Pie In A Bag

{image via The Elegant Farmer}

Have you ever heard of The Elegant Farmer?    This Milwaukee bakery is famous for baking the most delicious apple pies...in a bag.  They actually bake them in the brown paper bag, and the result is pure poetry.  As someone who does not typically enjoy pie (I don't like the texture of crust), I was skeptical when a co-worker brought one in.  It is truly the most delicious pie ever, with a sweet sugar cookie crust and piles of tart, tender apples inside.

On Sunday I decided to try and recreate this perfect pie using a number of copycat recipes from the internet.  After conquering the fear of putting a brown paper bag in a hot oven (several frantic phone calls to friends and family ensued), I ended up with a decent pie, though it didn't look or taste much like The Elegant Farmer's pie perfection.  Some say the secret is tapioca pearls to thicken the filling, or rice flour for a crunchy crust.  I tried both, but mine did not have the Elegant Farmer's magic formula.  There's always next time.