Description
Grandma’s easy brown bag apple pie recipe promises a nostalgic journey through classic American baking traditions. Warm cinnamon and tender apples nestle inside a perfectly crisp crust, delivering comfort with each delightful slice you’ll savor.
Ingredients
Scale
- 6 cups (about 1.4 L) apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp)
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) brown sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg (optional)
- 2 ½ cups (310 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter (cold, cubed)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 6–8 tbsps ice water
- ½ cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) unsalted butter (cold, cubed)
Instructions
- Dough Preparation: Whisk flour, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Integrate cold, diced butter using fingertips until the mixture forms a coarse, crumbly texture.
- Dough Chilling: Add icy water to bind the dough, divide into two disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Apple Filling: Slice apples and toss with sugars, flour, spices, and citrus juice, ensuring thorough and even coating of the fruit.
- Crust Assembly: Roll out one dough disk on a floured surface to a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch pie dish, trimming excess edges with precision.
- Filling and Topping: Spread seasoned apples evenly across the crust. Create a crumble by blending flour, sugar, and chilled butter cubes, then sprinkle generously over the apple layer.
- Baking Technique: Encase the entire pie in a large brown paper bag, sealing with staples and placing on a baking sheet to catch potential drips.
- Oven Transformation: Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Bake the bagged pie for approximately one hour, allowing flavors to develop and apples to soften completely.
- Cooling and Serving: Remove pie from its paper cocoon and let rest for 30 minutes, enabling the filling to set and flavors to meld before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Choose Cold Butter: Use very cold, cubed butter for the most flaky, tender pie crust that creates delicate, layered textures.
- Prevent Apple Browning: Toss sliced apples with lemon juice immediately after cutting to maintain fresh color and prevent oxidation.
- Control Moisture Levels: Pat apple slices dry before mixing with spices to avoid creating excess liquid that could make the bottom crust soggy.
- Adjust Spice Intensity: Experiment with spice ratios like cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger based on personal taste preferences without overwhelming the apple’s natural flavor.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 22 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 47 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg