My sister-in-law Katie’s brown bag apple pie is full of the flavors of home. It’s everything an apple pie should be–flaky crust, simple ingredients, cinnamon, apples, crumb topping… Serve it a la mode, and it’s a grand slam home run! This pie comes together fast, but does take a while to bake. But it’s oh so worth the wait.
You’ll need flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, butter, oil, milk, and APPLES–good pie apples, crisp and no too sweet. I used Braeburn apples for this pie.
Add the flour, salt, and sugar to the pie tin and mix to evenly distribute the dry ingredients. Add milk and oil and mix together. Press the crust into the bottom and sides of the tin.
I used the Pampered Chef apple, peeler, corer, slicer to peel and slice the apples. You can buy a tool like this at almost any kitchen store. It definitely speeds up the process. Toss the sugar, cinnamon, and flour with the apple slices in a bowl. Fill the pie crust with the apples, pressing down on them to fit them all in.
Using a pastry blender, combine the butter, sugar, and flour together into a crumblike consistency. Pack the topping onto the apples.
Put the pie in a brown paper grocery size bag on it’s side and staple it shut.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 45 minutes.
Serve warm. With vanilla ice cream. You’re welcome.
Brown Bag Apple Pie
From the Kitchen of Katie Hymas
Serves: 6-8
Prep Time: 30-45 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 45 min
Crust
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons cold milk
½ cup oil
Mix the dry ingredients together in the pie tin. Add milk and oil and mix together. Press the crust into the bottom and sides of the tin.
Filling
6-7 apples, peeled and sliced
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
Toss the sugar, cinnamon, and flour with the apple slices. Fill the pie crust with the apples.
Topping
½ cup flour
½ cup butter softened
½ cup sugar
Combine with the pastry blender and sprinkle over top of pie. Place pie in brown paper bag. Staple it shut. Bake at 350° for 1 hour 45 minutes.
Two things have kept me very busy this last month. One of them is apple cider. 25 gallons of apple cider. Our tree gave us so many apples this year! We stopped at 25 gallons, but there were still so many apples left. I still hope to post an apple recipe or two. In the meantime, here is a video about how we juiced our apples this year.
We used a Breville juicer that we bought specifically for our apple cider this year. It is a great machine, BUT not designed to juice quite so many pounds of apples. It took several days for us to juice all our apples. But we now have lots of apple cider to get us through the cold winder.
Anyone who know me knows how much I love to go to Disneyland. One of my favorite places to eat is Steakhouse 55 in the Disneyland Resort Hotel. For breakfast, they serve a stuffed French toast that is to die for. Since Disneyland is currently closed, we had to come up with our own version at home.
Steakhouse 55’s Stuffed French Toast
This french toast is NOT a quick and easy meal. In fact, you’ll want to make as much of it ahead of time as you can. I like to make the custard, and maybe even the filling, the day before.
Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Make the custard by combining the cream, sugar, and vanilla beans. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Temper the eggs by slowly adding a ladleful of the cream mixture while whisking. Add another ladle full of cream and whisk. Slowly pour the remaining cream into the egg mixture, whisking to combine. Cool to room temperature. The custard can be made the night before and stored in the refrigerator.
Slice a loaf of brioche bread into 3-4 slices. Use a paring knife to make a small slit on the side of each slice of bread. Arrange the bread in a 9×13 pan and cover with the custard. Soak for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the bread in a clean 9×13 pan and bake 45-55 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
While the toast is baking, make the filling. In a medium bowl, combine the mascarpone, ricotta, strawberries, sugar, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until fully combined. Transfer to a piping bag with a large round tip. Chill until ready to use.
In a separate bowl, combine the strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, lemon zest, and blueberries. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. This will allow the juices from the strawberries to come out. Add the maple syrup and mix to combine.
Next, whip the cream. Add the cream, sugar, and vanilla to a separate bowl and whip with a hand mixture until soft peaks form. You can also use a high-speed blender to whip the cream.
Pipe the ricotta and cheese mixture into the slit in the slices French toast. Optional: sprinkle the top of the French toast with sanding sugar and melt the sugar with a kitchen torch. Top with the fruit mixture and the whipped cream. Garnish with a mint leaf if desired.
Hymas Family Favorites French Toast
Stuffed French Toast
From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas
Serves: 4-6
Prep Time: 3-4 hours
Cook Time: 45-55 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
Custard
1-2 loaves of brioche bread, cut into 4-6 slices
½ cup granulated sugar
4 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
3 eggs
Filling
¾ cup mascarpone cheese, softened
¾ cup ricotta cheese
¾ cup strawberries, quartered
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Strawberry Topping
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 cups strawberries
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 cup blueberries
½ cup real maple syrup
Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Assembly
½ cup sanding sugar (optional)
Fresh mint leaves (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
To make the French toast, using a paring knife make a small slit on the side of each slice of toast. Make the custard by combining the cream, sugar, and vanilla beans. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Temper the eggs by adding them to a large bowl, and slowly adding a ladleful of the cream mixture while whisking. Add another ladle full of cream and whisk. Slowly pour the remaining cream into the egg mixture, whisking to combine. Cool to room temperature. The custard can be made the night before and stored in the refrigerator.
Arrange the bread in a 9×13 pan and cover with the custard. Soak for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the bread in a clean 9×13 pan and bake 45-55 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
While the toast is baking, make the filling. In a medium bowl, combine the mascarpone, ricotta, strawberries, sugar, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until fully combined. Transfer to a piping bag with a large round tip. Chill until ready to use.
In a separate bowl, combine the strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, lemon zest, and blueberries. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup and mix to combine.
Add the cream, sugar, and vanilla to a separate bowl and whip with a hand mixture until soft peaks form. You can also use a high-speed blender to whip the cream.
Pipe the ricotta and cheese mixture into the slit in the slices French toast. Optional: sprinkle the top of the French toast with sanding sugar and melt the sugar with a kitchen torch. Top with the fruit mixture and the whipped cream. Garnish with a mint leaf if desired.
I love the smell of freshly baked bread in the house. One of the most complicated and delicious breads that I’ve made is brioche. The magical ingredient in brioche is BUTTER!!!! And, the key to a good loaf of brioche is a strong gluten development, which means A LOT of time in the mixer kneading.
The ingredients are simple: all-purpose flour, butter, eggs, salt, yeast, sugar, and water. And you start by making a sponge, which is a way to give the yeast a head start. Put 3 cups of flour, yeast, water, and eggs in a mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until the batter is smooth. Cover it and let it sit for 45 minutes. The mixture will develop a few bubbles.
Add the remaining 2 cups of flour, the sugar, and salt. Beat until the dough cleans the side of the bowl and becomes shiny and elastic. It will take 8 to 10 minutes.
Now comes the unusual part. While the dough is mixing, flour the countertop and put the butter on top of the flour. Generously sprinkle the top of the butter with flour. Using a rolling pin, pound the butter until it becomes a flat rectangle. Folding it over several times until the butter becomes pliable. It should still be cold. This will make it easier to incorporate the butter into the dough.
After the dough has been kneading for 8-10 minutes, it’s time to test the dough’s gluten development. Pull up a thin piece of dough and stretch it as far as you can before it tears. It should stretch thin enough to see through. This is the window-pane test. If it tears too quickly, knead it for a couple more minutes and repeat the test.
Once the dough passes the window pane test, it’s time to add the butter. While the mixer is on, add the butter to the dough a little at time and beat it until it’s fully incorporated.
Cover the dough and let it rise for one hour. It should be soft and should have risen by a third. Dust the countertop with flour and turn the dough onto it. Fold it over several times. Use a bench knife to scrape up any dough bits that stick to the surface. Place in a greased bowl, cover and refrigerate for 4 to 16 hours.
Remove from the refrigerator, divide the loaf into two pieces, and form it into two loafs. You can roll it out flat and then roll it into a loaf shape. This will give you nice long strands for the dough structure. You can also divide each loaf into 3 more pieces, roll them into a long snake-like ribbon, and braid the pieces into a loaf.
Cover the dough lightly and allow it double in size, about 2 ½ to 3 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the exposed surfaces. Bake the brioche for 45-50 minutes or until it’s internal temperature reaches 190 degrees and is golden brown. After 10 minutes, remove the bread from the pan and allow it cool completely.
Brioche
From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas
Recipe by King Arthur Flour
Serves: 2 loaves
Prep Time: 30-60 minutes active, 24 hours passive
Cook Time: 45-50 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
5 cups or 21 ounces of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons yeast
½ cup or 4 ounces of cool water
8 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk for glaze
4 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
2 cups cold unsalted water
INSTRUCTIONS:
Put 3 cups of flour, yeast, water, and eggs in a mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until the batter is smooth. This is a sponge that will give the yeast a head start. Cover it and let it sit for 45 minutes. The mixture will develop a few bubbles.
Add the remaining 2 cups of flour, the sugar, and salt. Beat until the dough cleans the side of the bowl and becomes shiny and elastic. It will take 8 to 10 minutes.
In the meantime, flour the countertop and put the butter down. Sprinkle the top of the butter with flour. Using a rolling pin, pound the butter until it becomes a flat rectangle, folding it over several times until the butter becomes pliable. It should still be cold.
Test the dough’s gluten development by pulling up a thin layer and stretch it as far as you can before it tears. It should stretch thin enough to see through. This is the window-pane test. Add the butter to the dough a little at time and beat it until it’s fully incorporated.
Cover the dough and let it rise for one hour. It should be soft and should have risen by a third. Dust the countertop with flour and turn the dough onto it. Fold it over several times. Use a bench knife to scrape up any dough bits that stick to the surface. Place in a greased bowl, cover and refrigerate for 4 to 16 hours.
Remove from the refrigerator, divide the loaf into two pieces, and form it into two loafs. Cover the dough lightly and allow it double in size, about 2 ½ to 3 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the exposed surfaces. Bake the brioche for 45-50 minutes or until it’s internal temperature reaches 190 degrees and is golden brown. After 10 minutes, remove the bread from the pan and allow it cool completely.
Hymas Family Favorites 