Papersack Apple Pie is an apple pie that is cooked in a brown paper bag. Just think of all the steam that baked apples make inside a sealed paper bag. Now you know the secret of this great pie.
Papersack Apple Pie is an unbaked/blind pie crust piled high with sliced apples tossed in sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Then sprinkle the butter crumb topping on top of the apples and bake in a paper bag for an hour and 45 minutes.
My sister-in-law made this pie for each of her neighbors one year for Christmas. She was the hit of the neighborhood.
How to make Apple Crumb Pie
1. Make your favorite crust. If you do not have a favorite pie crust recipe, I have one below. One of the keys to making good pie crust is chilling the pie dough.
Once all the ingredients are mixed together, separate the dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a ball and then flatten into a disc. Put each disc into a plastic bag and leave in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
2. Slice 7-8 big Granny Smith apples. I use an apple slicer used for canning. It makes everything go faster. You can get one here. When the apples come off the peeler/corer, I like to take the whole apple in my hand and slice it into fourths. You can do the same thing if you slice them on a cutting board.
3. Mix the cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in a bowl.
4. Put the apples in a large bowl and pour the sugar and spice mixture over the top. Toss everything together. I like using my hands to toss everything together. This way I know each apple piece has some sugar and spice on it and there is nothing left in the bottom of the bowl.
5. Pour the apple and spice mixture into pie crust. Use your hands to arrange the apples so there are no sharp edges sticking out of the top of the pie. I often pick all the apple on the top layer and rearrange them so they lay down to make a pretty top of the pie.
6. Grate the butter on a box grater and then put the pieces into a bowl. Add the sugar, and flour to the grated butter in a small bowl and mix.
7. Sprinkle the butter, flour and sugar mixture on top of the apples.
8. Place pie in a paper bag and staple the edges. Are you freaked out yet? Trust me! I know you are thinking, "This paper bag is going to go up in flames in my oven! " I promise! The fat in the crumb topping drips down and covers the bottom of the bag and prevents it from catching fire in your oven. It really works! I have been making this pie for 27 years for Thanksgiving and it has never caught on fire.
Make it a science experiment! Give it a try, then take a picture and post it to my Instagram with your testimonial. I want to share it with my followers!
Carefully place the paper bag/pie on the bottom rack in your oven. No peeking! The steam created inside the bag bakes the apples to a soft, flavorful perfection.
9. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave the pie in the paper bag until it cools completely. I usually bake my pie the night before and let it sit on the counter over night.
10. Tear the paper bag off and serve with ice cream, whipped cream or plain.
Let me know on Instagram or Pinterest if you make this. Post a picture and then tag me @dinasdiner. I want to know how it turns out.
Apple Crumb Pie
1 unbaked pie crust (Recipe Below)
5 c. granny smith apples
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Crumb Topping:
3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
Preheat oven to 350°
1. Get your pie crust ready.
2. Slice apples.
3. Mix sugar and spices.
4. Toss apples with sugar and spice mixture.
5. Place apples in pie crust.
6. Grate butter and mix with sugar and flour.
7. Sprinkle over apples.
8. Place pie in a large paper bag and staple/paper clip the edges of the bag.
9. Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Pie Crust
1 Cup Butter
2 1/2 Cups Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
4-5 Tbsp. Ice Cold Water
1. Grate the butter on a cheese grater. It makes the most perfect small pieces for a pie crust.
2. Add the flour and salt to a bowl. Add the butter shavings. Stir to make sure every piece of butter is coated with flour.
3. Get a glass and put ice in it and fill it with water. Add one tablespoon at a time to the butter/flour mixture. Use a large wooden spoon to stir. Keep adding tablespoons of water until the mixture starts to hold its shape. Use your hands to push the dough together to make a ball of dough. Keep pushing the dough together until all the small pieces of flour have been incorporated and the dough is smooth.
4. Divide the dough and make two small discs. Mold them into a circle about a half inch thick. Put these in a plastic bag and put them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. You will not believe how easy it is to roll out the dough if you do this step. Believe me, it makes a huge difference! You will only need one disc for tomato pie.
5. Flour the surface you are going to use to roll out the dough. Lay out the disc of dough and use a rolling pin to flatten. It will need some pressure at first, but keep going until the dough is about 12 inches in diameter. Get a pie dish and place the dough in it.
6. Use your fingers to push the dough into the plate and then cut off the edges leaving a one inch edge around the outside of the pie plate.
7. Use your fingers to roll this edge underneath until it meets the edge of the pie plate. Place two fingers on the edge of the dough and use the thumb from your other hand to push up from underneath. Keep doing this around the dish until all the edges have been fluted.