Apple Pie Filling

It's good to cook your pie filling ahead of time. Many apples reduce in volume (and give off a lot of liquid) during cooking, leaving you with a cavernous pie that's full of water. These "pie guts" are versatile, in that they can go into conventional pies, "pocket pies" or even directly into your mouth.

N.B.: The volume of filling that the recipe produces is intended to make about four pocket pies (coming soon!). To make a conventional pie, you may like to triple the recipe.

TIME

About 30 minutes of cooking time with about 10 minutes of prep time beforehand to peel and dice apples.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of apple juice. Use the good stuff that's only juice, not from concentrate, no additives, etc. A good apple cider could suffice too.
• 2 large apples, peeled and diced. I used Mutsus. Dice them coarsely for a conventional pie, more finely for a "pocket pie"
• 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 Tbsp. Grand Marnier
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp. corn starch

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour the apple juice into a heavy-bottomed pot. As you peel and dice the apples, throw them right into the juice and toss them to coat to prevent browning. Add the sugars, spices, etc. and stir.
   
2. Bring everything to a boil, stirring early on to make sure everything is dissolved. Once boiling, cover and simmer 10 minutes to soften the apples.
   
3. Uncover. Now's a good time to taste the mixture to make sure you're happy with the spices, sweetness, etc. Simmer uncovered 10 more minutes to reduce the liquid.
4. Make a slurry. Take 2 Tbsp. of liquid from the pot and put it in a small bowl. Add the corn starch and stir well to make the slurry. Stir the slurry into pot.
5. Cook on low until the sauce has thickened further, about 10 more minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

Finished pie filling





Finished "pocket pies"