I know I have said it before, but Michigan apple orchards are the best!

My family used to buy apples at the orchard by the bushel basket. They’d bring them home and peel, core, and dice them all up on a Saturday. After the hard work was done, they’d turn the diced apples into what they called “stewed apples”. They would eat the stewed apples as a side dish to pork chops, top pancakes with it, or can it for apple pies at Thanksgiving.

I had never made apple pie filling on my own before, so I decided to give it a try this year. I had some leftover apple cider from my trip to the orchard, so I threw it in the mixture to see if it would increase the apple flavor. And boy, was I right! I couldn’t believe how it was to make my own homemade apple pie filling at home and you won’t either!

Apples – use an apple that will not turn mushy when cooking; I used Granny Smith and Honeycrisp

Cornstarch slurry – I used a fork to mix up equal parts apple cider and cornstarch to make the slurry to thicken the filling

Added sugars & spices – I used dark brown sugar to add depth of flavor; you could also use light brown sugar if that’s what you have on hand

The basics….

• Peel, core, and dice your apples to small bite size pieces
• Use a 13.25 in cast iron skillet to hold all of the apples in one batch
• Let the mixture cook until the apples are soft enough for a fork to easily pierce the apple
• Turn off the heat when you add the butter and vanilla
• Let mixture cool before canning

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