until golden brown and crispy, about 3 hours.
Mango Chips
Oven: 185°, or lowest available oven temp Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 2-3 hours Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
- 2 ripe mangoes
- Lemon juice
- Sugar, or cinnamon sugar
DIRECTIONS
- Wash and peel mangoes, then cut into thin slices.
- Place on a greased cookie sheet, or line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat.
- Brush mangoes with lemon juice and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 2 to 3 hours, turning them over every 30 minutes or until they’re dry.
Suburban Homestead Nerd 