This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and purchase an item, I will receive a small commission. For more info, please see my disclosure on my Connect page.

Years ago, I shared a family recipe for my great aunt’s apple pie filling. It was my go-to recipe for as long as I can remember. I think I clung to it out of nostalgia. That pie filling was the only one my mom and grandma ever made. I just kept using the recipe every fall even though it didn’t always work, like last year’s clumpy cornstarch apple-mush.

Sigh..

After doing some reading about why old canning recipes fail or aren’t up to current safety standards, I decided to step out of my box and try some new apple pie filling recipes this year. Good glory, you guys! I am so glad!

The results were delicious and oh, so pretty!

Here’s what happened:

I started with an apple pie filling recipe I found on the Ball website. The process was so much simpler than what I’ve always done! I love the idea of blanching the apples for a minute and cooking the sauce separately. Totally keeps the apples firm instead of turning to saucy mush. I also like that instead of all water you use mostly apple juice to add flavor. However, there isn’t enough spice in this recipe for my liking. 1/2 tsp cinnamon? Skimpy.

Also, their recipe only makes about 3 quarts. A half-empty canner does not fly with me. If I’m going to that much effort, I want a full 7 quarts.

The second recipe I made was from the back of the yellow Cornaby’s Thick Gel bag. Clear gel powder is used in place of the cornstarch from the old fashioned recipes. For in-depth details, check out THIS post from Ashley over at Practical Self Reliance. She breaks it all down wonderfully. I learned a ton from her post!

Anyway, Cornaby’s recipe made a full canner of apple pie filling and had plenty of spice, which made my taste buds much happier. But, I have an aversion to the microwave and who wants to sit and microwave bowls of apples anyway? No thanks.

So, after making both recipes, I decided to combine them. I took the cooking process from the Ball recipe but used it with the ingredients from the Cornaby’s bag and, holy smokes, we have a winner! The result was a full 7 quarts of the prettiest apple pie filling I’ve ever made in my life. Thick, sweet, and delicious with no mush!

Supplies:

• apple peeler corer
• lemon juice or Fruit Fresh to prevent browning
• stockpot
• apples
• canning funnel and jar lifter
• canning jars
• lids and rings
• water bath canner or steam canner

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Beautiful & Tasty Bottled Apple Pie Filling

Delicious home-canned apple pie filling that looks like store-bought but tastes so much better!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Process 35 minutes mins

Course Canning and Freezing, Dessert, From Scratch

Cuisine Back to Basics, Homesteading

Servings 7 quarts

Ingredients

  

• 15 lbs. apples about 6 wide mouth quarts full of 1/4" thick peeled and cored apples
• 5 ½ cup sugar
• 1 ¼ cup clear gel Cornaby's yellow bag
• 1 TBL cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 ½ cup water
• 5 cup apple juice
• ¾ cup lemon juice

Instructions

 

• Peel, core, and slice apples then place in water containing lemon juice or Fruit Fresh to prevent browning.
• Drain apples and blanch in boiling water for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, place blanched apples in a large bowl and cover to keep warm until ready to use.
• Combine sugar, clear gel, and spices along with the water, apple juice, and lemon juice in a large stockpot. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
• Drain the warm, blanched apples and fold into the thickened juice mixture.
• Fill jars leaving 1/2" headspace.
• Wipe rims and add lids and rings.
• Process in canner for 35 minutes. (Increase processing time by 5 minutes for 1,000 to 3,000 feet and 10 minutes for 3,000-5,000 feet elevations. See the blue Ball book or Ball's website for more info.)
• Turn off canner and let sit for 10-15 minutes before removing jars from canner to cool.

Notes

Always let pie filling sit for 10-15 minutes before removing from canner. This will help decrease siphoning aka the filling leaking out of the top of the jar and making a big old mess. 

Keyword apple, autumn, cinnamon, garden, harvest