As the smell of warm baking spices filled every corner of the house, my grandmother, Joan Nalley Buchanan, glided around the kitchen with paper towels underfoot, cleaning spilled piles of flour. “Well, I was raised in the Depression,” she said, dismissing my giggles. This was her explanation for all her silly but genius innovations. The aroma grew stronger, and I squirmed with anticipation as she pulled a crisped brown paper bag out of the oven: This was my favorite part of her apple pie process, other than the eating. We carefully tore the paper to reveal a perfectly browned crust with sweet, syrupy juices bubbling out. “It’s perfect!” she said, beaming as we inhaled the rich fragrance of her brown bag apple pie.
During the Great Depression in her small hometown of Thomaston, Georgia, my grandmother learned this brown bag apple pie recipe from her mother — making the recipe about a hundred years old now. The secret to its excellence: an ordinary brown paper grocery bag that traps in all of the moisture, creating the perfect conditions for tender apples nestled in a golden brown, crisp crust.
As the years went by, I felt a sense of urgency to try to get her process down on paper. I tried to write down and remember every detail. “You have to get down and look at it like this,” she would always say, lowering her head in line with the measuring cup. I remember how we laughed, competing for who could peel apples the fastest. I remember the choreography that seemed to be stored in the fibers of her muscles, how she slipped the finished pie into the brown paper bag, folding the open end over and tucking it under.
My grandmother is still with us today, but living with Alzheimer’s disease — she doesn’t remember much of her life, the people in it, or that her wonderful cooking used to be part of her identity. Earlier this year, my mom and I visited to soak up as much of her as we could, and I took over her kitchen and made her pie. I knew that she didn’t really know who I was or that the pie was hers, but I couldn’t help but be proud of myself as she ate every bite of it. — Claire Spollen
Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
Depending on the size of your oven, you may need to move the rack to the lower third position to prevent the bag from touching the heating element.
Make ahead
Baked pie can be stored in an airtight container or covered at room temperature for up to three days.
