APPLE PIE FILLING

APPLE PIE FILLING--Lynne Snyder

4 cups sugar
1 cup corn starch
1 Tbs. cinnamon*
1 tsp. nutmeg*
1 tsp. salt
10 cups water
3 Tbs. lemon juice

*more if desired

Peel and slice Golden Delicious apples. Put them in cold water with some salt added to keep the apples from browning.

Mix sugar, corn starch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt well, then add
water and lemon juice. Cook until thickened. Fill quart jars half
full. Drain apples well. Fill jar with apples, pressing down to cover with syrup. Do not fill them beyond the neck of the jar. Put on lids; process for 50 minutes. Makes 7 quarts.

I have never once made an apple pie with this and I guess I have made hundreds of quarts of this through the years. We heat it and serve as a side dish with pork or any dinner that needs a little some ting extra.

Caution--if using a steam canner. Do NOT keep the temperature on high the whole time like I did with my first couple of batches this year. The pie filling will boil over, especially if you remove the lid as soon as the time is up. The filling with flow out of the bottles like a volcano and then your jars will not seal. I finally--after two disastrous batches--kept the steam escaping the steam holes at about six inches. When the time was up I removed the steamer from the heat and let it cool for at about ten minutes. Then, because I'm not full of faith, I turned the jars upside down. They all sealed this way.

If you have one of these your job will be much easier.

APPLE OATMEAL CRISP

I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com. It is good, has streusel on the bottom and the top. Serve with ice cream.

Note: I made it with the suggested amount of sugar--put over apples--and it was really sweet, too sweet. The crust and topping have plenty of sugar and that part is really good. Cut the sugar--mixed with the cinnamon--down as suggested. You could maybe even cut that part of the sugar out.

APPLE OATMEAL CRISP

9x13 pan size

1½ cups brown sugar
1½ cups rolled oats
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup butter, melted
4½ cups apples - peeled, cored and chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries, optional
½ cup white sugar (this was in the original recipe but it is a lot of sugar, especially if you use the cranberries--I would use only a fourth of a cup next time or maybe only 2 Tbs.)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 Tbs. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with vegetable spray.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, oats, flour and butter. Mix until crumbly. Place half of crumb mixture in pan. Spread the apples and cranberries (if using) evenly over crumb mixture. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Add 1 Tbs. water to remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle on top of apples.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve warm with ice cream.

APPLE OATMEAL CRISP

8 or 9 inch square pan size

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 cups apples - peeled, cored and chopped
5 Tbs. white sugar (See above--probably too much sugar. If using any at all cut it down to 2 Tbs. or less)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tsp. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 inch square pan with vegetable spray.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, oats, flour and butter. Mix until crumbly. Place half of crumb mixture in pan. Spread the apples--and cranberries, if using--evenly over crumb mixture. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Add 2 tsp. water to remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle on top of apples. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve warm with ice cream.