With a homemade buttery crust, cinnamon-spiced apple filling, and drizzle of maple icing, apple slab pie is always a crowd pleaser. Easier than traditional apple pie, roll this slab pie into any shape you want as long as it fits onto a sheet pan.
Apple pie is a year-round dessert and there are a billion ways you can make it. Today, let’s make a slab pie version with a buttery, flaky crust and sweet apple filling, finished off with an optional maple glaze (homemade whipped cream or salted caramel would be wonderful, too!). I love slab pies because not only are they 100x easier than an actual pie, they’re essentially a giant pop-tart! We’ll bake the pie on a sheet pan—it’s thinner so there’s less filling in your “slice” but there’s more crust. If you’re a crust person, slab pie is for you.
5 Reasons to Make Apple Slab Pie
Slab Pie Crust
Start this recipe with the same pie crust used for mixed berry slab pie. This pie crust recipe is essentially my traditional all butter pie crust, but it yields 3 pie crusts instead of 2. (Slab pies are larger, so we need more pie dough.) You know I’m a cheerleader for the shortening and butter combination in pie crust, but I find this particular crust is fantastic for slab pie. It’s a wonderful balance of tender and crisp and browns beautifully in the oven.
The pie dough must chill for a couple hours, so it’s easiest to prepare the crust in advance. It can hang out in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for 3 months. When you’re ready to make the apple slab pie, don’t stress over rolling out the pie dough. Unlike traditional round pies, slab pies are no-fuss. Let the pie dough take on whatever shape, as long as it’s about 1/8-inch thick and can fit onto your baking pan.
Apple Slab Pie Filling
We use all familiar apple pie ingredients for today’s slab pie. For another fun alternative to apple pie, try my apple pie bars. I put salted caramel on those, too!
- Apples: I always recommend using a mix of apples for more complex flavor in each bite—a sweeter variety and a tart variety, too. For today’s apple slab pie I used a combination of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples. Here is a complete list of the best apples for baking. Peel the apples before chopping them into little bite-sized pieces. I find bite-sized pieces, rather than thin slices, are best for slab pie. (Same way I recommend cutting peaches for peach pie.) Since the pie is thinner, you can’t really layer the slices together to get enough apple in each bite.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar adds sweetness.
- Flour: A little all-purpose flour thickens the filling while it bakes.
- Lemon Juice: Adds brightness and prevents the apples from browning.
- Vanilla Extract: A splash of pure vanilla extract adds flavor. Try using homemade vanilla extract.
- Spices: Use a combination of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves—apple pie’s favorite flavors! Or try using the spice mixture from my apple pie with chai spices (1.5x each spice to have enough for today’s filling).
Once you spread the apple pie filling evenly on top of the bottom crust, place the second crust on top. Fold over the edges, seal it shut, and crimp them down. It’s all quite simple because if you’re using the correct size pan, you’ll have more than enough crust to work with to really seal those edges shut..
Brush with a thin coating of egg-wash to achieve shiny, golden crust perfection! And don’t forget to slit some holes so the filling can breathe.
Optional Maple Icing
You only need 3 ingredients for today’s easy maple icing: confectioners’ sugar, pure maple syrup, and milk. While optional, I highly recommend taking a few minutes to whip up a batch—you can do this while the pie is cooling. Your house will smell like Thanksgiving and your mouth will be watering when that drizzle of glaze first hits the crust. The corner pieces of this apple slab pie with maple icing are the best because you get the most amount of pie crust possible. Dibs!
Instead of maple icing, serve with a drizzle of salted caramel, dollop of homemade whipped cream, or ice cream.
Best Pan for Apple Slab Pie
The most important part! Use the correct size pan. Any larger and you won’t have quite enough dough. Any smaller and you’ll have some overflow. You need a 10×15-inch jelly roll pan. It’s the same pan you need for pumpkin bars and pumpkin slab pie, too.
Apple Slab Pie with Maple Icing Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Mix the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the butter. Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal (pea-sized bits with a few larger bits of fat is OK). A pastry cutter makes this step very easy and quick. Drizzle the cold water in, 1 Tablespoon (15ml) at a time, and stir with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon after every Tablespoon (15ml) added. Do not add any more water than you need to. Stop adding water when the dough begins to form large clumps. I always use about 3/4 cup (180ml) water. Transfer the pie dough to a floured work surface. Using floured hands, fold the dough into itself until the flour is fully incorporated into the butter pieces. The dough should come together easily and should not feel overly sticky. Form dough into a ball. Divide dough in half. Flatten each half into 1-inch thick discs using your hands. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (and up to 5 days) or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
- Mix all of the filling ingredients together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Remove 1 disc of pie dough from the refrigerator.Keep the other in the refrigerator as you work. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into (roughly) an 18×13-inch rectangle. Make sure to turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls. Carefully place the dough into a 10×15-inch jelly roll pan; there will be overhang on the sides—trim it to be about 1 inch. Smooth the crust out so it fits nicely into all the corners of the pan.
- Spread filling evenly on top of crust.
- Roll out the 2nd pie dough disc in the same manner and size as the first. Drape over filling and fold the bottom crust’s overhang over the edges. Seal them shut with your fingers and crimp the pie crust edges with a fork. Cut slits into the top of the crust, then brush with a thin coating of egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake the slab pie for about 40-46 minutes until the crust is golden brown and you can see the filling bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on top of a wire rack for a few hours. You can serve this pie a little warm or at room temperature (or cold!).
- Before serving, whisk all of the glaze ingredients together and drizzle over pie. Cut into slices and serve. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
You may also like...
