Apple Slab Pie is a quick and easy way to bake this fruit filled dessert in a rectangular sheet pan rather than a round pie plate. It's the perfect party pie to feed a crowd!
14.1ozbox (2 rolled crusts per box) Pillsbury Pie Crusts
8cupsMcIntosh Applespeeled and sliced into ⅛ in. slices
¾cuplight brown sugarlightly packed
¼cup cornstarch
¼ unsalted buttermelted
2tspapple pie spice blend
1tspfresh lemon zest(from a small lemon)
½tspvanilla extract
¼tspsalt
Glaze:
1cuppowdered sugar
1tbspunsalted buttermelted and cooled
1tbspfresh lemon juice (from the small lemon that was zested for the pie)
1tbspheavy cream (plus additional if needed to thin the glaze)
½tspvanilla extract
⅛tspsalt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. You will need a 10 in. x 15 in. sized standard jelly roll pan.
Remove your box of Pillsbury Pie Crusts from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature, according to the package directions, before unrolling each crust. Once they can each be unrolled, you will lay the crusts, slightly overlapping in the center, onto your jelly roll pan so that you have about 2-3 inches or so of excess dough hanging off the shorter sides of the pan.
With a sharp knife, you will need to trim off the larger amount of excess dough hanging off the shorter ends of the pan.
You will need to place those two pieces of excess dough, one on each of the longer sides of the pan so that you fill in the gaps on the pan where the dough does not cover. You will want to face the rounded edge towards the center of the pan, and the straight edges will fill in the edges of the crust.
With your fingers, gently press the dough to seal all the seams together, tuck the border edges of the dough slightly under so that you have an even edge all around your pan. Crimp the outer crust the same as you would for a standard round pie. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add the McIntosh apple slices, light brown sugar, cornstarch, melted unsalted butter, apple pie spice blend, fresh lemon zest, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir to evenly coat all the apple slices with the other ingredients.
Spread your coated apple slices in an even layer onto the prepared pie crust.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Your crust should be lightly golden, your apple slab pie filling should be slightly bubbly, and your apple slices fork tender.
Allow your apple slab pie to cool on the counter for 30 minutes before adding the glaze.
To make the glaze whisk together the powdered sugar, unsalted butter, fresh lemon juice, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk until smooth. You may need to add a little more heavy cream to thin out your glaze enough to be thick yet pourable.
Drizzle your glaze over your apple slab pie and allow your pie to continue to cool completely on the counter for another 30-45 minutes to allow your apple pie filling and glaze to firm up before slicing and serving.
You can slice your apple slab pie directly in the pan, or if you are very careful, you can transfer it onto a large wooden cutting board to slice and serve. I like to serve my slab apple pie at room temperature. You can slightly warm individual servings and serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.
Notes
Storage:
To Store: If you keep your apple slab pie in the pan, you can cover it with plastic wrap and store it at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can store your pie in the refrigerator, but note that the crust will start to get soft.
To Freeze: To freeze, wrap portions tightly to keep all air out and store in the freezer for 3-4 months.
To Reheat: Apple pie can be thawed, and then warmed in the microwave or served cold.
Tips:
I like to buy 3 lb. bags of apples at my grocery store that they sell for school lunches. The smaller size of those apples is perfect for this recipe. This size bag yields approximately 8 cups peeled and sliced. If you can only find the 5 lb. bags, then you can use the extras to pack for lunches for the kids.
I really like the taste and texture of the McIntosh apples (they are crisp with a slightly sweet & tart taste to them); however, a honey crisp, pink lady, golden delicious, or even gala apples work great for this recipe. I do not recommend a red delicious or other softer apple as they get too mushy when baked.
Using the refrigerated rolled pie crust for this apple slab pie makes it super easy to get a quick, easy and delicious dessert on the table on a busy night. If you have some extra time, you can substitute it for your favorite recipe for a homemade pie crust. You will want to make sure that your recipe yields 2 crusts. When rolling your dough, you will just roll it in the shape of a rectangle instead of the standard circles.
As with many apple pie recipes, you can adjust your spices according to your taste. You can swap out the apple pie spice blend for just cinnamon, or you can make your own spice blend by mixing together 1 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon cloves. You can either increase or decrease the amount of spice according to your tastes as well.
I love the addition of lemon juice to the glaze in this recipe. I think lemons and apples work very well together flavor-wise. However, if you prefer to omit the lemon, you can just use water instead.