After my applesauce success, I thought I'd give apple pie filling a try. Actually, I had never thought of or even heard of freezing apple pie filling, but a friend of mine on Facebook mentioned last week that she had frozen 10 lbs. of apples for apple pie. My curiosity peaked, I peppered her with a few questions. I wondered if the apples would be mushy, but she says they turn out fine. Makes sense, I guess, since they sell whole apple pies in the freezer section of the grocery store, right?
I did a little research, and apparently, lots of people do it, so why shouldn't I? I didn't know why not either.
I reaped 9 bags of filling from a half bushel of apples. It took me about 2 hours to process them start to finish, with a few emergencies, lunchtime, cut thumbs, and potty breaks sprinkled in. I used my tried-and-true apple cutting and peeling method. I kept the apples in a lime water bath until I had time to bag them up after lunch.
Then I measured out 6 cups of cut apples per batch. Measuring apples is a bit like trying to measure shortening; it's not very exact. In a separate bowl, I combined 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 2 Tbsp. flour, and 1/8 tsp. nutmeg for each batch. I added this mixture in with the apples, tossed to coat, and put it all in a qt. size freezer bag. Then I scraped every last bit of the yummy apple cinnamon-y goodness out of the bottom of the bowls. What?! I'm just keeping it real here.
To make apple pie or crisp: Thaw filling in the refrigerator. Make crust or crisp topping and assemble. Sha-zam! I can't wait to try some. I'm making an apple pie for Ben for Sweetest Day. :)
So, what's your plans for your sweetie or special person on Sweetest Day? By the way, the celebration of Sweetest Day as the 3rd Saturday in October was concocted by 12 confectioners in Cleveland in 1922. It was not a direct attempt to generate business as many assume; in fact, according to the Plain Dealer, they gave away 20,000 boxes of chocolates to "newsboys, orphans, old folks, and the poor." There. How cool is that! Now go give something sweet to someone who is unable to reciprocate and be amazed at how good it feels!
2 lovely comments:
Thanks for more good apple ideas -- and the info on Sweetest Day. I never heard that before.
Those look good....we had blueberry bushes in our area growing up and my mother used to premake blueberry pies, but she would freeze them in a pie tin, then after they were frozen, take them out, wrap, and put them back in the freezer. I remember her dropping them right into the pie crust later, I just don't know if she let them thaw a little then, or baked them right away. Anyway, wonderful convenience food - the good kind.
Post a Comment