Apple Pie in a Jar Re-Post

I posted about this recipe back in 2009 when I made it for the first time. I saw it on Sandy's blog, Reluctant Entertainer and immediately knew I had to try it. It seemed like such a cool idea and I had no clue that it was even possible. My internet was down at the time of my original posting and I was trying to quickly put up the post while I was elsewhere with internet connection, so it wasn't very detailed. In fact, my grammar was terrible that day. Yikes.

Anyways, this is an easy recipe and it results in a really great tasting Pie Filling. It can be used for a pie or for an Apple crisp. The apples stay nice and crisp until you're ready to bake so you don't get a mushy filling. The recipe calls for 7 quarts but I halved it today and only made 4. In my original post I did do 7 quarts.

If canning is new to you, head over to Sandy's page and follow her more detailed instructions (getting jars ready, etc..)

Get your water bath canner ready to go with hot water. Bring to a slow boil. 

You will need to core, peel and slice 7 quarts of apples. Each jar held almost  3 apples depending on the size. 

Pack jars tightly with apples. As I filled the jars with the apples, I would tap it on the counter to settle them in and at other times would apply light pressure to pack it further. I didn't want them to break..don't worry about them browning. When you pour the hot liquid in, it takes care of that. 

In a large saucepan combine:

10 cups water
4 1/2 c. white sugar
1 c. cornstarch
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. lemon juice

Place on high heat and bring to a boil stirring frequently until thick and bubbly. This doesn't take long.

Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Slowly pour the syrup over the apples. Completely fill the jars. Run a knife around the edges to get rid of any air bubbles. Then add more syrup till jar is full. Screw lids on jars.

Lower jars in to canner and make sure water covers the lids by 2". Mine were barely covered and I was a bit nervous, but it worked. Bring water to a full boil and cover. Process for 30 minutes. 

Remove from canner and wait for lids to "pop". They will usually do this as they cool. One of mine wasn't sealing so I used one of Sandy's other tips and turned the jar upside down for a little bit. Eventually it sealed.

With Joy UNquenchable,