Canned Apple Pie Filling!

Once again, it's fall and that mean a LOT of apples!  and what to do with all those apples you ask?  well there are so many choices, but, being new to the home canning world, I decided to can apple pie filling!  It was a little bit of an experience but I ended up doing 4 batches, learning more along the way.
First, you need a ton of apples and a ton of patience to peel and core them all.  perhaps I should have invested in one of those nifty apple peelers but I didn't.....
So.....it's easy if you have the time and equipment.  You'll need:
Enough apples to fill 7 quart jars (about 50-60) if I had to guess....i didn't count
7 quart jars
a water bath canner
lids
rings
jar puller

10 cups water
4 cups sugar
1 cup cornstartch
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinmamon

This was the recipe i found and it worked for me.  Feel free to tweek your spices and sugar to your liking.

First-you have to peel and core all those apples.  Put them in water with lemon juice to keep them looking nice while they wait to be processed.

When you're about half way through you apples, you can start your "apple pie goo" and your canning stuff.  i washed my jars and put them in the water to boil and sanatize.  meanwhile I put the goo ingredients in a large pot and slowly bring to a boil to thicken.  Caution- sprinkle and stir the cornstartch in or you get a large blob.  continue to stir every few minutes to keep it from sticking to the bottom!

Once all the apples are peeled, cored and sliced and your jars are boiled and your filling is bubby and thick you're ready to go.

After trial and error this is the best way i found to do it.  Remove one jar at a time and "layer" the apple and goo, kinda shaking it down after each addition.  i did about 6 layers per jar, trying to incorporate as many apple slices as possible since you want your pie to apple, not goo pie ;).  the first batch i just added all the apples and tried to get the filling in the nooks and crannies and i ran out of filling.  the next time i layered but didn't shake and ran out of filling.  third times a charm and it worked perfectly!  top it off with a hot lid and tight ring and put back in the water.

Repeat on all 7 jars.  Hopefully you had enough apples and filling to do them all, if not, you learn something along the way.  Boil in the hot water bath for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, either lift them straight out and place on the counter OR leave them in the pot until they cool then remove.  i learned if you tip them, even a little bit to get them out of the pot, they will spew hot apple pie filling everywhere.

place in a cool dry place for quick apple pies all year long or put a cute ribbon around the neck and give them away as presents!