Easy brown bag apple pie with a crumb topping, tender apples and golden brown pie crust. The brown paper bag seals in all of the delicious flavors and no oven mess!
If you love apple pie recipes, Dutch apple pie, apple cranberry pie and apple pie cheesecake are other favorites!
Table of Contents
Brown Paper Bag Apple Pie
This brown bag apple pie was introduced to me from my friend Nicole at a Thanksgiving dinner, it comes from her grandma and is the best apple dessert that I now make every fall! The crust is crispy, the tender apple pie filling caramelized and the crumble topping golden and buttery.
Anyone can learn to make this pie recipe that is popular across the midwest, especially Wisconsin. If you are looking for a quicker homemade apple dessert, we love this apple crisp, apple crumble recipe and apple dump cake, too!
Why You’ll Love to Bake Apple Pie In A Bag
- This easy brown bag method seals in all the yummy juices and flavors.
- The filling gets caramelized and tender, while the crumble toppings gets golden.
- The pie crust doesn’t over bake and has the perfect crispy and flaky texture.
Recipe Ingredients
This apple pie consists of three major components: a crust, a filling, and a streusel topping, but uses nearly the same ingredients in each.
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Apples: The star of this dessert and rightly so. I like to use a mixture of granny smith and honey crisp to really make this pie shine.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar offers just the right amount of sweetness to balance the tart apples.
- Flour: All-purpose does its job in the crust and topping.
- Butter: This acts as a binder for the crumbly topping.
- Spice: Cinnamon and nutmeg add just the right amount of warmth to the apples.
- Milk and oil: These provide the necessary liquid to make the crust flakey.
How to Make Brown Bag Apple Pie
- Assemble crust. Make the dough for the pie crust (or use store-bought pie dough), then press the dough into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Do not roll it out.
- Apple pie filling. To make the apple pie filling, mix together the sugar, flour, nutmeg and cinnamon. You can use regular sugar or brown sugar. I like to do 1/2 and 1/2. Gently toss the mixture with the sliced apples, then let them sit for about 10 minutes. Then pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell.
- Combine crumble topping. Add flour, butter and sugar to a bowl and use your fingers (or a fork) to mix together until crumbly. Then sprinkle the mixture on top of the apple filling.
- Bake. Place the pie in a brown paper bag and staple it shut. Then bake the pie in the oven at 350°F for about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and slit the bag open with a knife. Then transfer to a cooling rack.
Baking Tips
- Don’t roll out the pie dough. Pat the dough into the bottom and sides of the dish with your fingers. If you need to smooth it out, you can use the back of a hot metal spoon to gently push down and smooth out the surface.
- Keeping the bag from burning. Since the oven is at a lower heat, the paper bag won’t burn as it cooks. When you place it on the rack, just make sure it’s not touching the heating element (or else it could burn that way). You can also place the bag on a baking sheet.
- No peeking! The beauty of the brown bag method is that it helps seal in all those delicious juices and flavors. As tempting as it can be, don’t open the bag while the pie is cooking. Let it work it’s magic!
- Serve with a drizzle of salted caramel and homemade ice cream on top.
Looking for more seasonal dessert recipes? This easy apple cake is one of our favorites as well as this pecan pie recipe and homemade cherry pie!
More Apple Dessert Recipes
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the newest recipes!
Brown Bag Apple Pie
Video
Equipment
- 1 pie dish
- 1 paper grocery bag
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup oil
- 2 Tablespoons cold milk
Filling
- ½ cup granulated sugar , or brown sugar (could also do 1/2 each)
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 cups sliced apples
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup salted butter , softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Optional toppings: Vanilla ice cream and/or Caramel sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Crust
- Make crust. In a medium bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup oil, and 2 Tablespoons milk until well combined. Pat mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Do not roll out. (To smooth it out, use the back of a hot metal spoon and gently push down to smooth evenly.)
Filling
- Apple pie filling. In another medium bowl, stir 1/2 cup sugar, 2 Tablespoons flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Toss lightly with 4 cups sliced apples. Let sit 10 minutes for sugar mixture to melt onto the apples. Pour into the unbaked pie shell.
Crumb Topping
- Combine topping. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup salted butter, and 1/2 cup sugar with your fingers or a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over pie. You’ll want to bake soon before the butter mixture softens too much.
- Bake pie. Place pie in brown paper bag and staple shut. Bake 1 1/2 hours. (If oven bakes hot, reduce to 325 degrees. No peeking.) Slit the bag open with sharp knife. Remove pie from oven and let cool completely so it thickens, about 4 hours.
- Serve. Serve the pie with vanilla ice cream and caramel on top, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
You honestly can use any type of apple when making this recipe. My favorites to use are granny smith and honey crisp because of their sweet taste and crisp texture. However there are plenty of others that would work too, such as Braeburn, Cortland, Golden Delicious, or Jonathan.
The best way to ensure your pie cooks evenly is to evenly slice your apples 1/4-inch thick.
No biggie. If your pie dish is bigger, you may need to add more filling and make a little more dough to cover the whole dish.
Categorized as: American, Christmas, Desserts, Fruit Desserts, Pies + Tarts, Thanksgiving
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
So glad I found your recipe. My mom used to make this. Takes me back 40 years. Made it for Thanksgiving and I’m making it again for Xmas. Definitely a keeper.
What a fun memory! I’m so glad you enjoyed the brown bag apple pie!
Hi Jamie, yesterday (Sunday) I made your Brown Bag Apple Pie, WOW, Beautiful. I already love making Pie and eating it, and so does my family; its a gift and a pleasure to be able to construct PIE in any flavour, its an act of love. Anyway my point is we loved it, we cannot believe it turned out so lovely, we are going to use this method to try other flavours and combinations
Thank you for such an amazing recipe!
Made it many times always turned out
Glad to hear it’s been a success! :)
Can I make a “bag” out of parchment paper instead of using a brown bag?
I have not tried this, let me know if you do. The purpose of the brown bag is to trap the steam and makes the apples extra juicy.
Best apple pie I’ve ever had. The crust melts in your mouth. Excellent recipe, thanks so much for sharing!
I’m so happy to hear you loved it! Thanks for your comment and review, Vanessa :)