Description
Nostalgic Brown Bag Apple Pie brings classic American dessert traditions to your kitchen table. Warm cinnamon and buttery crust create a comforting experience you’ll savor with pure delight.
Ingredients
Scale
- 6 cups/1.4 L apples (about 6 medium, Granny Smith or Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- ¾ cup/150 g granulated sugar
- ¼ cup/55 g brown sugar
- 2 ½ cups/310 g all-purpose flour
- 1 cup/225 g unsalted butter (cold, cubed)
- ½ cup/100 g granulated sugar (for topping)
- ½ cup/65 g all-purpose flour (for topping)
- ¼ cup/55 g unsalted butter (cold, cubed, for topping)
- 6 tbsps ice water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
- Pastry Preparation: Blend flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl, creating a uniform dry base for the pie crust.
- Butter Integration: Incorporate chilled butter into the flour mixture, using fingertips to break down fat until the texture resembles coarse, uneven crumbs.
- Dough Formation: Gradually add ice water, gently mixing until the dough coheres without becoming excessively wet, then divide into two equal portions and shape into discs.
- Dough Chilling: Wrap each dough disc in plastic film and refrigerate for 30 minutes, allowing gluten to relax and butter to firm up, ensuring a perfectly flaky crust.
- Apple Preparation: Peel, core, and slice apples into uniform wedges, tossing with cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and a touch of lemon juice to enhance their natural sweetness and prevent browning.
- Pie Assembly: Roll out one dough disc and carefully transfer to a pie dish, trimming excess edges while leaving a slight overhang for crimping.
- Filling Distribution: Arrange seasoned apple slices in the prepared crust, creating an even, slightly mounded layer that will settle during baking.
- Top Crust Application: Cover the apple filling with the second rolled-out dough disc, sealing edges by crimping and creating decorative vents to allow steam escape.
- Baking Preparation: Nestle the pie inside a brown paper bag, folding the opening to create a sealed environment that promotes even cooking and moisture retention.
- Oven Transformation: Bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 45 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350°F and continue baking until the crust turns golden and apples become tender and bubbling.
- Cooling Ritual: Remove the pie from the oven and paper bag, allowing it to rest for at least 30 minutes, which helps the filling set and intensifies the flavors.
Notes
- Maintain Cold Butter: Keep butter extremely cold and work quickly to prevent melting, which ensures a flaky, delicate pie crust texture.
- Gentle Dough Handling: Minimize hand contact with dough to prevent warming butter, using light touches and swift movements during preparation.
- Chill Before Rolling: Allow dough to rest in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, helping gluten relax and preventing shrinkage during baking.
- Use Brown Bag Technique: Place pie in brown paper bag during baking to create even heat distribution and prevent excessive browning of crust edges.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 23 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg