Apple Pie Filling With Clear Jel

"From Penn State, this pie filling is a favorite in our house. Prepping apple pie filling is messy and time consuming, so if I'm going to do it, I want to make a bunch! This recipe is a favorite in our house. I'm posting the ingredients per quart, to make it easy to scale up as needed."
 
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photo by dianegrapegrower photo by dianegrapegrower
photo by dianegrapegrower
photo by becknsr photo by becknsr
Ready In:
45mins
Ingredients:
8
Yields:
1 quart
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ingredients

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directions

  • Blanch apple slices (you may need to do this in batches if scaling this recipe up). Place in bowl, cover, and keep warm.
  • Combine all other ingredients in a pot large enough to hold them, plus the apples. Place over medium-high heat, and stir until mixture begins to bubble and turn translucent. Cook one more minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and fold in apple slices.
  • Fill jars with mixture, leaving 1" headspace. Close with 2-piece caps, and process in boiling water bath for 25 minutes for pints or quarts. 1 quart will make an average pie.

Questions & Replies

  1. What is the purpose of the blanching. I'd like to tweak this to make more of a turnover filling with smaller pieces of apple, and in 1/2 pint jars and I am worried the blanch step plus the processing will result in a mush. But I don't want to poison my family, so if there is a reason please let me know. Also, if I do 1/2 pints can I reduce the processing time? Checked the extension office information and they don't have data for jars that small.
     
  2. Can this pie filling be frozen instead of canned?
     
  3. This is what I've been looking for. My question is, I just processed a ton of apple pie filling i used "corn starch" and canned it about a week ago. Do you think its safe to open all the cans of apples i just made, make the liquid "jel" portion of this recipe, combine with the jel and re-can? Thank you for sharing this!
     
  4. can I use splenda instead of sugar
     
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Reviews

  1. Very good! I did find that I needed closer to 5 cups of apples before blanching to fill a quart jar, tho. No matter, still great! My method for the filling part was to combine all dry ingredients (sugar, clear jel, spices) in a separate bowl, whisked well. I added all liquids to the pan, then whisked in the dry, stirring until well blended. I did whisk nearly the entire cooking time, but the filling came out SO smooth! No clumps at all! Also, I added 1/4t nutmeg, and 1/2t additional cinnamon, to my taste. Thanks for the great recipe!
     
  2. They turned out simply awesome!
     
  3. Found this recipe after another on another blog that was way too long, but essentially the same as this one. Just made 7 quarts of this today and it tastes great!
     
  4. This recipe is outstanding and with a very few modifications will certainly become a treasured addition to my collection. Mixing all of the dry ingredients together is the key to making this come out perfect. I heated all of the liquids to just the point of a simmer and then added all the dry ingredients stiring continuously while adding the apples. One of the modifications I did was I added one shot of Crown Royal apple whiskey to the liquid ingredients and gave it just enough time for the alcohol to evaporate before adding the apples and dry ingredients. It came out absolutely perfect and I have been asked to make many more batches of my “One Shot Apple Pie” filling. To answer your previous question in one of the reviews… Yes blanching the apples is important because it softens them just enough without breaking them down. This filling has become a must have for waffles, ice cream, oatmeal, tarts, spread over a crispy tostada and then dusted with additional Cinnamon sugar, topped with sharp cheddar cheese, broiled until the cheese melts. Enjoy
     
  5. Sorry, this was a waste for me.... twice! The first batch, I followed the recipe and added the clear jel along with the rest of the ingredients. It resulted in a big old gelatinous mess, no matter how long I boiled it. I even used an immersion blender, no luck. Dumped the first batch and then tried adding the clear jel to the boiling liquid as directed on the package. Same problem, even adding it thru a strainer. Not sure what you all did, but this was a sad disappointment.
     
    • Review photo by becknsr
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