Canned Apple Pie Filling

I'm still loving my first fall favourite flavour: apples! This morning my mum and I got together and canned our own apple pie filling with the apples from my apple tree. Now, when my mum and I get together to make or bake something we have a ton of fun... we laugh, we dance, we share our hearts, we joke around, we talk, sometimes we cry, and somehow at the end of it all we end up with something delicious. (Shout out to my dad, who also helps us stay on track by checking in every few minutes). Today was no exception; all I can say is "WOW!" The apple pie filling turned out amazing! The great thing about this recipe is you can use the filling not only for apple pie, but also apple crisp, crepe filling, sauce for pancakes... the list goes on!

I guess you can expect to see an apple pie post in the near future!!

Take a look at the recipe from the Baby Saver blog:

Canned Apple Pie Filling

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups white sugar

• 1 cup cornstarch

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1 pinch ground cloves (optional)

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 10 cups water

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

• 6 pounds apples, peeled and cored

Prepare your jars:

• Thoroughly wash your jars and rings in hot soapy water and set them on a towel to dry. Or run them through a sanitize cycle on your dishwasher.

• Fill a saucepan half full of water and put it over high heat on the stove.

• When the water gets to a simmer/boil, submerge the lids and rings for at least 30 seconds to sterilize them.

• Pull them out of the water with tongs or a magnet and put them on a towel to dry.

• Keep your jars warm in the oven (around 200 F), so they don't crack when submerged in the hot water.

Instructions:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Add 5 cups water and mix well. Cook and stir constantly until sugar is dissolved.

2. While the first mixture is heating, whisk the other 5 cups of water with the cornstarch (see below for how to use Clear Jel instead of cornstarch in homemade apple pie filling) in a separate bowl until thoroughly mixed.

3. Add the cornstarch mix to the sugar and spice mixture and continue heating and stirring until the mixture is boiling, thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice.

4. Fill your jars halfway with sliced apples. Ladle the syrup over the apples, then add more apples to about one inch from the top of the jar. Add more syrup until the apples are covered, but leave at least 1/2 inch of room between the filling and the jar top for  expansion.

5. Slide a thin plastic, silicone or wooden knife around the sides of the jar to remove air bubbles, then put the lids and rings on the jars.

6. Add a few cups of cold water to your boiling water bath to equalize the water temperature to the temps of the filled jars. Place jars in the water, making sure there is enough water to cover the jars with at least a 1/2 inch of water.

7. Bring canning water to a rolling boil. Once the water is at boiling, let the jars sit for 25 minutes.

8. Remove the jars and place on a thick towel to dry. As they cool, the lids will begin to make “popping” sounds as they seal up.

9. After they cool, press down on the top center of each of the jars to make sure the lid doesn't pop up and down. If it does, the jar wasn't properly sealed.

Trouble Shooting:

• If your jar didn't seal during the canning process, don't worry. Remove the ring and the lid, clean all around the top and rim of the jar and reposition both. Then repeat the process with a boiling water bath.

• Don't feel like reprocessing the jars that didn't seal? Just throw them in the fridge and remember that the apple pie filling won't keep nearly as long as the stuff that was properly sealed and canned. Use it within a week or two and you'll be fine!

• You can also store the prepared apple pie filling in ziplock freezer bags and freeze for a few months.