APPLE PIE FILLING ~ ALMOST APPLEPOLOZZAED OUT

For years I have heard or read the wonder of making apple pie filling.  Well, I just am NOT a sweet fan person. I guess that is a bit of a fib, I try not to eat sweets because I know if I get started down that road how it will go for me.  Sweets can be my weakness and since I had not really given in to this urge in a few years I did not see why to make apple pie filling.

Oh, I mean people have bragged and bragged all over the internet about how awesome it is to make. Ha, I am not even a huge apple fan.  It really is not that I do not like them but for some reason, I rarely care to eat one.  Unless they are dehydrated.  I love to eat those by the handfuls.

Since something had to be done with all of the apples I finally broke down and made the apple pie filling.  Honestly, it was for my friend Pam Johnson more than myself.  BUT then I made the stuff, oh me oh my I think I am addicted.  I can imagine drizzling it over ice cream and I really do not care for ice cream that much.  SMH.  Maybe more like a hot from the oven biscuit.  I now have to apologize for all the negative thoughts I had in the past.  So I am sorry because NOW I get it.

The recipe is a bit time consuming but that is due to having to cut all the apples.  Wish I had someone to help me peel as I worked.  Oh well, that will never happen.

In my research to make this recipe as economically as I could, I found several ways to make it.  You can do apples in a syrup and thicken once you open.  Or you can thicken it and can it.  You would not believe all the recipes out there.  I liked the idea of using apple juice and water so I chose to go with that which by the way was a Ball recipe.

I also thought of a good trick with lemon juice.  Since I use lemon juice to keep my apples from turning brown I decided to put some in a clean spray bottle.  This really helped me cut down on the wasted amount.  You would not believe how much lemon juice those apples absorb.

My recipe takes several pounds of apples, like 6 to 7 lbs.  You need to peel, chop or slice them.

As I was doing this I add 2 cups apple juice and 6 cups water along with 2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg and a 1/2 cup of lemon juice.  I allowed this to come to a good simmer getting very hot.  I used an enamel cast iron french oven pot.

I had my jars in the hot bath sterilizing as I worked.

I mixed 2 cups water and 1/2 cup clear jel together and added that to my other liquid mixture.  I did not want it to thicken too much as I had tons of apples to work with.

Place apples in your jars and then fill with the syrup mixture.

Apple Pie Filling

Ingredients

• 6 to 7 pounds peeled and sliced or chopped apples
• 6 C water
• 2 C unsweetened apple juice
• 1/2 C lemon juice
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 C water
• 1/2 C clear jel

Directions 

• Peel and slice or chop apples spraying with lemon juice 
• Add 6 cups water, apple juice, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and lemon juice to a large pot
• All the mixture to get hot but do not allow to come to a rolling boil
• In a separate bowl mix 2 cups water with the clear jel
• Pack your sterilized jars with apples
• Add your water/clear jel mix to the other mixtures and stir well making a syrup
• Ladle your syrup over your apples in the jars.  Leave 1-inch headspace.
• Put on your lids and rings and place in your boiling water bath
• Process quarts for 25 minutes and pints 20 points.
• Once the timer is off take off heat and allow to sit for 5 more minutes.

I chose to cold pack my apples verse hot packing.  It was a messy recipe but well worth it.  I chose to make my friend 4 quarts and me 8 pints.  Which means this recipe makes 8 quarts.  A pint is half of a quart.  You can make pints or a mix as I did.  

One quart makes 2 small pies and 1 pint makes 1 small pie.  Again I probably will not make a pie with the ones I am keeping but who knows. 

Enjoy!!