Apple pie filling is a very popular apple product for home canners to produce, and for good reason. Homemade apple pie filling cannot be beaten in taste and texture by any in a store, and having it processed and on hand turns homemade pie making into a quick and simple task. However, sometimes canned pie filling, even homemade, can turn out too mushy or maybe too processed tasting. Canning pie filling can also be a pretty hot and steamy process, at a time when the kitchen is already at it’s hottest. Both freezing the pie filling and using dried apple rings are two great alternatives to canning that will still produce great tasting and convenient homemade apple pie filling to last throughout the year.
Freezing Apple Pie Filling
Freezing pie filling is very simple, and having the filling ready to go in the freezer makes it very easy to make a great apple pie for a bake sale or gift, for unexpected company, as a surprise treat, or just on a whim.
To store pie filling in the freezer, a family’s favorite apple pie recipe can be used. The recipe should be tripled or quadrupled for ease, and then packaged in quart-sized freezer quality zip top bags. I fill them about three-quarters of the way full, and that’s enough for a nine-inch pie. Then I lay them flat to freeze, so they will be easy to stack or line up when storing them in the freezer. All the regular ingredients should be added to the pie filling when mixing it up, other than any butter that the recipe calls for putting on top of the fruit before adding the top crust.
Using Frozen Apple Pie Filling
Apple pie filling from the freezer is quick and versatile. To make a standard pie, it should be thawed for a few hours on the counter or overnight in the fridge, then just put into the bottom crust and either dotted with butter and topped by a top crust or topped with a Dutch or French crumb topping. It can also be thawed more quickly in warm water or even microwaved. When microwaving or heating on the stove, care should be taken not to scorch the sugars or overcook the thawed apples, before the entire amount is unfrozen.
Apple pie filling is also really delicious used in apple cobbler or apple crisp recipes. It should be thawed as usual, then placed into a greased or buttered casserole dish. Because the pie filling already has sugar, it may be desirable to cut back a bit on the sugar in the topping recipe. Other than that adjustment, the crisp or cobbler recipe can easily be followed, producing a quick and relatively healthy dessert.
Making Pie from Dried Apples
Dried apple rings are great snacks and are perfect for chopping up and adding to baked goods or granola, but they can also be re-hydrated and used for pie as well. Dried apples are also easier to store and take up less space than frozen or canned pie filling does. It’s slightly less convenient to use dried apples for a pie than frozen pie filling, since the filling does still have to be mixed together, but it’s still much faster than making the filling from scratch with whole apples.
The first step in making a pie with dried apples is to soak them with an equal amount of boiling water. Apple juice or a bit of orange juice is a nice addition to up the fruity flavor. After the apples have soaked and softened, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves should be added to taste, and some cornstarch is needed to thicken the sauce as it bakes. This filling is then used just like any other pie filling, and baked for the same amount of time.
Making apple pie filling ahead of time when apples are inexpensive and in season is a great way to have practically instant desserts all year, with a homemade touch. Frozen and dried apples both make wonderfully delicious pies in a fraction of the time that they can be made completely from scratch.
