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Saturday, November 16, 2013

Apple Pie For a Crowd

A couple of months ago my daughter had her bridging ceremony, moving from Daisies to Brownies in Girl Scouts.  Personally, I was in Camp Fire as a kid and hadn't experienced this ceremony before- very neat!

Click to see the recipe at Allrecipes.com
After the ceremony there was plenty of food for everyone to enjoy.  This was when I was in the middle of trying to get rid of a ton of apples and was baking up a storm, so of course I didn't pass up an opportunity to get rid of a few more of them!

My go-to pie recipe (with a few seasoning changes) is Apple Pie by Grandma Ople from Allrecipes.com- always a winner!  It's absolutely delightful, every time.

It wasn't quite right for this setting, though- I wanted a bar.  Or at least something that was easy to transport and serve to a crowd.  I did a little digging and came across this recipe for Apple Slab Pie.  The crust is easy to make and after it's baked you just cut it into squares- which is perfect for a potluck or get together for a crowd.  Did I mention it's delicious?  Because it is.  :-) I'm sure I'll be making it again when my annual Fall apple craziness begins again.

The crust is easy to make-the recipe calls for rolling it out, but I found it actually had the perfect consistency to just pat down into the pan like you would with a graham cracker crust.  

The filling is pretty straightforward, though I did sub a little brown sugar and add nutmeg and clove.  Easy enough. 

All in all this recipe is definitely a winner, and one I'll be making again.  Easy to pull together, a great way to use up apples, and the perfect dessert for a crowd!  I even baked mine in a disposable metal pan that I could leave behind in the case of leftovers.


1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbsp white sugar
1/2 C shortening
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 egg yolks, beaten
4 Tbsp water

8 apples- peeled, cored, and cut into thin wedges
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 3/4 C white sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2 Tbsp butter

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 C brown sugar
2/3 C butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.  Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Mix egg yolk and water together and mix in flour until it forms a ball.  Roll out to fit the bottom of a 10x15 pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, 2 Tbsp flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  Pour filling into pie crust and dot with 2 Tbsp butter.  

3. In a medium bowl, combine 1 C flour, 1 tsp cinnamon,  2/3 C brown sugar, and 2/3 C butter.  Cut in butter until crumbly, then sprinkle over apples.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

20 comments:

  1. So excited to see this! I am gonna try it out for Thanksgiving.

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  2. How many cups do you think your 8 apples are? About 6c 8c? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. I'd say that on average each medium-sized apple yields about a cup :-)

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  3. How much cloves and nutmeg did you add? what about brown sugar?

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    1. Goodness, how did I leave out the cloves and nutmeg? Thanks for the catch! I've corrected the recipe above.

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  4. I don't have a 10x15 could I use a 9x13? Also, does this HAVE to be served hot or would room temperature be okay? Thanks :)

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    1. I don't see why not! It would just result in a slightly thicker bar. Room temperature is absolutely fine- and delicious!

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  5. What is white sugar? Granulated or powdered?

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  6. What kind of shortening did you use in the crust? I assume butter wouldn't work?

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    Replies
    1. I used vegetable shortening, but I'm sure butter would work as well :-)

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  7. What kind of apples work the best for this?

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  8. What kind of apples work best for this?

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    1. Hi Robin! I tend to go for Granny Smith or Pink Lady for baking but honestly I'm not terribly picky about the variety if I have a bunch to use up. Here's a nice list of the best types of apples for baking...
      http://www.thekitchn.com/the-best-apples-for-cooking-ingredient-intelligence-208455

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  9. Hi! I'm doing something for church. We serve a meal to people in need in our community and we have a whole box of canned apple pie filling and cherry pie filling. Have you ever used pie filling? Also, have you ever put the crust on top, also (i.e. for the cherry one, instead of the crunchy topping)?

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    1. What a wonderful way to use a slab pie! While I haven't used canned pie filling or a regular rolled crust I'm sure they would both work perfectly in this capacity! I would cut the cook time down to 40-45 minutes since the fruit filling is already ready to eat. You may need to tent the top with foil to prevent over-browning towards the end.

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  10. Hi Nora, I'm about to make this apple slab pie for my family cookout. Do I grease the pan at all, before I put the crust in? (I'm not a very experienced baker.) Anyway, it looks wonderful!

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