Apple Slab Pie With Crumb Topping

Apple Pie for a Crowd!

Last year I remember seeing slab pies all over the place – all over the web and in every food magazine. And this year they are still holding strong. I’m sure the reason is that they are absolutely genius, plus they are fun change on the original 9-inch round pie. This apple pie version is no exception! It is all of your apple pie dreams come true and then some!I love that you get three layers (or four if you go for the glaze or vanilla ice cream) of absolute deliciousness! Crumb pies are some of my favorite (have you tried my Streusel Pumpkin Pie yet?It’s my families all time favorite pumpkin pie. You just cant go wrong with a buttery, flakey, lightly salty pie crust filled with fresh fruity goodness and a sweet, crisp, cookie crumble topping. It is no doubt a main highlight of the Thanksgiving meal! So save room for dessert – or go ahead and eat dessert first!

How to Make Apple Slab Pie

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Shape crust: Roll and transfer pie crust to jelly roll pan and decorate as desired. (Note that this is smaller than the regular size baking sheet it’s a 15 by 10 NOT 18 by 13). Chill until ready to fill.

Make crumble topping: mix sugars, quick outs, flour and salt and cut butter into mixture. Transfer topping to refrigerator. Make the apple filling: whisk sugars, flour, cinnamon nutmeg and salt. Toss apples with lemon then toss with cinnamon sugar mixture.

Assemble pie: Pour and spread apples over crust layer. Sprinkle crumb topping over top. Bake in oven: Bake in preheated oven 33 – 38 minutes, until apples are tender (tent with foil as needed). Remove from oven and let cool until warm. Top with glaze if desired or serve with vanilla ice cream.

Make Sure to Thinly Slice Your Apples

I listed important notes in the recipe about the apples. One of the best ways to ruin an apple pie is to serve it up with crispy apples that haven’t baked through. This happens when the apples aren’t pre-cooked or sliced thin enough. Yeah, I learned that the hard way with the first apple pie I ever made. Biting into crispy apples in an apple pie just ruins it. No, you don’t want mushy apples. You want apples that hold up well (which is why you use apples that are work well for baking), but at the same time soft, tender apples are a must in my book. With that said, be sure to thin slice the apples here which will take a bit of slicing and patience to get through them all but your end result will be oh so worth it!

Use Store-Bought Crust to Save Time

And yes, I cheated and used a store-bought pie crust. Not normally like me but with all the other steps in this recipe you’ll likely want to use store-bought crust yourself. It has been so long since I’ve tried them but I actually thought it tasted great and was really flaky. I’m sold for a pie like this. If you insist and if time allows (more power to you), make the crust from scratch. I did brush the crust edges here lightly with egg wash but made a second slab pie and didn’t brush it and it still came out a nice golden brown color so I just omitted that step here. Mmmmmm. I just need to say, helllloooo pie season! I look forward to this all year!