For the Kids~Homemade Apple Chips

We belong to a Summer and a Fall CSA , and last week we got a huge bag of locally grown apples. Along with that we also got a bag of tangerines, sweet potatoes, broccoli, white potatoes, and a head of cabbage. If you aren't part of a CSA, I highly recommend finding one and joining.

Since we have so many apples right now, I decided to turn some of them into apple chips for the girls. My kids love dried fruit, and they love apples so this seems to be the perfect snack for them.
I originally saw this idea on Pinterest, then looked up several other recipes to see different variations. I put together a few different ideas and came up with my own:

Ingredients:
Apples
Ground Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat oven to between 235F and 250F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Wash your apples. Core them but leave the skin on. Slice thinly if your corer doesn't do it for you.




Sprinkle with cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. I did not add any sugar at all- some recipes do, but apples are sweet enough in my opinion. Plus, these are for the kids and I want them to be a healthy snack, not loaded with sugar.


Let cook for 1 hour. At the end of the hour, take them out and flip them. Put back in the oven and cook for 1 more hour. Your total cooking time is 2 hours so not too bad at all. I put these in the oven before I started on dinner, and they were done in time for a pre-bedtime snack.



I have to make more today- the girls have already finished these off. Luckily we got another bag of apples with our delivery this week.

An added bonus- they made my house smell AMAZING!

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Applesauce

Every season seems to have it's signature fruit or vegetable, that one food that says to us that season is here. For me, Fall's signature fruit is the Apple. I know apples are available all year long, but we don't really use them in cooking in other months like we do in the Fall. The beginning of Fall is the start of tons of tasty apple dishes- apple pie, apple crumble, pork chops with apples, baked apples, and my daughter's favorite- Homemade Apple Sauce. I am sure I will have several apple recipes to share with you over the coming month, but I thought I'd start with this one.

Last week our CSA came with a huge bag of fresh apples. I had so many (because I had also grabbed some from Trader Joes when I was there) that I needed something to do with them. My oldest asked me if I would make my cinnamon applesauce so ,of course, I did. It's so easy, and is a recipe you can definitely play around with.

Ingredients:
8 large Apples of your choice. (I used Fuji and Pink Ladies this time)
1/4-1/2 cup Water
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar (Less if you want to cut down on the sweetness)
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice (if you want a stronger flavor)


Directions:
Peel, core, and slice all your apples. Place them in the slow cooker.



Pour in the water



Add in the brown sugar



Cinnamon




Pumpkin Pie Spice



Gently stir the apple to distribute the spices. Set Slow Cooker to low for 8 hours.


Once the apples are soft, mash them with a potato masher. If they mash easier, set to warm and serve when ready. If they don't mash easily, let cook until the apples are cooked down.





We served this warm with a roasted chicken and veggies. My daughters love it, and prefer it warm. You can also eat it cold, of course. If you like less of a cinnamon flavor, just decrease the amount you put in. It's totally up to you as to how you want this to taste.

What's one of your favorite Fall foods?