Brown Bag Apple Pie

A freshly baked pie with a crumbly topping sits on a woven mat. Nearby are a spoon, fork, an acorn squash, and a cup of ice cream with chocolate swirls on a wooden table. A wooden lid and a white cloth are in the background, all bathed in sunlight.

5 from 1 vote

My grandma’s brown bag apple pie is the best apple pie I’ve ever had! It’s made with a homemade crust, filled with Granny Smith apples spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, and topped with a streusel.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Brown Bag Apple Pie

Servings: servings

Equipment

Pie dish
Stand mixer or pastry cutter

Ingredients

Bottom Crust

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces
2 ½ tablespoons cold water or more as needed

Filling

5 pounds Granny Smith apples peeled and sliced
½ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground ginger
2 tablespoons graham crackers

Topping

½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup softened butter
½ cup superfine sugar or granulated sugar

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Bottom Crust

Stir the flour and white sugar together using a stand mixer or pastry cutter. Add the butter and mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
If I roll the dough, I add water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms. If not, don’t add the water–pour the flour/butter mixture into the bottom of the pie dish and press it along the bottom and up the sides.
If rolling the dough, form the dough into a ball and roll it out to a circle about ⅛-inch thick. Gently ease the dough into an 8-inch pie dish.

Filling

Stir the apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a large bowl.

Topping

Mix ½ cup of flour, ½ cup of softened butter, and ½ cup of superfine sugar with your hands until it clumps together.

Pie

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. Add the top of the crumb pie filling.
Put the pie in the brown bag and close the end, making sure the pie does not touch the tops or sides. Bake at 425℉ oven for 1 hour. Don’t peek inside the brown bag while baking.
Remove from the oven and carefully cut open the bag. Top with bourbon whipped cream or cinnamon ice cream!

Nutrition