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This is the most incredible pie. Cooking it in the brown paper bag makes the filling soft and juicy and the top crunchy. I have made this recipe for over 25 years and everyone who has ever eaten it can’t believe how wonderful it is! I was given this recipe by my best friend and I think she got it from her friend’s grandmother. After so many years I decided it was time to share it with the world! Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Reheats very well.
Ingredients
Bottom Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons white sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 ½ tablespoons cold water, or more as needed
Topping
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup softened butter
- ½ cup superfine sugar
- 2 12×30-inch pieces of parchment paper
Pie Filling
- 5 pounds Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
Directions
Step 1
To make the bottom crust, stir the flour and white sugar together in a bowl until well-combined. Rub the unsalted butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle with cold water, a couple of tablespoons at a time, mixing the dough together lightly with a fork until it barely holds together.
Step 2
Form the dough into a ball and roll it out to a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Gently ease the dough into an 8-inch pie dish. Cut off any excess pastry with a knife. Finish the edge of the crust by gently pressing the tines of a fork into the dough all the way around the edge of the pie dish. Set the crust aside.
Step 3
To make the pie filling, stir the apples, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and lemon juice together in a large bowl; set aside.
Step 4
To make the topping, mix 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of softened butter, and the superfine sugar together in a bowl until you have a sticky, moist dough.
Step 5
To assemble the pie, cover the bottom of the pie crust with a light, even layer of graham cracker crumbs. Fill the pie with the apple mixture, piling it up in a mound shape. Pinch off pieces of the topping mixture, flatten them a little with your fingers, and dot them at random all over the top of the filling, covering as much of the filling as possible.
Step 6
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Step 7
Tear off 2 30-inch-long pieces of parchment paper and place them in a cross shape on a work surface. Place the filled pie in the center of the two pieces of parchment, bring the paper ends up over the pie and fold and staple the parchment paper over the pie to completely enclose and seal in the pie. The paper should not touch the top or sides of the pie. Place the parchment-wrapped pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips.
Step 8
Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Don't peek inside the parchment paper while baking. Remove from the oven, carefully tear the parchment paper away from the pie, and let cool; serve warm. Store leftovers in refrigerator.
Cook’s Note
Original Baking Directions:Place pie in a large brown supermarket bag on its side, not standing up, making sure the bag does not touch the top or sides of the pie. Carefully fold over the opening of the bag and staple it closed to seal the pie in. Bake at 425 for one hour. It will smell like the bag is burning in the first 30 minutes of cooking, but then you can smell the pie cooking so don't worry! My oven runs very hot so I cook this at 400 for one hour.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 10 | |
| Calories 405 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat16g | 21% |
| Saturated Fat11g | 54% |
| Cholesterol42mg | 14% |
| Sodium78mg | 3% |
| Total Carbohydrate67g | 24% |
| Dietary Fiber5g | 18% |
| Total Sugars45g | |
| Protein3g | |
| Vitamin C13mg | 64% |
| Calcium30mg | 2% |
| Iron2mg | 9% |
| Potassium297mg | 6% |
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient.If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.
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source by allrecipe
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I’ve made this kind of pie so many times and have always stapled my paper grocery bag together. It makes the most delicious apple pie and there is NEVER any problem with the staples being near the food.
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This is my husband’s favorite pie. I have been making it for at least thirty years. It is always delicious, and I always bake it in a brown (grocery) bag. It will smell like paper toasting for a little while, but it is fine! You can close it with a couple of large paper clips, that’s what I use.
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This is still the best apple pie ever. We have never had any problems with cooking it in a brown paper bag for the last 25 years.
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THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST APPLE PIE RECIPE YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE CRUST BURNING.VERY QUICK & EASY ! THANKS
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Given a 5 star for flavour. We don’t like apples that stay crisp when cooked, so I won’t make it with Granny Smith’s again, but the flavour was really good. Mother in law LOVED it said it reminded her of the “BIG APPLE” in Colborne, Ontario’s pie, which she loves! She nicknamed it sweet and sour pie! Thanks for sharing!
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Oh – my – gosh, Mamadellie!! I have made three different apple pies over the weekend (all from the website) and I must say, yours gets five stars! The ladies at church voted on your pie the most often and it was the first to go! Congrats, and thank you for this recipe, which I have been looking for for the last ten years because when my grandmammy died, her recipes died with her…and this was one of them. Thank you!!
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I didn’t put the bag on it…It turned out great…
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This made an excellent pie. I didn’t cook it in parchment paper or a brown paper bag, but it still came out well.
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This Apple Pie is amazing. . and the paper bag really works!! I made several of these last year with the apples from our apple trees. The neighbors enjoyed the pie as much as we did!!!
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I have made this pie on many occassions. I use a large Reynolds Turkey roasting bag to put my pie in. I don’t have to worry about fire and I close the bag using the twisty tie. The bag is not to touch the top of teh pie.
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An interesting baking method, which I’ll use again. Average flavor. Crumb topping was not at all crumbly.
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I’m glad I found this recipe! I go to a local farmer’s stand and they are famous for the apple pie baked in a brown paper bag which is quite costly! I always have to cook my apples down after slicing them because my boyfriend doesn’t like the texture of apples and wants them soft instead of crunchy and it still turns out great!
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I used my my Mom’s recipe, but baked it in the brown bag. I will never go back to baking it without! It bakes perfectly.
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Omgee! I’m 30 something years old & I’ve never made a pie from scratch!! It’s always been store bought. I was forsure thinking I’d mess this up, but I was super surprised to see how non confusing this was!! It came out great!! I was soo happy! And my friends loved it & so did my husband!! I’ll definitely make this again! Thanks Mamadellie!
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I use another recipe I have had for years but you can no longer use paper bags as they are now recycled and the bag will burn. So I am going to try parchment paper as I think that is what makes the pie so good in covering it up. This is a very good recipe.
Mary
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Oh heaven in my mouth! It is more time consuming to make because of the two different crusts and the apple coring process, but it is so worth it. The two different crusts are just perfect. I have had apple pies with crusts that are too salty and it just ruined the pie for me. To make my life a little easier, I chill the topping (top crust) for 10 minutes just prior to step #5. Since it has a lot of butter, it tends to soften in my fingers rather quickly, so cooling it makes the pinching process less messy. I don’t know if the bag is totally necessary because I’ve made it successfully both with and without it. But there is an element fun and surprise making it inside the paper bag. Thank you, Mamadellie. This apple pie is awesome!
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Amazing Pie! Omitted the ginger and doubled the crust, flattened it out in my hands and formed a soft “crust” all over the top of the pie rather than “dot them randomly”. The top is supposed to be a crust, not a cobbler style topping. It’s my family’s favorite part so I personally decided not to skimp. The graham crackers are of pure genius! Never thought of it before. I also used a plain brown grocery bag instead of parchment paper. Folded it over under the pie plate. Smelled a little of burning paper in the beginning but then transformed into the usual “drool until time to eat smell” we all know so well. Yes, my bag was recycled – no problems using them ever in my oven.
Can’t wait for Thanksgiving to show this pie off to family and friends. Thanks! Great Recipe -
This is a great recipe, but proportions are wrong for the apples for sure. I cooked it with the 5 pounds, and it took FOREVER to cook, and apples still have a bit of crisp to them. The top layer is great tho. 🙂 Worth tinkering with the recipe.
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Excellent recipe! The top crust is what makes this taste like the one from The Elegant Farmer in WI. I followed other suggestions and doubled the top crust recipe. Other than that followed it to the letter and it tasted superb! Next time I will try baking the bottom crust a bit first before filling so it isn’t so mushy.
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I changed the recipe a bit, but the outcome was delicious. I used 3 granny smith apples and 3 golden delicious apples. I used a store bought refrigerated crust and didn’t use graham cracker crumbs as I didn’t have any. I followed the rest of the recipe as written. My family especially enjoyed the carmelized, lightly crisp top. I served it not too long after it came out of the oven as we like our pies warm. I will definitely make this pie again.
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This is our favorite apple pie. I make bottom from scratch, I use store bought, I do use brown paper bag with paper clips. No problem. I have one in the oven now. I have a peeler and then I used my microplane slicer and went around the core. Nice thin slices and easy peasy.
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Super easy, and fun to make. It did make an awful burning smell at first, and I had to keep telling my family not to worry. It’s super fun to tear open the bag and see this beautiful creation when it’s done baking. I went an hour at 400 degrees, and that was just perfect. Thank you!
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This pie is just delicious! I have made many apple pies as we have friends with trees that are unsprayed yet still bear too many for their own use. But this is the best I’ve baked. I used cinnamon grahams 2 full double crackers crushed up under the fruit, on top of the crust. I also sprinkled about a half teaspoon of vanilla before adding the topping. I used parchment paper because I didn’t have a brown bag, but I will stock up now. The topping was soft and buttery with just enough crunch. Much better than the apple crumb pie I usually bake.
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Fantastic! Just make sure to keep most of the topping crumbled. I flattened to much of it. This was the best pie yet 🙂
Parchment paper worked well -
I loved the idea of a “lazy-man’s” top crust! It was very very messy, an lots got wasted on my hands. And I loved the idea of a paper-bag oven, but using the safer parchment paper made this old-school “waste-not, want-not” recipe quite costly. Regardless, it worked! I made two pies with this recipe, using one frozen GF bottom crust and one Tenderflake one. I wrapped them separately, and put each on their own cookie sheet – thank goodness for that! They boiled inside that parchment after an hour and then I removed the parchment and threw them back in the same oven for another 10 minutes to brown them up. Then we had to wait quite some time for them to cool before we were able to scoop out a decently solid piece. But, OMG, so so delish. Used frozen bottom crusts, and everything else was identical. Cannot keep leftovers, because there aren’t any!!
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This pie was delicious I think next time I’ll add a little bit less sugar to the topping but other than that it was absolutely fantastic!
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This pie came out beautiful and very delicious! I used a 3 pound bag of Cortlands and it was perfect. I didn’t have any graham crackers so I used gingersnaps instead and left out the ginger spice. Could not find superfine sugar at my small grocery store, so substituted confectioners sugar and it came out fine. Here’s a hint: butter your fingers when working with the top filling and don’t worry if it looks ugly going into the oven. It will bake into a nice dome. Keeping this recipe!
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I made this pie exactly to the recipe but baked it in a paper bag. It was amazing!
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Went well, I love the paper bag method as its so easy and hands off.
Aldi has full size paper bags for 10?ea. I got mine from Kroger, but they were half the size. For this those bags are fine, for a turkey pay for full size paper bag. -
Have made this in a brown paper bag for years and when I baked it for my late partner he loved it. so,I made it often.
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