I really thought that I had posted this on my old site, but in searching through the archives I see it is not there. This is a great recipe from Cook’s Country Magazine that I changed up a little. It’s a terrific thing to make for a bake sale or a pot-luck dinner as it travels well, is easy to serve, and makes enough to feed a crowd. I made it for last year’s 5th grade fundraising function at the school and they asked me to make it again this year since it was a best-seller last year.
Unlike a traditional apple pie, slab pie is made in a baking sheet and can feed up to 20 people. Its filling is thickened to ensure neat slicing, and it’s topped with a sugary glaze. Use store-bought pie crusts and glue two of them together with water, rolling the dough out into a large rectangle that fits into the large sheet pan.
Apple Slab Pie
Original recipe printed by Cook’s Country Magazine, 10/2007. Revised by Crafty Farm Girl, 2011.
The recipe calls for a 18 by 13-inch nonstick baking sheet for this pie. If using a conventional baking sheet, coat it lightly with cooking spray. The original recipe used 1-1/2 cups of ground up animal crackers in it. I didn’t like animal crackers as a kid, my kids don’t like animal crackers, and I didn’t want animal crackers in my slab apple pie. I’ve made this recipe in my modified form several times, and I don’t recall ever saying to myself “Gee, this sure would taste better with some animal crackers in it.” I also finish it with an egg wash on the crust before baking, where the original recipe does not.
Pie
- 8 Granny Smith apples (about 3 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, sliced thin and halved)
- 8 Golden Delicious apples, (about 3 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, sliced thin and halved)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 (15-ounce) boxes Pillsbury Ready to Roll Pie Crust
- 6 tablespoons Minute Tapioca
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Glaze
- 3/4 to 1 cup reserved apple juice (from filling)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter – softened
- 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
Serves 18 to 20
For the pie:
Save those apple peels & cores for the chickens & goats if you have them! Combine apples, 1 cup sugar, and salt in colander set over large bowl. Let sit, tossing occasionally, until apples release their juices, about 30 minutes. Note: I weigh mine down with a plate and some canned tomatoes to help extract the juices better. I’ve also let this sit overnight and for several hours like this without a problem.) Press gently on apples to extract liquid and reserve 3/4 cup juice. You can use as much as a full cup of extracted juice for this recipe, you will just have to reduce it down a little more and it will be more flavorful.
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush half of one pie round with water, overlap with second pie round. Roll out dough to 19 by 14 inches and transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Roll out top crust in the same way.
Toss drained apples with remaining 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, tapioca, and lemon juice and arrange evenly over bottom crust, pressing lightly to flatten.
Brush edges of bottom crust with water, and arrange top crust on pie. Press crusts together and use a paring knife to trim any excess dough. Use fork to crimp and seal outside edge of pie, then to pierce top of pie at 2-inch intervals. Brush top of pie with beaten egg. Bake until pie is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 1 hour. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 1 hour.
For the glaze: While pie is cooling, simmer reserved apple juice in saucepan over medium heat until syrupy and reduced to 1/4 cup, about 6 minutes. Now I don’t necessarily stick to this 3/4 cup measure and tend to use whatever it is I got out of the pressed apples, which will depend a little one how long you left them pressing. This time I had about 1 1/4 cups. And you will need a minimum of 3/4 cup, but regardless of what you start with, you will still reduce the liquid down to 1/4 cup. The more you start with the more flavorful the glaze will be. Stir in lemon juice and butter and let cool to room temperature. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar and brush glaze evenly over warm pie. Let pie cool completely, at least 1 hour longer. Using a ruler, divide pie into even pieces. I cut them into pieces 3.6″ wide along the 18″ side and 3.25″ along the 13″ side, providing 20 very generous portions. You could make your slices even smaller providing even more pieces if you needed to. Serve.
Make Ahead: The pie can be made up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving.