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Want to learn how to make apple pie filling at home? It’s easier than you may think. And it’s super quick!
Two weeks ago I came to inherit a bag of some granny smith apples; I came home with about 10 pounds and after my husband ate almost half of them… I had to pry them away from him and told him that I needed at least some of these for some goodies I wanted to share. When I divulged my plan to him, he was very happy to oblige.
I have to say that my favorite pie of all time is an apple pie but nothing kills a delicious apple pie like a horrible apple pie filling! Let me give you some pointers on how to make the perfect apple pie filling so that you never have a horrible apple pie ever again!
The Pointers
Before we go ahead with this recipe, let me go over a few basics of apples with you. There are toooooons of apple varieties but not all of them are created equal. Some are great just to eat straight up with some peanut butter, others are best cooked either in savory or sweet applications. For cooking, the best apples to use, obviously, are Granny Smiths because they are super dense which means that they won’t break down and crumble when cooked unlike super soft apples like Red Delicious or even Fuji apples. Now with that being said, I will suggest that if you have never used Pink Lady apples, you need to! These apples are very much like Granny Smiths but they are a bit sweeter and they smell soooo amazing! Using a combo of Pink Ladies and Granny Smiths for cooked apple dishes is fantastic!
A word about the thickening process that will change the way you think about cooking and sauce making! To thicken this amazing filling, you add water and cornstarch together to make what we call a “slurry. Yes this is a technical term that we learned in culinary school… not even joking!
Typically we use slurries to thicken a liquid to a certain consistency. Now some of you may be wondering “why not just use flour?” well… you could use a roux in this application but roux’s are hard to control and are better for uses in thickening chowders or gravies. With something this light in texture and flavor, a roux would make a pie filing feel heavy and overly thick. Roux’s also need extra cooking time to cook away the flour taste and grittiness. Slurries are great because you mix about equal parts water and cornstarch together and then you add it to a hot liquid while stirring and within a minute, you have a thickened liquid! Plus it’s a gluten-free thickener so it’s great for those who are gluten intolerant. So that’s why slurries are awesome in this application!
This is such an easy recipe to make and I hope that you enjoy making it! Now if you want to make an apple pie, you can feel free to add this directly to a pie crust and bake but if you want to hold on and wait for me to show you what I’ve come up with, let the filling cool and I’ll share with you what I have been up to.
Happy eating everyone!
Here are some other awesome apple recipes you’ll enjoy!
- 2 pounds Granny Smith apples
- 1 ounce Butter
- 3 ounces Sugar
- 2 fluid ounce water
- 0.5 ounce cornstarch
- 3 ounce sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- .25 ounce butter
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Peel, quarter, and core all apples. Discard all the scraps and slice apples
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Melt butter over medium heat in a skillet. Add apples and saute for about 15 minutes or until water starts to leech out from the apples. Once the water has almost evaporated, add sugar and dissolve. Do NOT caramelize.
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Mix water and cornstarch to create slurry and set a side. Once sugar has dissolved, add slurry to apples and mix well.
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Add remaining of ingredients to apples and cook until butter has melted.
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Allow mix to cool completely before storing.
An all-purpose apple, it works well in pies and tarts where you don t want the filling to be overly juicy.
Yum! I have actually never made an apple pie before. Definitely need to try it now.
You need to try it!!!