The Best Brown Bag Apple Pie

Have you ever heard of a brown bag apple pie? Me either - until I met my husband, then boyfriend. Then I heard about it all the freaking time, especially in the fall which happens to surround his his birthday lol! You know the whole - my birthday is coming up, it sure would be nice to have some BBAP hint hint lol. He loves pie - like a lot - and since I love to bake and wanted to impress the heck out of him - I went on a quest to find out what it was and make him the very best BBAP he'd ever tasted. And guess what - I did it! I don't know that I've ever seen such joy on a persons face while eating as I did when he ate my version of BBAP :-)

This pie is 100% homemade. None of that store bought pie crust stuff. This pie takes at least 2 days to make as the crust needs to sit in the fridge overnight. The crust is very special and is extremely important in what makes it the best. It's kind of like a cross between a normal pie crust and a sugar cookie. You may even want to eat this in layers - the crust is THAT good! I confess that I have done a store bought crust for the bottom and just made the top crust really thick - more of a cookie crust feel. I did have to bake it longer because of the thicker crust though - it took a while to brown.

Also, this is meant to be a sweeter tasting apple pie than you may be used to. If you prefer a more tart pie - use Granny Smith apples. My man likes it somewhat sweet which is why I use Red IDA apples, they are sweet but tart at the same time - not to be confused with Red Delicious apples which are not tart at all, that would make it much too sweet, in my opinion.

I used an old Outback Steakhouse bag lol

The Best Brown Bag Apple Pie

Crust (makes both top and bottom layers):
2 cup Cake flour
1/2 cup Sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup Unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1/3 cup Ice water

Filling:
5-10  Sweet Tart Apples like Red IDA Apples
1/2 cup Sugar
2 Tbsp Small Tapioca Pearls
1 tsp Fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp Ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Ground nutmeg
1 1/2 Tbsp Unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 Large brown paper bag

Crust Instructions: 

Day 1:
In a food processor combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and pulse until pea-sized pieces appear. Add the water and pulse briefly—it will still look crumbly.

Transfer the crumbs to 2 pieces of parchment paper or foil and form into 2 disks. Wrap the discs with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2:
On a work surface lightly dusted with flour, roll out 1 disk to a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Keep rolling until the circle is at least 2 inches larger than your pan. I find that rolling out the dough is easier with a heated rolling pin (I have a really old Tupperware one that I fill with hot water). Line the pie pan with the dough, letting the edge hang over a bit.

Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Make sure whatever rack you use leaves space all around the bag - lower your rack if the bag touches the top. The last thing you want is an oven fire!

Roll the second disk, place it on a sheet pan and chill it until you're ready to build your pie.

Pie Filling Instructions: 

Cut your apples into slices. In a medium bowl, toss the apple slices, sugar, tapioca, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg together. Transfer to the pie shell and dot with the butter.

Brush the overhanging edges of the dough with water. Carefully cover with the rolled-out top crust and pinch the edges together, turning them under all around to make a thick edge. To decorate the rim, press it all around with the back of a fork, or just pinch it to seal. With scissors, cut a few V-vents in the center.

Slide the pie into the brown paper bag and fold the top down. Staple bag shut and place it on a sheet pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

Remove the pie from the oven and cut a large circle in the top of the bag. Return to the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Let the pie cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Served hot with vanilla ice cream - YUMMMM

I really do love this pie - as does my husband. I hope you do too!