Ingredients:

5 lbs of Apples (We like a mix of granny smith, honey crisp, and fuji or gala)

4 T Butter

1 c Granulated Sugar

1/2 c Honey

1 c Apple Cider

1/4 c Corn Starch

1 T Cinnamon

1 t Ginger

Pinch of Nutmeg, Clove, and Salt

As we get further into pie season leading up to THE pie holiday (Thanksgiving) we wanted to share our favorite method for making fruit fillings. The trick is to cook in two parts. The first part is to cook down half your amount of fruit with your secondary flavor. This could be caramel (like you will see below), juice, citrus, wine, whatever flavor profile you are in the mood for. Once you have that cooked to the point that it resembles a puree, you thicken with a starch slurry. This will keep the fruit nice and neat when slicing later. The second part is to add back your other half amount of fruit just to warm and incorporate. This is the secret that will give any fruit filling that freshness that sometimes can get lost in a fully cooked filling. It is the difference between a wet mess of compote and dough and a showstopper. We use this method for apple, blueberry, cherry, even strawberry rhubarb (the rhubarb would be the fully cooked part of the recipe). Follow the method, you will have delicious filling every time.

Part One: Make a caramel by melting butter, adding in sugar and honey to melt, and cooking until dark caramel color is reached. (Bonus secret here is using honey in your caramel. The honey is an invert sugar which prevents crystallization. A tasty failsafe that will make caramel making much less daunting). Add in half your amount of apples, spices, and apple cider reserving a quarter cup for later. Cook this until all the fruit is broken down and it is a compote. Taste at this point for seasoning, yes we mean salt and spices. This is your chance to make it taste how you want and a pinch of salt will enhance the other flavors and cut down on the sweetness. Make a slurry using the cornstarch and reserved apple cider, stir into compote and bring to a simmer to thicken.

Part Two: Add in the remaining half of apples and stir to combine. Cook just long enough that apples are warm and tender remembering that they will continue to cook in the pie while it is baking.

That’s it! Crazy delicious, crazy simple. The filling can be canned, frozen, or stored in the fridge for up to a week if you are on a baking binge. Stay tuned for our pie dough recipe and other fruit filled masterpieces.

Cheers!