This homemade apple pie filling is made with sliced Granny Smith apples, brown sugar, spices and butter, all simmered together until thickened. The best pie filling that also works great for a variety of other desserts and pastries.
Apple pie filling from scratch tastes SO much better than the canned version and can be used in everything from classic pies to danishes.
Fall is here and there is an abundance of apples at the stores, which means it’s time to make apple pie! Or in this case, homemade apple pie filling. I’m not so good with pie crusts, so typically I purchase the crust and load it full of my own apple pie filling for an amazing fall treat.
How do you make apple pie filling?
This recipe is a mix of sliced apples, brown sugar, butter and spices that is cooked with some cornstarch on the stove to thicken everything up. It takes just minutes to put together and can be stored in the fridge or freezer for later use.
Ingredients:
5 apples
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. corn starch
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 c. water
3/4 c. apple juice or apple cider
2 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions:
Core, peel and slice apples. Place in boiling water for 1 minute. Set aside and keep hot. Boil remaining ingredients until desired thickness. Barely let it reach a full boil. Fill hot sterilized quart jars alternating apples and syrup until it is almost full. Run a knife down the side to remove air bubbles. Add more apples and syrup. “Process in boiling water bath. Put jars in water bath pan or one that allows you to put water over the jars about 1 inch. Boil for 25 minutes”.
Looks delicious
I don’t know if I missed it, but can these jars be stored & if yes, for how long? Thanks.
Store in fridge or freezer.
Why would you have to store in the freezer or refrigerator if you are basically canning them in the water bath?
Because according to NCHFP (National Center for Home Food Processing) canning with corn starch is not safe for shelf stability. Refer to this site for a shelf stable recipe for apple pie filling. https://www.healthycanning.com/apple-pie-filling
If you store in freezer can you put in freezer bags? I see it in jars, do you put jars in freezer? Thank you
If you put in freezer you have to leave enough head space for it to expand or your jars will break.
If you are doing the water bath why do you have to store them in the Fridge or Freezer? I’ve done a lot of canning in my time and thought as long as you did the water bath and they sealed you could store them on a shelf!
Confused???
Corn starch does not have a shelf life. You would have to purchase CLEAR JEL and use it instead. I can blueberries and peaches. They keep up to a year on the shelf with CLEAR JEL (available on Amazon). Regular CLEAR JEL is the only thickener the USDA recommends for use in home-canning of fruit pie fillings. It does not break down and become thin when used in home-canned pie fillings. You substitute it for corn starch at the same measurement.
How many jars do you fill with only 5 apples ?
Absolutely correct..You can not safely can with thickeners such as flour, cornstarch or tapioca..Must use cook type Clear Jel
when I make this pie filling, and I put it in freezer bags. I measure out enough that would make a nice pie for each bag. Then lay them flat on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer. When frozen you can stack them or stand them on their side. I make apple crisp as well as apple pies with this.