marilynpeight
This recipe for Spiced Apple Pie is a recipe my Mother-in-law (who also has Amish roots) passed along. This easy 6 ingredient apple pie filling includes apple pie spice and clear jell for a thickened filling with a nice balance of spice and sweetness. Making an apple pie with the warm spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger, is the perfect project for a rainy fall morning, plus that delightful smell of a spiced apple pie baking in the oven brings all the cozy fall feelings into the house! If you love Amish pie recipes, be sure to try out Amish pumpkin custard pie, Amish coconut cream pie, Amish style peach pie or for a delicious savory pie try Amish chicken pot pie.
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Amish Style Spiced Apple Pie (with clear jell)
Equipment
- Pie plates (linked below)
- measuring cups (linked below)
- Mixing bowl (linked below)
- Saucepan (linked below)
Ingredients
- 8 cups peeled apple slices
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice *see below for homemade apple pie spice
- 1/2 cup cook type clear jell slightly heaping for a thicker filling
- Easy Flaky Pie Crust enough for 2 9 inch pies plus top layers.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Bring the water, sugar, salt, apple pie spice and clear jell to a boil while whisking rapidly to dissolve the clear jell into the mixture. Cook and stir for several minutes until thickened and clear, then remove from heat. Gently fold in peeled apple slices.
- Divide the apple pie filling into 2, 9 inch pie plates lined with prepared pie crusts, spreading out with a spatula until evenly distributed in the crust. Top the pies with additional crusts and cut slits into the top to allow steam to escape, or top the pies with a woven lattice top (allow plenty of space between the lattice for the filling to "breathe"). Additional notes and instructions on lattice topped pie crust below.
- Tightly crimp the edges of the apple pie, then place into the preheated oven. Bake the pie at 425 for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 and bake for an additional 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden on the top and bottom. *see note below for chilling pie crusts ahead of time to prevent a soggy bottom.
- Allow to cool completely, then slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
Equipment needed for this Amish style spiced apple pie:
- Pie plates My personal preference and recommendation is to use glass pie plates. Being able to check the bottom of the pie for doneness is very helpful.
- Measuring cups Measuring cups, wet and dry, are useful for measuring out the apples, water, clear jell and sugar needed for this spiced apple pie.
- Mixing bowl I like to have a mixing bowl handy for setting the 8 cups of apple slices in while the filling is being cooked.
- Saucepan A med-large saucepan is needed to cook the clear jell, water, sugar and spices together to make the apple pie filling.
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Ingredients needed for this Amish Spiced Apple Pie: Apples, pie crust, apple pie spice, clear jell, water, salt and sugar.
Pie crust:
My preference is to make a batch of Easy Flaky Pie Crust (another recipe passed on from my Mother-in-law), and then freeze any extra crusts for a later date. To freeze the pie crusts simply place them into pie plates, then layer them with parchment paper before stacking additional pie plates on top. Keep in an airtight bag or container and freeze for up to 2-3 months.
To keep the pie crust from being soggy on the bottom:
To prevent a soggy bottom on a fruit pie, it works well to chill the pie crust for 30 minutes in the refrigerator before adding the filling. Chilling the pie crust solidifies the fats in the pie crust and prevents them from heating up as fast in the oven, causing a weaker pie crust structure.
Apple Pie Spice:
You can use store bought apple pie spice for this apple pie recipe, or you can make a blend of homemade apple pie spice like I did. I used the recipe for Apple pie spice from Bake It With Love and omitted the cardamom, which I didn’t have on hand. For an even simpler recipe, you can try the recipe for Apple Pie Spice from The Blond Cook.
Step 1: Bring the water, sugar, salt, apple pie spice (can be added to taste) and clear jell to a boil while whisking rapidly to dissolve the clear jell into the mixture. Cook and stir for several minutes until thickened and clear, then remove from heat.
Help?! My pie filling looks too thin!
If the pie filling looks too thin, you can add a slurry of additional clear jell and water, just like you would add a slurry of cornstarch or flour and water to gravy. I like to add just a little additional clear jell slurry (with 1/2-1 teaspoon of clear jell) at a time until the pie filling has thickened to preference. Clear jell continues to thicken a little in the oven unlike flour or cornstarch, which thin out when heated. The clear jell will not thicken significantly though, so be sure the filling is as thick as you need it to be before adding the apples.
Step 1 continued: Fold in the peeled apples and gently mix until well combined with the filling.
Which apples are best to use for apple pie?
Honestly, I’m a bit of a bad apple (pun intended) when it comes to using the best apples for apple pie. If I have apples on my counter that need to be used up I’ll use them because, pie is pie right?! However, if you want to ensure you have the best apple pie possible, say for a family gathering, special event or just because you like to be more precise, then I would say go for Granny smith, Golden delicious or Jonagold apples. To see a more extensive list of the best apples for apple pie, you can read this blog post: A Guide to the Best Apples for Apple Pie by Serious Eats.
Step 2: Divide the apple pie filling into 2, 9 inch pie plates lined with prepared pie crusts, spreading out with a spatula until evenly distributed in the crust. Top the pies with additional crusts and cut slits into the top to allow steam to escape, or top the pies with a woven lattice top (allow plenty of space between the lattice for the filling to “breathe”).
Instructions for lattice tops:
Roll out two large circular pie crusts, the size of a 9 inch pie or even bigger to ensure you have plenty of length. Cut the crusts into strips half an inch to an inch across, depending on how many strips you prefer on top of your pies. Place 5-6 strips on the top side of the pies and gently fold them back. Place another 5-6 strips on the side of the pie crust and gently weave each strip through the top strips, doing one section at a time until the pie crusts are evenly covered in woven strips of dough. This method takes some practice and gentle handling, but is fun to do. If you prefer a simpler route for the top crust, you can also use small cookie cutters, with a shape of your choice, and cut shapes into the top crust of the pies. Remove the extra dough to allow plenty of room for the pies to breath (allowing steam to escape so that the pie filling doesn’t overflow out of the edges or onto the top).
Step 3-4: Tightly crimp the edges of the apple pie, then place into the preheated oven. Bake the pie at 425 for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 and bake for an additional 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden on the top and bottom. *see note below for chilling pie crusts ahead of time to prevent a soggy bottom. Allow to cool before cutting, then serve and enjoy!
Storage for this spiced apple pie:
This spiced apple pie can be kept at room temperature for several days or refrigerated for up to 5 days. I prefer not to freeze fruit pies with clear jell, because the cook type clear jell does not hold up well to freezing.
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