Beth’s Apple Pie Filling

Nothing takes the work out of making homemade pies like opening a quart of homemade apple pie filling!  Beth’s recipe has been modified (as seasoned canners love to do with basic recipes) until this pie filling is rich in flavor but not loaded with processed sugars.  We all like to use unrefined sucanat cane sugar for most of our baking.

One of the secrets to why this pie filling is so good is the blend of three varieties of apples, Golden Delicious for texture, Granny Smith for tart flavor and Jonathans to round out the blend.  It really makes a difference so please use all three apples varieties if you can.

Beth’s Canned Apple Pie Filling for Seven Pies

54 Apples   18 Golden Delicious
                     18 Jonathan
                     18 Granny Smith

This is a double batch which will fill two canners.

Double these ingredients. You will make this up for each pot of apples.

4 cups Sucanat Cane Sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 Tablespoons and 2 teaspoons lemon juice (use bottled only to have the correct level of acid)
2 Teaspoons and 1 stick butter (use only butter no margarine)

So you will fill two bowls with these ingredients to have enough mix for each pot.

This will make between 7 and 9 quarts of filling per canner so this recipe will yield 14-18 quarts

You start by prepping the apples. They need to be peeled and cored and sliced so we are using an old-time apple
peeler.

Yes, Buchheit’s carry them.  Dean, Debbie’s husband, put hers onto a wooden mount that adds stability to the unit. 

The trick is to not break the peel. You’ll find ways to make a tedious, repetitive task fun!

It took us hours to prepare all the apples for two full pots of apple pie filling. But many hands make light work, so the hours passed quickly.  Add a cup of water to each pot to prevent the apples from sticking.

Remember to only use stainless steel or porcelain pots. Aluminum ones may react with the foods and alter the taste.  Add the butter to the apples when you put them on to cook.  Don’t over stir.

We have mixed all the ingredients needed for both pots of apple pie filling.  One bowl is added to each pot of cooked down apples.  The trick is to gently stir the apples and not overcook them as they will be baked into the pie. Remember its apple pie filling, not apple pie mush. 

Now we are ready to fill the jars and process in a water bath.

Each person has their job to fill the canners quickly.  The jars process for 20 minutes in the water-bath.

Debbie’s family loves to enjoy the apple pie filling on German pancakes while Beth makes great pies with her’s.  I use it to fill rich German stolen bread for special occasions.  I give some as welcomed gifts.

I am bone tired after a hard day’s work but the light-hearted banter and the laughter still rings in my ears.  I love canning with these sweet ladies!  I hope you will try this recipe.  It’s a keeper.  Anne May