Canned Apple Pie Filling

Apples have been on sale recently and I have been needing a mental break from life so I decided to dive into a weekend of canning.  I decided to go with some apple pie filling mainly because I've never canned pie filling before.

I always forget how much work it takes to make apple pie.  The apples turn brown so quickly and I feel like it always takes me forever to core the apples and get them sliced up.  This is the best part of canning.  I now have 7 pints of apple pie filling that I can use without having to do much work!!!

Canned Apple Pie Filling:
(adapted from Ball Canning)

12 cups sliced peeled cored apples, treated to prevent browning and drained (about 12 medium)
Water
2-3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup ClearJel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
2 1/2 cups unsweetened apple juice
1 1/4 cups cold water
1/2 cup lemon juice
7 pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

Blanch apple slices, working with 6 cups at a time, in a large pot of boiling water for 1 minute.

Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm in a covered bowl.

Combine sugar, ClearJel, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and apple pie spice in a large stainless steel saucepan. Stir in apple juice and cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, and cook until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice, return to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Drain apple slices and immediately fold into hot mixture. Before processing, heat, stirring, until apples are heated through.

Ladle hot pie filling into hot jars leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.

Process jars in a boiling water canner for 25 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool.

Check the lids for a proper seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

** When using this in a pie you might find that one jar isn't quite enough to fill your crust.  If this is the case just cut up a couple more apples and add to the whole mix.  When the pie bakes everything will come together perfectly.

Bacon & Caramelized Onion Quiche

I love quiche.  It's delicious and is a great holding vessel for all types of wonderful things. I love quiche for breakfast and lunch.  It makes me feel fancy.

Since I love bacon and had an onion laying around I decided to make a quiche with those.  I cooked the onions low and slow until they were nice and caramelized to add a nice sweet flavor to the quiche.

Bacon & Caramelized Onion Quiche:

1 pie crust
4 eggs
1 cup half and half
1 teaspoon corn starch
3 strips bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/3 red onion, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup swiss cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 large tablespoon greek yogurt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat melt the butter.  Add the onion and let slowly cook until it is translucent and a caramel color.  It'll take a decent amount of time, I think mine cooked about 15 minutes... but I should have let them go for 20.

Fry the bacon and hold the cooked bacon off to the side until the onions are finished and the custard it finished.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place your pie crust in a pie pan.

In a bowl beat the eggs.  Stir the corn starch into the half and half, making sure it is incorporated well, and add that to the eggs along with the greek yogurt, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Mix well and add the cheese, bacon, and onions.

Pour the egg mixture in the pie shell and make sure the bacon and onions are spread around evenly.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top of the quiche starts to turn golden brown.

Peach Cobbler

I've been canning all weekend.  I have 1 quart + 19.5 pints of peach jam sitting on my counter.  Even after all of those jars of jam I still have 5 peaches in my fruit bowl.  To be frank, I'm tired of making jam so in order to use those last few peaches I decided to make a cobbler.  It's a classic dessert and easy to make.

There is something comforting about a cobbler.  It was my grandma's go to dessert when I was a kid and we always looked forward to it.

Peach Cobbler:
(basic cobbler recipe, measurements from Food Network- cause Grandma never measured anything)

Cobbler filling:

4 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon flour

Cobbler crust:

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon brown sugar, for topping
   

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Generously butter a 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish. Place the sliced peaches in the dish and sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and flour. Mix gently and spread evenly again. Bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile combine all dry ingredients for cobbler crust in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers, to make the texture like coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and stir to form a soft dough.

Remove fruit from oven and drop rounded spoonfuls of dough on top. Sprinkle with last tablespoon of brown sugar and return to oven. Bake about 20 minutes, until fruit is bubbly and crust topping is golden brown.

Blueberry Pie

I was lucky as a child to have blueberry bushes in my back yard.  I didn't really appreciate them at that point in my life because my grandmother made my sister go outside and pick them in the heat, but we certainly enjoyed the pies and cobblers that my grandma made with them. 

This is not my grandma's pie but it's a really good basic pie.  There are many ways to top this pie.  The lattice topping is the most traditional and is really pretty.  Martha Stewart topped it with cut out stars, which is awesome for any summer party.

** See the splotchy spots on the pie crust?  It's because my egg wash puddled while it was resting.  It will still taste fine but it's not the prettiest pie in the world.  Just something to remember to check on when baking.

Blueberry Pie:
(Martha Stewart Baking Handbook)

All-purpose flour, for dusting
8 cups blueberries, picked over
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Pie crust

On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll out one disk of the pie crust to about 12-inches round.  Dust off the excess flour and fit into a glass pie pan.  Trim the dough so that there's only 1/2-inch overhang all around the pie plate.  Crimp the edge however you'd like.  Roll out the remaining dough and chill both for about 30 minutes.

Place the blueberries in a large bowl.  Crush about a 1/2 cup of the berries.  Add the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice.  Gently stir to combine.  Pour the fruit mixture into the chilled pie crust, mounding the berries slightly in the center.  Take the butter pieces and dot them all over the pie.

Take the second pie crust and decide how you want to to your pie.  I decided to go with the basic lattice pie so I cut the pie crust into strips.  Arrange the strips on the top of the pie.  In a small bowl mix the egg and half and half.  Brush the egg mixture all over the top of the pie.

Let the pie chill for an additional 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  After the pie has chilled move it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in the bottom third of the oven for 20 minutes, or until the crust is starting to turn golden.  Reduce the oven to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes, turning halfway.

Let cool on a wire rack.

Key Lime Pie

I love Key Lime Pie.  There have been many birthdays where i've had key lime pie instead of a cake.  It's one of my favorites.

Here are two very important things to know about key lime pie.

#1: Key lime pie should NEVER been green.  If it is, run far far away.
#2: Nellie & Joe's is the best key lime juice to use.  Don't use store brand.  It's not worth it.

Key Lime Pie:
(Nellie & Joe's)

9" graham cracker pie crust
14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
½ cup Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice

Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350º for 15 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. 

Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream and garnish with lime slices.

Pecan Buttermilk Pie

I feel like I might have an obsession with buttermilk.  Here's the thing... the store only carries one size and I usually only need like 1/4 cup and so I'm left with the majority of the container.  I don't want to throw it away but I also don't need to make a million biscuits.  Here is my most recent buttermilk creation.
















Pecan Buttermilk Pie:


1 pie crust (made from scratch or store bought)
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup pecans, chopped


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl take the beaten eggs and mix in the sugar.  Add the buttermilk, butter, vanilla, salt, and flour.  Mix together.  Place the pie crust in a pan and line with the chopped pecans.  Pour the custard over the nuts and bake for 40 minutes.  At the 40 minute mark reduce heat to 325 and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Sweet Tea Pie

I've mentioned before how much I love tea.  I consider it my own personal crack.  In my opinion it's acceptable to drink for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  I love it.  While watching Paula Deen the other day I saw an episode that had one of my favorite cookbook authors on it as a guest, Martha Foose.  She was making something called Sweet Tea Pie.  It looked amazing and I decided that I needed to try it.

This turned out really great.  I added some extra lemon to the mix because I tend to like extra lemon in my tea anyway.  The filling was really silky and it was different than any other pie I've had.  I will definitely make it again.    
                
This also covers our Flavor of the Month for January.

Sweet Tea Pie:

(Martha Foose- Screen Doors and Sweet Tea)

Crust:
6 oz softened cream cheese
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour


Filling:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
8 large egg yolks
3/4 cups strong black tea, cooled
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt


For the crust:
In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until well combined.  Add the flour and mix until the dough forms a ball.  Pat the dough into a 9-inch pie pan.  Chill until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 350.

For the filling:

In an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at a medium speed until light.  Add the yolks one at a time, beating at low speed until well incorporated.  Slowly add the tea, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Add the flour, cornmeal, and salt and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared crust.

Bake for 45 minutes or until set.  Cool completely on a wire rack and then chill for 2 hours before serving.















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Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is one of the dishes that reminds me of my grandma.  It was always her job to make the pecan pie and she always added more pecans than the recipe called for.  After all, it's pecan pie, not goo pie.

This is pretty close to the traditional Karo syrup recipe for pie.  There are ways to change it up to fit your needs but if you want to make a classic pecan pie, start here.

Pecan Pie:(adapted from Karo Syrup)

1 cup dark corn syrup
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (6 ounces) pecans
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust **I'm using a store bought pie crust.  It's easy and taste better than mine.**

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla using a spoon. 

Stir in pecans. Pour filling into pie crust.










 












Bake on center rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes. Cool for 2 hours on wire rack before serving.

Derby Pie

This is another family favorite.  I think my sister's boyfriend would go on strike if I didn't make this every year.  My grandmother always told me that when you make a pecan (pe-CAN) pie the nuts should make up the majority of the pie, not goo.  I think she's right.

Tony’s Chocolate Pecan Pie (AKA- Derby Pie):

The Neelys- Food Network

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
3 tablespoons bourbon liquor
2 cups pecan halves
1/2 cup mini milk chocolate morsels
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter in a small saucepan. While butter is melting, add beaten eggs to a medium sized bowl. Stir in brown sugar, flour, vanilla extract, corn syrup and bourbon until combined. Add butter when just melted.

Mix in the pecans and chocolate morsels. Mix all together. Pour mixture into pie shell.  Take some of the better looking pecans and make a nice design on top.

Place on a sheet tray and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

Peanut Butter No-Bake Pie

I love peanut butter.  My family does too.  I decided to try something new recently and picked a no-bake Peanut Butter Pie with a chocolate cookie crust.

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk

1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed

2 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crusts

Directions:

1. Beat together cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Mix in peanut butter and milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.

2. Spoon into two 9 inch chocolate cookie pie shells; cover, and freeze until firm.

 
ENJOY!

Caramel Apple Pie

This is my favorite apple pie.  I make it every Thanksgiving.

Caramel Apple Pie:(Adapted from the 2003 1st Place Pie National Pie Cook-Off)

Filling:


6 cups apples (Jonathan or Granny Smith)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter
2 toffee bars crushed

Directions

Filling:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Peel and slice apples. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and add apples. Toss to mix. Add vanilla and cream. Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add apple mixture and cook approximately 8 minutes, to soften apples. Turn into pie shell.

Streusel Topping:

Combine the flour and sugar. Mix in butter with fork until coarse crumbs. stir in the crushed toffee bars. Sprinkle over pie.  Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake 45 minutes longer.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I'll be honest.  I use boxed pie crust.  I think it tastes really good and it's really easy.  Feel free to add a top crust to the pie.  I just like how it looks to bring a pie out of the oven busting with fruit.