Apple Pie Filling

I have been feeling pretty domestic lately. I have really been enjoying cooking, decorating the house and yes, even cleaning. For Christmas we received a box of over 100 apples from a sales representative. They were so good to snack on but I really had to do something with the majority of them before they went bad.

Earlier in December I had a "baking bee" and made about 10 homemade pie crusts. I made a couple of full pies for Christmas and just froze the other crusts. I knew I needed to find some good filling recipes to fill these pies with. I stumbled accross a apple pie filling that looked so good and the best part....its canned!

Here's the step by step of how to make it:

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup corn starch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
10 cups water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
7 quarts of sliced peeled apples
7 quart mason jars with lids
1 canning pot

All the ingredients

Steps:

1. Sterilize 7 1 quart canning jars and lids. Allow them to air.

***Check all jars for any cracks. I made this mistake of not checking and now I only have 5 apple pie fillings! Whoops! :-)

2. Fill the canner with water. Start boiling the water to get ready for the canning process.

It was a heavy pot!

3. Combine sugar, corn starch, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and water in a large saucepan. Cook on high heat until thick and bubbly, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

All the yummy syrup!

4. Peel and slice all of your apples. I found it took 3.5-4 apples per jar. Tightly pack apples into sterilized jars.

5. Slowly pour syrup over the apples.

6. Take a knife and slide it down the sides of the jars to take out any air. Continue to cover apples in syrup. Screw on lids.

7. CAREFULLY lower jars into canner. Make sure the lids are covered by 1-2 inches of water. Bring water to full boil, then cover and process for 30 minutes.

* This is when I heard a huge bang come from my pot. As I gazed into my canning pot I was so depressed to see little apple slices floating on the top.

8. Remove jars from canner and place on cloth, until cool. Once cooled press the top of each lid with a finger to make sure that all the lids are sealed tight (doesn't move up or down) Sealed jars can be stored up to a year.

Don't they look yummy?

I know it seems like a lot of steps but I did it on a Monday night and was finished and cleaned up in an hour. I think it is so nice to have homemade pie crusts and apple pie filling on hand. Taking this filling and placing it in a pan then covering it with butter, oatmeal, cinnamon, flour and brown sugar will give you a quick apple crisp to enjoy! So good!

xo