Apple Pie Filling for Canning
You love apple pie. Here’s how to can apple pie filling for super quick pie making later. One quart jar will make a pie, or you can use the filling for many other things such as: apple cobbler, apple turnovers, add to cake batter, or use to fill between layers of cake, pour over ice cream, top your oatmeal, or any other use your imagination can think of! As a bonus, I like to can a couple pints of the jel without apples for adding to coffee, oatmeal, ice cream, pancakes/waffles, to glaze pork or chicken… so many uses…!
**I may earn from qualifying purchases when you use the links on this page at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support. **
To make Apple Pie Filling you will need:
- Apples- Fresh picked is preferrable. I like a variety. Use what you like best.
- Apple juice concentrate and water (or just water will work also) 10 cups
- 1 cup Clear Jel– This is a modified corn starch. It won’t separate like cornstarch over time.
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 3 cups white sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoon salt- kosher or canning salt
- 3 Tablespoon lemon juice
- Water Bath canner, jars, lids, rings and basic canning equipment
*This recipe assumes you know the basic steps and safety measures needed for safe home canning. If you do not, please do your research and fully understand the potential consequences.
Begin by peeling, coring and slicing the apples into desired size pieces. You can certainly do this by hand, but I love using my peeler/corer/slicer for making this process fast. Place cut apple into a bowl with water and lemon juice or ascorbic acid to help reducing the browning effect of oxidation.
Pardon the camera work as it isn’t easy to hold the camera and do everything with one hand, but I hope this gives you a good idea of how quick and easy this little tool makes the process of peeling, coring and slicing:
Meanwhile lay out your canning supplies and heat jars in hot water to prepare for assembly.
Start the filling with the liquid. I happen to have some homemade apple juice concentrate, but you could certainly use store bought concentrate or juice (fresh cider is lovely also). Be sure to choose an apple juice with no added sugar otherwise you filling will be way too sweet for consumption!
For my homemade apple juice concentrate I used 4 cups of the canned concentrate and 6 cups of water to make 10 cups of liquid. However you choose your liquid, you will want 10 cups. Reserve 2 cups and pour the remaining 8 cups into a stock pot or sauce pan large enough to comfortably contain all the ingredients.
Add 2 cups of brown sugar and 3 cups of white sugar to the liquid and begin to heat over medium.
Add your spices to the pan and continue to heat to near boiling.
This is the Clear Jel I like to use. There are many brands out there make sure to use the cook type and not the instant.
Add 1 cup of the Clear Jel to the 2 cups of reserved liquid to create a slurry. This step will help you to avoid lumps when you add the Clear Jel to the rest of the filling.
Continue to stir the filling often and enjoy the aroma!
Once the filling is near boiling, add the Clear Jel slurry and stir quickly as it will thicken rapidly.
Once the filling is thick enough to coat the spoon, remove pan from heat. This will only take a minute.
Remove your jars from the hot water onto a towel lined counter. Never place hot jars directly onto the counter or you may crack your jars. Fill hot jars with apple slices. These are quart jars.
Some recipes call for the apples to be blanched prior to filling. I find this step unnecessary as long as you leave enough head space. Its up to you if you choose to blanch the apples first.
Carefully pour the filling into the jars and use a plastic spatula to work the filling thoroughly into the apples. You want to ensure there are no air bubbles.
I like to make a couple of pint jars with just the filling and omit the apples, but you can certainly skip this and continue to make apple pie filling. This recipe will make approximately 7 quart jars of apple pie filling.
Leave 1 1/2 to 2 inches of head space. During processing, the apples will swell and not leaving enough space between your food and the bottom of the lid may cause leaking and therefore unsealed jars.
Wipe the rims clean, top with lids that have been sitting in simmering water (never boil), adjust rings to finger tight.
Load the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is approximately 2 inches of water above the top of your jars.
Turn the burner onto medium-high and begin processing time once the water is at a full boil. Processing time will vary depending on your elevation. For my elevation, the processing time is 25 minutes.
After processing is complete, turn the burner off and allow the canner to sit for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and carefully use the jar lifter to remove jars from the canner. Place onto towel lined counter or table and allow to sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Remove rings, check seals, gently wash jars, label and store in a cool, dark place until ready for use.
Enjoy!
The Apple Pie Spice Jel! YUM!
I hope you try this recipe. Let me know if you do! I’d love to hear from you!
Like what you see?
Use the Pintrist button to save this post for later.
Join the discussion on Facebook: Billfree Farms Presents: In my Kitchen