Dottie Neely’s
Paper Bag Apple Pie
An easy and really yummy apple pie!
About this recipe
By Claudia Elliott
I tried this recipe recently and took photos to share with you. The photo here is of the pie inside a big paper bag (see Food Safety Note below**), ready to go into the oven. I used Granny Smith apples that I bought at the grocery store. I can only imagine how much better the recipe would be with fresh, crisp Tehachapi apples!
This pie was deliciously moist! I am guessing that the paper bag was the secret. My bag was stiff and I couldn’t get it to fold over twice at the top (per Dottie’s instructions), but that didn’t seem to be a problem.
Scroll down for more photos!
Ingredients & instructions
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pastry shell
- 3 or 4 large baking apples
- 1/2 cup sugar (for filling)
- 2 Tbsp flour (for filling)
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sugar (for topping)
- 1/2 cup flour (for topping)
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine
Make 9-inch pastry shell.* Pare apples, then half each quarter; place in large bowl.
Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 2 Tbsp flour, and nutmeg in cup. Sprinkle over apples, toss to coat well. Spoon into pastry shell, drizzle with lemon juice.
Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour for topping. Cut in butter and sprinkle over apples. Slide pie into a brown paper bag. Fold open end twice, fasten with paper clips. Place on baking sheet and bake at 425℉ for 1 hour. Split bag open, remove pie, and cool on rack. Serve plain or with cheese or ice cream.
*Dottie’s recipe in the 1979 book did not specify any details about the pastry shell. For this pie I used a frozen deep-dish pie shell from the grocery store and followed the package directions, filling it unbaked.
**Food Safety Note: After I baked this pie, I found information from the United States Department of Agriculture that recommends against using grocery bags for cooking because of the possibility of contamination from elements in the paper or glue. If this concerns you, one suggestion is to make a “bag” from food-grade parchment or butcher paper, holding it together with staples.
Want an easy printable version?
I used a frozen pie shell, which made it really easy to make this pie. Here are all of the ingredients.
I didn’t know what to expect when I cut open the paper bag. Wow, was I happily surprised!. The pie was beautiful!
The apple slices are coated with a mixture of sugar, flour, and nutmeg, then drizzled with lemon juice in the pie shell.
Dottie suggested serving the pie with ice cream or cheese. Whipped cream is another option. Here it is with cheddar cheese!
About Dottie Neely
Dottie Neely lived in Tehachapi in 1979 when she submitted this recipe to be published in The Original Tehachapi Apple Book. We would appreciate having additional information to include in her biography and perhaps a photo. CLICK HERE to share information.
