Apple Pie Filling
The best apple filling made with fresh apples, apple juice, warm spices, and a touch of honey. Use it in pies, cakes, danishes, or anywhere you want real apple flavor.
Servings: 4 cups
Calories: 370kcal
Equipment
- apple corer
Ingredients
Spiced Apple Filling Recipe
- 2 lbs apples about 6 medium, like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Jonagold
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 oz butter
- 4 oz brown sugar or white sugar is fine
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 oz apple juice the kind you drink, not apple cider vinegar (or water in a pinch)
- 1 oz cornstarch
- 2 oz water
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange extract optional
Instructions
- Before you begin: Measure out all of your ingredients before you start. Once the apples hit the heat, this comes together quickly.
For the apple pie filling
- Peel, core and chop apples into small, ½" cubes
- Place the cubed apples in a large pan over medium heat. Add the butter and stir until melted, about 1 minute.
- Add the apple juice, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and brown sugar. Stir to combine.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples have softened but still have a little firmness. They should not be mushy. If using for pie, pull here; the apples will continue cooking in the oven.
- Whisk the water and cornstarch together in a separate cup to make a slurry. Add to the apples while gently stirring over medium-high heat.
- Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture begins to bubble, to make sure the cornstarch is fully cooked.
- Remove from the heat. Stir in the orange extract, vanilla, lemon juice, and honey.
- Pour into a cake pan or bowl and refrigerate to cool quickly.
Video
Notes
No apple corer? Core the apples by hand with a sharp paring knife.
Spices: The cinnamon and cloves make a homemade apple pie spice. A store-bought apple pie spice can be swapped in 1:1.
Thickener swaps: For every 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch, use 2 Tablespoons of tapioca starch or 2 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour. For this recipe, that's about 2 oz of tapioca starch in place of the 1 oz of cornstarch.
Storage: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 weeks. To freeze, make it with tapioca starch or flour instead of cornstarch (cornstarch turns watery after thawing), then freeze for up to several months.
Canning: This recipe is not tested for home canning. For shelf-stable jars, use a tested apple pie filling canning recipe made with cook-type ClearJel.
Using it in pie: One batch fills one pie. Pull the apples while they're still a little firm, since they'll finish cooking in the oven. Using it as a cake filling: Pipe a buttercream dam around each cake layer first so the filling doesn't spill out the sides.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 212mg | Potassium: 366mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 64g | Vitamin A: 300IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg
