Freezer Apple Pie Filling Recipe
Apple season is here! This is an amazing idea to try after a fun family apple-picking adventure. Thank you to WFWP member Shirley Chimes for sharing this recipe, which has been modified from a blog post.
Yield: 5 ½ quarts (enough for about five 9-inch pies)
24 cups sliced peeled baking apples (6-7 lbs)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
4 ½ cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
10 cups water
In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice; set aside.
In a Dutch oven over medium heat, combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Add water; bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add apples; return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until apples are tender, about 6-8 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.
Ladle into freezer containers, leaving ½ inch space at the top. Cool at room temperature no longer than 1 ½ hours.
Seal and freeze; store for up to 12 months.
Additional tips:
Instead of quart jars, use gallon-sized freezer bags. Let the filling cool a bit before filling the bags (one quart per bag) and then flatten the bag to freeze it. This way, you can stack the “boards” of filling in your freezer and slide one out when needed. Less space needed, and the thawing time is shorter.
After thawing, heat the filling on the stove or in the microwave before putting it in the pie crust and dot it with butter before sealing the top crust.
Along the same lines, you can stack and freeze your pie crusts. Roll them in your 8 or 9″ circles between wax paper, and stack them together in one of those two gallon freezer bags. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using!