CANNING CARAMEL APPLE PIE FILLING

This Canned Apple Pie Filling is perfect because it uses lots of spices, tastes perfect in a pie crust, and can be used as a topping on pancakes, french toast, and even ice cream!

Ingredients:

* 4 1/2 c.brown sugar
* 1 c. cornstarch
* 4 tsp. ground cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
* 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
* 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
* 2 tsp. salt
* 2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract
* 10 c. water
* 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
* 6 pounds apples ...I like to use Cortland

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large pan, mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add salt and 8 c. water and mix well. Stir till dissolved and place over low heat. Then mix 2 c. water, lemon juice and cornstarch and set aside.

2. Sterilize canning jars, lids and rings by boiling them in a large pot of water.

3. Peel, core, and slice apples. Pack the raw sliced apples into hot canning jars, leaving 1" of head space.
4. Bring sugar mixture almost to boiling then stir in the cornstarch mixture and stir or whisk the mixtures quickly. When the white of the cornstarch disappears, ladle hot syrup over the sliced apples leaving a 1/2" of head space.

5. Gently remove air bubbles with a wooden spoon handle.

6. Put lids on and process in a water bath canner. Process for 15 minutes if using pint size jars, and 20 minutes if using quart size jars.

Yields 7 quarts of apple pie filling.

Note: Do not use metal utensils when canning. It can cause the glass jars to shatter.

Carmel Apple Pie 

This Carmel Apple Pie is packed full of flavor and goes great with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on a summers day.

Ingredients:

* 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

*1/4 cup powdered sugar

* 6 cups home canned apple pie filling 

* 1 (2.5 ounce) package caramel apple circle or chopped caramel pieces

* 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Directions:
. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out pastry and set aside.

 In a large bowl, blend cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Set aside.


 Add apples to cream cheese mixture and stir until apples are evenly coated.


. Pour half of apple mixture into pastry-lined pie plate. Place caramel circle over top or sprinkle caramel pieces evenly, then pour in remaining apple mixture. Cover with second pastry. Seal edges and cut steam vent in top. Sprinkle with coarse/turbinado sugar. Place pie on baking sheet covered with aluminum foil.

7. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. If you notice overbrowning after 25 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Note: Unless you use a deep dish pie pan, do not use all of the juice or it will overflow while cooking.

BROWN BAG APPLE PIE

Ingredients

• BOTTOM CRUST:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cold water, or more as needed
• 
  
•  FILLING;
•  Home Canned Apple Pie Filling plus 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
•  
• TOPPING:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar
•  
• 2 12x30-inch pieces of parchment paper

Directions

1. To make the bottom crust, stir the flour and white sugar together in a bowl until well-combined. Rub the unsalted butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle with cold water, a couple of tablespoons at a time, mixing the dough together lightly with a fork until it barely holds together.
2. Form the dough into a ball and roll it out to a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Gently ease the dough into an 8-inch pie dish. Cut off any excess pastry with a knife. Finish the edge of the crust by gently pressing the tines of a fork into the dough all the way around the edge of the pie dish. Set the crust aside.
3. To make the topping, mix 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of softened butter, and the superfine sugar together in a bowl until you have a sticky, moist dough.
4. To assemble the pie, cover the bottom of the pie crust with a light, even layer of graham cracker crumbs. Fill the pie with the apple mixture, piling it up in a mound shape. Pinch off pieces of the topping mixture, flatten them a little with your fingers, and dot them at random all over the top of the filling, covering as much of the filling as possible.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F 
6. Place pie in a large brown supermarket bag on its side, not standing up, making sure the bag does not touch the top or sides of the pie. Carefully fold over the opening of the bag and staple it closed to seal the pie in. Bake at 400 for one hour. It will smell like the bag is burning in the first 30 minutes of cooking, but then you can smell the pie cooking so don't worry!