McIntosh Apple Pie Filling Recipe
Whether you’ve got McIntosh apples to use up or if you’re just looking for the best apple pie you’ve ever tasted, you’ve found a solution here! This recipe for McIntosh apple pie filling is just the right amount of sweet, with perfectly tender-crisp baked apples (if you’ve ever had a great pie, you know it’s not really a contradiction!).
All you’ll need is a few McIntosh apples, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Once you’ve tried it, you may find other great baked goods that could use this filling, too!
The Perfect Pie’s Story
We have a special visitor here on the farm this week – my grandmother! Nana, as I call her, visits from Arizona whenever she gets the chance. With this sudden cold spell, it’s been a bit of an adjustment for her after 95° days… especially since our space heater quit in the middle of the night. She’s adding plenty of layers and doing her best, though!
When she visits, my mom makes our special McIntosh apple pie recipe. It’s Nana’s favorite dish, and it’s one of ours as well! This recipe is the gold standard for apple pies – every other apple pie I’ve tried, be it homemade, restaurant, or… store-bought (wow, I gagged just writing that), falls short.
Just like the pie crust, this recipe was handed down from my mom’s great-aunt. Though she passed away when my mom was a baby, her legacy lives on through our family baking. She was very special to my Grandma growing up, and she sure had a lot of great recipes!
McIntosh Apple Pie Tips
The trick is to make the pie with the Perfect Pie Crust recipe. The buttery crust pairs perfectly with the sweet, cinnamon-sugar coated apples.
Another important part is using McIntosh apples. While you can probably use pretty much any reasonably sweet, tender red apple, my mom says McIntosh is the best. And why mess with perfection?
Once you’re done mixing the filling, make sure you eat the last remnants left in the bowl once you pour it out. Use a spoon, lick it out, do whatever you have to do… but don’t waste the cinnamon sugary goodness!
McIntosh Apple Pie
Ingredients
- 6 cups peeled and sliced McIntosh apples
- 1 cup sugar (or more, depending on tartness of apples and desired sweetness)
- 2 tbsps. cornstarch
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- Make a double crust recipe of Perfect Pie Crust. Roll out one crust and line a 9" pie plate.
- Mix the apples, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and cinnamon altogether in a large bowl. Add filling to crust-lined plate.
- Add top crust, roll up edges, and poke with a fork.
- Bake at 400° for 40-45 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly golden.
- Let cool and enjoy!
MaryLynn says
Is there a substitute for lemon juice?
Here in the Catskills says
Hi MaryLynn,
You could try using orange juice instead, though we haven’t ever tried it.
Nana says
I Nana Can Attest to this delicious recipe I will only eat an apple pie now when I see my beautiful daughter-In-Law and she makes one for me! I don’t understand it but even following this recipe it never comes out the way it tastes when she makes it must be the love she puts in it when she is making and baking the pie.