Homemade apple chips glazed with maple syrup, served with thick, buttery caramel dipping sauce – a delicious, easy recipe for a sweet snack.
This is such a simple and easy recipe that I almost feel embarrassed to post it. But because the end result – maple flavored apple chips with dreamy, buttery caramel dipping sauce – is so damn delicious, I just got to. The truth is, I never even realized such a thing as homemade apple chips existed before I read an online article about the oh-so-trendy kale chips. It sent my sugar-and-sweets-craving mind thinking about how to make a sweet version of those savory chips.
And as I had just bought two pounds of apples from the store since my own apple tree had a fantastically crappy season this summer, apple chips were the first thing that popped up in my head.
But plain apples can be boring without some flavorful friends, so I sprinkled on ground ginger for a bit of a kick and brushed the slices with maple syrup to add some natural sweetness. And to take things up a notch, I made a buttery caramel sauce to dip the apple chips in. Such a great combo!
While this might not be the trendiest thing to make, homemade apple chips are incredibly tasty and the two baking sheets’ worth of apple chips disappeared within 30 minutes in my house. Which is why there aren’t any pics of the chips being dipped into the caramel; I made the caramel dip first and by the time I thought I should probably photograph the two together like a responsible recipe maker, the apple chips were already gone. So you will just have to make a batch to see for yourself.
There will be plenty of delicious dip to go around with this recipe, so store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge, and just warm it up in the microwave before using, like with vanilla ice cream.
An added bonus of course is the fact that these apple chips are healthy, without any added sugar. They taste just great without any dip or sauce, but if you want to really indulge, please make the simple caramel sauce – it will seriously cause a minor addiction.
There’s just something about the combination of the apple and caramel flavors that is completely irresistible. Not to mention the decadent soft texture of the warm caramel sauce paired with the crispy apple chips…. just heavenly.
This is a super simple dessert or snack, all you need is time to crisp up the apple slices. The reward is completely worth it.
Apple Chips with Caramel Dip Recipe
Ingredients
Apple Chips
- 2 apples very thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Caramel Dip
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Apple Chips
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 200°F.
- Slice the apples extremely thinly, using a very sharp knife or preferably a mandolin slicer. The slices should be almost see-through thin.
- Lay the slices on the baking sheets, watching out for any overlapping and lightly brush with maple syrup on both sides. Sprinkle some ground ginger on the slices if desired.
- Bake the chips, both sheets in the oven at the same time, for 90 minutes. Then take out of the oven and turn each apple slice around. Flip the bottom sheet to upper position and vice versa, and rotate each sheet 180° to maximize the chips baking evenly. Bake for 90 minutes, then turn off the oven and let cool in the oven for another hour.
Caramel Dip
- Cube the butter into thumb-size chunks. Measure the cream into a cup so that it is ready to be used.
- Put sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring it the whole time to prevent burning.
- Stir until sugar slowly melts, resulting in an amber liquid. Stir until all the sugar granules have melted. Add the butter into the liquid. Keep stirring as the liquid bubbles rapidly, until the butter has melted.
- Keep stirring and carefully and slowly pour in the cream. Take care not to get any hot liquid on your skin as the mixture will rise and bubble in the pan.
- Let boil for a couple of minutes so the liquid thickens a little, then remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm before using.