Homemade Apple Pie Filling

Apples are ready for the pickin' here in Ohio. That means it's time for all sorts of apple recipes. The first thing I decided to make was some apple pie filling. I figured this would come in handy come Thanksgiving time. A good old apple pie will go nicely with that big November meal. I even made a batch of diced apple pie filling to use for crepes and other recipes such as apple taquitos. Good stuff. Here's how I made my pie filling. 

My best friend, Bethany, had some apples from Pennsylvania and she was nice enough to share them with me. My sons were beginning to eat them all so I went to work making a few jars of filling. 

Apple Pie Filling

I was able to fill about 6-7 pint jars. You could make these using 3 quarts if needed. I like the smaller portion size though since we use them for other recipes. 

You'll need:

5-6 pounds of apples

2 1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 cups of water

Start off by washing your apples. While my apples were sitting in a sink full of water I combined all of the ingredients for the filling in a large saucepan and began heating the brew up. Not too hot, because the sugars will burn in the pot. Enough heat so that in time, your mixture will come to a nice slow boil. You'll know when it's done, because it will thicken up and the bubbling will be slower. 

(NOTE: If you want more filling, double this recipe accordingly)

While the pie filling was heating up (be sure to keep an eye on it and stir it as needed), I peeled and cored my apples. I sliced them into one-inch chunks. It's all dependant upon what size you like. I also made a jar full of diced apple pieces for those crepes and other recipes that require smaller apple chunks. 

After the apples are sliced, pack them into clean canning jars. Making sure to leave space at the top for the fabulous filling mixture to be poured in and so the canning process can be successful. Then, when your brew is nice and thick, using a funnel, pour it on top of the apples in each jar. You'll need to use a butter knife or some sort of tool to get the air bubbles out of the jars and get the syrup to fill every apple and crevice in the jar. Leave a little headroom in the jar. When each jar is nice and full, clean the top rim of each jar so there is no problem with your lids adhering during the canning process. In a seperate, microwavable bowl, place three cups of water and microwave it on high for three minutes. Be careful removing it from the microwave and place it on the counter. Put your rims and lids in the bowl of hot water for a few minutes to get them nice and sterilized. 

After the rims are clean and dry, you can place the lids and rims on each jar, securing them well. 

Once the lids are on tight, place the jars in your water canner and cover them with water. Enough so that each jar is covered completely and there is at least an inch of water on top of the jars. Then crank up that heat. Once the water is close to boiling or begins to boil, start timing them. Set your timer for 20 minutes. Once done, remove the jars to a cooling rack. Don't touch the tops. I know it's tempting, but don't do it. When they are completely cool, you can check to see if they have sealed properly. If not, repeat the water canner step again. 

Be sure to remove the rings once the pie filling is nice and cool so there is no chance your rings will rust to the lids during storage. 

There you go.  Easy peasy, Apple Pie Filling!

I hope this comes in handy for you. If you have any great recipes to use this filling for, I'd love to hear about them. You can share them with me on here in the comments section or over at my Pinterest page.

As always, thanks for reading. 

Take care!

NB