Apple Pie Filling

I'm making an apple strudel this week, and I've always just used canned apple pie filling. The apple crisp was so easy to make, I was inspired to make my own strudel filling. It turned out really well. I'll let you know how the strudel turns out, and get a photo.

I added some cinnamon and sugar to the leftover filling, warmed it up, and it was really good, better than the cinnamon apple side dish you get at restaurants.

Find the latest version here.
Here's how I made the filling:

Apple Pie Filling Recipe

5 Tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 cup lt brown sugar
8 apples, various kinds*
juice of 1 lemon
3 Tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix flour and brown sugar in a small bowl, and set aside.

Juice the lemon in a small bowl.

Peel and slice apples. A spiral peeler/slicer works well; cut rings into thirds. Put sliced apples into a large bowl, sprinkling with lemon juice and stirring as you go, to reduce browning.

Stir in remaining lemon juice, and all of the syrup. Sprinkle flour and sugar mixture on top, and stir until evenly coated. Spread apple mixture into a 9 x 11 glass casserole, packing down lightly.

Bake for 45 min at 350°, remove from oven, and stir. Cover snugly with aluminum foil, poke 3 - 4 holes in the foil, and bake an additional 15 min. Apples are done when the juices are bubbly and thickened. Allow to cool, covered, for another 15 - 30 minutes, then uncover and stir.

*Some good eating apples are not as good for baking. I used 2 Granny Smith, 2 McIntosh, 2 Golden Delicious, and 2 Jon-A-Gold. Next time I'm going to try some Rome apples.

Notes:
I bought my apples too far in advance, and some of them were a little soft. They tasted fine, but were much harder to peel.

I may try baking them with the foil on for the whole time next time. I put it on when I discovered that the apples were really dry on top. On the other hand, that may have helped them thicken.

I put the sugar on last, then immediately to the oven, so they wouldn't juice up too much before baking.

These taste better than the baked apples I've had at some "Roadhouse" type restaurants. To eat straight, I might add a little more sugar and a touch of cinnamon. I left them plain because the strudel calls for cinnamon anyway.