Apple Vanilla Slab Pie
My parents came down to watch the kids last weekend because Yancey and I both had to be gone overnight for work. It's pretty hard to overstate how much it means to me that they will drop what they're doing (neither of them are retired), drive down here, and save me repeatedly. The very least I can do is have something delicious they can snack on.
I hit the ball out of the park with this addictive number. A flaky rectangular crust, folded onto itself around Golden Delicious apples, drizzled with icing after it's cooled. The crust-to-fruit ratio was much more to my liking than the traditional shape, and you can eat it with your hands--i.e. if you've got your bag and flip charts in one hand, the other is being pulled by your preschooler to exclaim over her tower of blocks, you can still manage to shove this in your grateful mouth. I ate it for breakfast, of course.
The apples came from Sarah and Dan's tree--small, imperfect Golden Delicious that had an absolutely fabulous flavor. I've also made apple crisp and applesauce this week. My kids have started begging for something other than an apple for snack. Let autumn come.
Apple Vanilla Slab Pie
Adapted from a recipe for brandied apricot slab pie in Fine Cooking. I know I've eschewed Crisco before on this blog. Please take almost everything I say about food as a TEMPORARY opinion, always subject to change. All-butter crusts are still my default, but, oh my. Flakiness Central here. You definitely need to refrigerate it for at least 90 minutes before rolling it out. I found getting a rectangular shape was much less forgiving than a round one, and had to patch things up a bit. In the end, the patching didn't affect the final product at all (especially with your friend Icing to cover imperfections). And this crust recipe makes a bit more than you'll need, but that's good--to make a rectangle, you'll need to trim the edges anyway. You could definitely use Granny Smith apples here, but I really love the vanilla-like sweetness of good Golden Delicious. And that there's no cinnamon in this pie. Gives it a whole different flavor. And one more thing--the photo is only HALF of what this recipe makes--it fits just barely on a standard baking sheet.
For dough:
3 1/2 c. flour
3 Tb. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. (2 cubes) + 2 Tb. cold unsalted butter, cut into 18 pieces
3 Tb. cold vegetable shortening, cut into 3 pieces
1/3 c. ice-cold water
For filling:
4-5 c. thinly sliced Golden Delicious apples (about 8 small or 6 medium-large)
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tb. flour
For assembly:
1 egg
1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tb. heavy cream or whole milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
To make the dough:
Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and vegetable shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 10 to 12 pulses. Sprinkle 1/3 c. cold water over the mixture and pulse until the dough just starts to come together, 8 to 10 pulses more. If the mixture seems dry, add more water 1 tsp. at a time. Do not overprocess.
Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and gather it into a rectangle that's about 8 by 12 inches. Flatten slightly, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
To make the filling:
Combine thinly sliced apples with sugar, flour, and vanilla. Gently mix.
To assemble and bake:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 375. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. In a small bowl, beat the egg with 1 tsp. water.
On a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dought into a 1/8" thick, 12x18 inch rectangle. Be sure to loosen the dough several times and reflour underneath so it doesn't stick. Trim the dough into an 11x16" rectangle and transfer it back to the baking sheet. Turn the baking sheet so that a long side faces you, and brush the edges of the dough with the egg wash. Spread the apple filling evenly over the bottom half of the dough, leaving a 1/2" border. Fold the top half of the dough over the filling, pressing along the edges to secure the sides. Press lightly along the edges with the back of a fork to seal. Brush egg wash all over the top of the dough. Using a paring knife, cut 5 small steam vents in the dough at about 3-inch intervals.
Bake until the pie is golden brown, 45-55 minutes. Cool completely.
In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla to form a smooth glaze that's just fluid enough to drizzle. With a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the top of the pie. Allow to set at least 2 hours before serving.
September 27, 2010
Reader Comments (17)
Oh delicious, we're bookmarking this one...! That looks soooo good...now if only we had friends with apple trees!
looks delicious! I have a 25 lb box of honeycrisps, but a big bag of Jonamacs (jonagold+macintosh)--so those would be great with this. I was just at Joe's today and Golden Delicious abound.
Yum, will be making this. Thanks so much.
Oh, my, indeed! I'm afraid to show Gary-the-pie-eater this photo, because I have a number of other "higher-priority" tasks on tomorrow's list, but THIS IS AWESOME! Nice going. (This is a man who has ordered "birthday apple pie" every year without fail for the 49 years I've known him!) Did I mention he eats 24 hours a day and NEVER gains weight? Go figure-----it must take Parkinsons Disease to accomplish that! The problem with this is----I will eat it!
Nummy, nummy, nummy. Baby woke up early this morning and I managed to convince him to go back to sleep...I showered and am now going to make the crust. Yeah to a little free time! Yeah for apples! LOVE Fall!
I converted from crisco to lard. Oh, the joys. The ratio is about what you've got above.
I am making this for sure!!!!!! YUM!
Isn't "temporary" in the definition of "opinion"? Off to double-check my Websters...
(And lucky me, I've a bushel of apples with no particular fate!)
We just took the kids apple-picking and I think this is going on our list of things to make!
Yum.
My mouth is waterning just looking at it! Yep, every now and then Crisco is needed! :D
Made it last night, ate it for breakfast and took some to my 2 new neighbor friends! Awesome! Thanks for this one!
Double yum! I'm so making this! :)
So, was it flavorful without the cinnamon? It's just so hard for me to imagine not including cinnamon. It looks so delicious!!
Julie: The vanilla was a surprising flavor compliment. It was my first time without cinnamon and it was really good!
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I am making this for sure!!!!!! YUM!