Dried Apple Snacks

My husband likes this recipe from the Ball Blue Book so well, he makes them himself.  We keep them on hand all the time.   I use my LEM 10-tray dehydrator for these, and I have had every tray full of apples on occasion.  We use our Victorio apple peeler-slicer to make this quick, and to get even slices.  We love this apple peeler - the suction really works and the peeler does too.  Lemon juice or vinegar will also work as a preservative, but not as well as the purchased preservative does, but we don't use them because we thought they made the apples too tart.

Dried Apple Snacks

  1 ½     Tablespoons  Fruit Fresh

  4         Cups  Water

  3         Pounds  Apples -- peeled and sliced evenly

             Sugar and Cinnamon -- ¼  cup

Combine preservative and water.  Dip apples; let stand 5 minutes, arrange on dryer racks.

Sprinkle one side of apples with sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Dry 9-12 hours on 135°.  Start drying at maximum (155°) for first hour.

Apples the way we like them weigh 10% of the beginning, raw, unpeeled and uncored weight.

2011 Cost:  Smaller Jonathans at .98 a pound - 57¢ per ounce dried.