Mm'mm... Apple Chips!

The grocery store has apples on sale, and I just couldn't resist!  I bought a big bag of them, and wanted to make apple chips.

I've tried to make apple chips in the past, and they've been OK.  I don't think there is such a thing as a 'bad' apple chip.  But I want my apple chips to be CRISP and CRUNCHY, and that has so far eluded me.

This time I borrowed a mandolin slicer so I could get the apples wafer-thin.  Then I found this recipe on the Food Network that suggested soaking the apple slices in a syrup to help them get really crispy.

So I took 2 cups of water and only 1 cup of sugar (the recipe called for 1 and a 1/2), and then added cinnamon and a vanilla bean.  Then I soaked the apple slices in that for a few hours, and dried them.

Thankfully they don't taste overly sweet - there's just a nice touch of vanilla-cinnamon-goodness.  I think cutting them as thinly as possible was really responsible for the level of crunchiness I was able to get this time.

Voilà!  Delicious apple chips!

I saved the apple syrup and think we might be able to suffer through using it up by adding vodka and turning it into a mixed drink.  That will help us stay warm on these cold winter nights.