By Erin Jeanne McDowell
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- 4(388)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Many apple pies call for simply tossing cut apples with sugar, adding a thickening agent and some spices, and plopping it all into a crust. But precooking the apples has multiple advantages: First, it draws out some of their juices, to ensure consistency. (No undercooked apples or runny filling here!) And, second, it prevents the filling from sinking away from the crust as it cools, leaving a pocket of air between filling and crust. Use this all-purpose filling in a traditional pie, tiny hand-held pies, or in a cobbler. Itcan be made several days ahead, leaving just assembling and baking.
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Ingredients
Yield:6 cups (enough for 1 9-inch pie)
- 4tablespoons/55 grams unsalted butter (½ stick)
- 6 to 8medium apples, such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith or Gala, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch dice (about 6½ cups/1 kilogram)
- 2tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- 1½teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1cup/220 grams light or dark brown sugar
- 1tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1teaspoon ground ginger
- ½teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
- ⅓cup/45 grams all-purpose flour
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
320 calories; 6 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 66 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 54 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 229 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a medium pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add apples, tossing to coat in the butter. Add lemon juice, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt and stir to combine. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the apples start to soften, 5 to 6 minutes.
Step
2
In a small bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and flour. Add to the pot and stir well to combine. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.
Step
3
Let the filling cool completely before using. (You can speed this process up by spreading it into an even layer on a baking sheet.) The filling will keep, refrigerated, for up to 3 days.
Ratings
4
out of 5
388
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Cooking Notes
Kristin
Very delicious, but there was far too much liquid in the filling to use in a full pie. After chilling, I strained the juices back into the pot and reduced them to about 1/3 cup (as Erin recommends for similar fruit pies). Then added the reduced syrupy stuff back to the apples. No soggy bottom!
Carin
For me this recipe yielded an unpleasantly gluey and over-spiced pie. Too much of everything -- sugar, cinnamon, ginger -- overwhelmed the flavor of the apple. I suggest cutting way back on all the ingredients, except the apples!
Stacy E.
This is an excellent template for making apple pie filling. I go all the way down to ~150 grams brown sugar + 60 grams granulated white sugar if I've got sweeter apples (Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, etc). I only use the full amounts if I've got a lot of Granny Smiths. If you're not sure, weigh out the brown sugar and add about half to the pot, pulling it off the heat and tasting as you go to see if it's sweet enough. Apples vary widely in sweetness, so it's worth taking your time with this step.
John
Perhaps after slicing and coring the apples, let them drain in a colander for about an hour and a half. Put a bowl under the colander to catch the juice and make a reduction from the juice to glaze the crust. Should take care of the problem of too much liquid.
JT
used only one teaspoon of raw sugar, no brown. instead of corn starch, used pre-prepared chia seeds with blueberries. Used vegan butter instead of dairy butter. Added extra lemon juice. Chia takes up extra liquid. These helped raise the healthy level and helped rely on apples for sweet & tartness.
Cinderella
The first time I made this exactly as written, too sweet and too thick. Second time around, halved the sugar and only added 1 tablespoon of the white sugar/flour mixture. It was much better, suggest you edit according to your taste.
Morgan
Tasty. Have not put in a pie, etc yet. Followed recipe exactly except skipped all granulated sugar and vanilla. Lemon adds nice flavor. Could get very thin if your apples have a lot of water content.
Liz B.
I halved this recipe and reduced both the brown and white sugars because my apples (a mix of Honeycrisp and Fuji) were pretty sweet on their own. AMAZING FILLING for hand pies! Since it's pre-cooked it's so perfect for tiny pies that aren't in the oven that long. It thickened up nicely, and I let the apples get a little extra soft (personal preference). Maybe not my favorite for a full pie though - the crust to filling ratio for this was perfect with hand pies.
Eileen
I like the idea very much and I followed the recipe and video closely. It was quite gooey and heavy on the cinnamon and sugar. Having some of it tonight with ice cream and a crumble top.
Kathleen H
I found it too sweet and next time I’ll cut way down on the cinnamon,
Stephanie
Excellent. Made exactly as written.
leslie
This freezes well. I made several batches last year. It's good in a crust, or with a crumble topping without a crust.
Ginny
Use less brown sugar and less cinnamon More lemon juiceLess regular sugar
imri
I added ground cloves and a little turmeric for extra spice.
Lynn M
I didn’t have a lot of liquid as others did as I just softed the apples rather than cooking them down so the pie has some bite: I actually needed to add a little more citrus juice to slacken off the sauce. Halved all the sugars and used only about a tablespoon of flour and only 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Perfect.
Nan
Way too much spice and flour...I want an apple pie. Not a spicey gloppy mess.
Simon
This turned out really well, and goes great with a crumble topping. I highly recommend straining it out extra liquid and cooking it down to a caramel-y consistency.
Brecken
I didn't have a lemon on hand (dang it!) so I used white wine vinegar, which worked out well. I also added in a tsp. of all spice and it ended up very yummy. After the apples baked down, I was also shocked how much liquid came out! I decided to follow Kristin's advice and reduced the liquid until it became thick and reminded me of an apple-y caramel. I couldn't stop munching on the cooked apples, they tasted great!
Stacy E.
This is an excellent template for making apple pie filling. I go all the way down to ~150 grams brown sugar + 60 grams granulated white sugar if I've got sweeter apples (Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, etc). I only use the full amounts if I've got a lot of Granny Smiths. If you're not sure, weigh out the brown sugar and add about half to the pot, pulling it off the heat and tasting as you go to see if it's sweet enough. Apples vary widely in sweetness, so it's worth taking your time with this step.
John
Perhaps after slicing and coring the apples, let them drain in a colander for about an hour and a half. Put a bowl under the colander to catch the juice and make a reduction from the juice to glaze the crust. Should take care of the problem of too much liquid.
Morgan
Tasty. Have not put in a pie, etc yet. Followed recipe exactly except skipped all granulated sugar and vanilla. Lemon adds nice flavor. Could get very thin if your apples have a lot of water content.
JT
used only one teaspoon of raw sugar, no brown. instead of corn starch, used pre-prepared chia seeds with blueberries. Used vegan butter instead of dairy butter. Added extra lemon juice. Chia takes up extra liquid. These helped raise the healthy level and helped rely on apples for sweet & tartness.
Cinderella
The first time I made this exactly as written, too sweet and too thick. Second time around, halved the sugar and only added 1 tablespoon of the white sugar/flour mixture. It was much better, suggest you edit according to your taste.
Eileen
I like the idea very much and I followed the recipe and video closely. It was quite gooey and heavy on the cinnamon and sugar. Having some of it tonight with ice cream and a crumble top.
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