Oven Baked Apple Chips

So I was out in the rain doing a little photoshoot when Fly Guy wandered off and came back eating a large shiny red apple.  "Hey, where did that come from?  I thought you were just peeing in the bushes!"  Apparently several feet from a pecan tree we discovered there is also a tree loaded with delicious apples.  This is the best Fall ever!

Now what to do with all our apples?  And how to incorporate them in brown bag lunches?

Apple chips!  Crunchy, sweet, crinkly chips.  As a bonus they make your house smell like Christmas while baking.

Now there are several recipes for these chips but you just have to play with cooking times.  Different apples have different amounts of moisture.  I discovered this when I baked two kinds at once and one variety burned.  My final chips are almost identical to the Italian Dish's Apple Chips.  Check out how she gifted hers instead of just stuffing her face when she was done.

You don't have to add any flavor.  My apples were not sweet or tart when I baked them plain but still tasty.  The unflavored ones also seem to cook faster (or it could be my imagination).  My kids like the sugar spice variety best. 

Several cooks claim to cut these apples by hand.  Eh, not for me.  I use a mandoline slicer very similiar to this.  Easy peasy.
 

Oven Baked Apple Chips 

A few thinly sliced apples  (5 for me)
A handful of brown or white sugar (1/3 cup brown)
A few teaspoons of spices  (1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves)

Line your baking sheets with parchment paper (I baked 3 pans at once).  Mix you sugar and spices in a small bowl then lightly dip one side of each apple slice before laying then on prepared baking sheets.  You can lay them close, but don't overlap.

Bake between 200 and 225 for 2 to 2.5 hours flipping once after the first hour.  The chips will be a little crunchy when done and further harden as they cool.  If they do not seem to be crisping up as desired you can turn off the oven after the initial 2 hours and leave the pans in for the slices to dry out.

No Bake Nuggets

Because you can't bring a jar of peanut butter on an airplane.

No Bake Nuggets
Makes 15-20 one inch balls

Ingredients

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/6 cup honey
1/6 cup molasses*
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla flavoring
1 cup regular rolled oats
1 cup crushed peanuts

*I pour both the molasses and honey together in a 1/3 measuring cup.  It doesn't have to be super exact.

Directions

Mix the peanut butter, sweeteners, cocoa, and vanilla in a bowl until well incorporated.  Add in the oats and stir well.  The mixture will be tough to stir but still sticky.

Form 1 inch balls and roll in crushed peanuts.  Eat at room temperature or chilled.

Fair warning.  These are sweet!  It won't take more than a couple to knock out that sweet tooth.

Two Ingredient Carry On Cookies

I've been hooked on different variations of these two ingredient cookies ever since they made their debut on The Burlap Bag. 

It's just ripe bananas, oats, and if you want a handful of a mix-ins.  When I say ripe I mean there should be a few brown spots on the skins of those nanners.

Ingredients

2 bananas
1 cup regular oats
Optional: 1/2 cup add-ins such as nuts or dried fruit

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 and spray a cookie sheet with oil.

Mash the bannans and oats together however you please but I choose to use a pastry cutter .  Add a few tablespoons applesauce if it's too dry or more oats if it's too wet.

Stir in your optional mix ins.  Not much more than 1/2 cup or things start to fall apart.I used chopped walnuts and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.

Drop by small spoonfuls on your greased cookie sheet and slightly flatten.  They come out of the oven in the same shape they went in.

Bake for 12-18 minutes.

I'm packing for Fly Guy's four day trip that starts tomorrow and his cooler is going to be tight.  Not to worry, I've found space in his flight bag.  If you see an unusually good looking pilot carrying a bag with a 'fly' sticker in an airport near you.  He has cookies.  I bet he'd share.

Fruit in the Bottom Yogurt Cup

In the fight against sugar I have outlawed pre-sweetened yogurt in our house.  Nothing against sweet, I just want more control over it.  So this week I made up some fruity yogurt cups that are so good they just became my new dessert.

For the Fruit

It's summer and fruit is dirt cheap in the stores right now.  Make up this sauce and put the extra in the freezer for later.

2 cups berries
Juice and zest from one half lemon
A few squirts of honey

Puree half your berries in a blender and roughly chop the other half with a knife (if using large berries).  Toss all the ingredients in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat then simmer for 5 minutes.  If the sauce is to runny just keep simmering until it thickens.  Add a few spoonfuls of water or juice if it's too thick.  The honey and lemon are really adjustable to taste.  Just depends on the ripeness of berry.  This sauce is also divine over pancakes...

Yogurt

I'm picky.  Currently Trader Joe's Organic Full Fat PlainYogurt is my obsession of choice.  Worth all 299 pennies it costs me.

Topping

One more karate chop to sugar!  I'm trading out granola for toasted oats.  Just pack them separately and sprinkle on right before eating.  How to Toast Oats.