What to do

1. For the crust, We need to make two discs of pie dough. One disc will serve as the bottom crust to our slab pie. And the other disc will serve as the top. To begin, place 2 1/2 cups flour, 3 1/2 tsp of sugar, 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. Give everything a gentle mix.

2. Cut 1 cup of cold butter into cubes and then add half to flour mix. Make sure every piece of butter is coated in flour. Then pinch each piece so that it flattens. This takes some time, but the end result will be a tender/flaky pie crust! Mix and incorporate every pinched piece of butter. Add second half of butter and repeat the process. The mix will look crumbly and cornmeal like when you’re done.

3. Using 1/2 cup of COLD water, pour one tbsp at a time into the mix. Give the mix a stir after each tbsp of water. At this point, after a few tbsps, I like to use my hands to start pulling the dough together. I try to use only 1/2 cup of water, but you may need an additional tsp or two to bring everything together. If you find your dough is coming together with ease, and not crumbling, then stop adding water, and pour your dough onto a floured surface.

4. Pull your dough into a rectangular or disc, then cut into thirds. Stack the thirds on top of each other and form into a disc. This method helps create flaky layers! Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap. Note: if you dough feels and looks a little crumbly, you can press the loose crumbs into the dough as you wrap it. They will hydrate into your dough in the fridge as your dough rests. Repeat this same process for the remaining pie dough ingredients. Chill both discs for at least 2 hrs, overnight preferred! (*you can follow up free substack for more pie dough tips!)

5. Remove one pie disc from fridge. Let it rest for about 15-20 min. (*see note) The dough needs to be soft enough to roll out with ease, but still needs to be cold!

6. While you wait for your dough to soften work on your apple filling. In a large bowl, place chopped apples, lemon zest, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Using a rubber spatula, mix well and set to the side. (see note below about lemon zest)

7. Find a counter top or board and flour it generously. Place the one disc of dough on the counter, cut it in half and begin rolling one half. Note: after every two rolls, you need to lift your dough and rotate it, as this helps it from sticking to the surface. The rolled dough should be at least 13 inches long and about 9 inches wide. Now we need to place that dough onto one side of a 18×13 inch jelly roll pan. To achieve this, I roll my rolling pin along the dough and pull it up, almost like rolling up a rug! Then I unroll the dough onto the jelly pan. Doesn’t have to be a perfect fit, just make sure the bottom of the pan (on one side) is covered by the dough. Roll out the second half of the disc the exact same way and place into the pan. Just make sure the dough is overlapping and the bottom of the pan is not exposed (see image below)!

8. Add the apple mixture to the pan. Using a rubber spatula spread the mix evenly to the edges of the pie dough, place the pan in fridge to chill while you roll out the second dough disc (it will need about 15-20 min to soften before rolling). Begin rolling out the second disc of pie dough, no need to cut it in half. From here, you can place it on top of the apple. mixture and tuck or pinch the doughs together, creating a dutch like apple slab pie. Or you can cut out shapes and strips of dough and make a flag like I did. To make a flag, you will need three 17 inch strips to place along the bottom of the pie. And you will need two-thee 9 1/2 inch strips for the top. All strips should be about 1 inch thick! Then using a star cookie cutter, I cut out about 10 stars from the rolled dough and place them in the upper left hand corner! You will likely have leftover dough after assembling the stars and stripes. You can cut skinny strips of this leftover dough to place/tuck along the edges of the pie to create more crust.

9. Once assembled, place pie in the fridge to chill for at least 30 min (*see note).  Preheat oven to 425.

10. When ready to bake, brush some whisked egg on top of the pie. This gives the pie a nice golden brown end result! Sprinkle with coarse sugar, then bake for 40-45 min (note ovens vary, this pie can take up to 45 minutes in some ovens! The pie juices should be bubbling everywhere). I place a strip of foil on the top of the pie (the last 10 min or so if the pie begins to brown too much). Top with store bought or homemade salted caramel sauce while pie is still warm. Wait about 2-3 hours to cut into the pie, as it needs time to cool and develop structure from the crust. Pie can last (covered with plastic wrap or foil) at room temp for up to 3 days.

Note: My pie crust has been adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction! Ive add a little more sugar and water to my recipe!

FAQ’s

Helpful tips

Here are some important Pro tips by Maude

• Pie dough 101: I have learned some hard truths about pie dough! For starters, letting your dough rest after forming into discs is critical. Pie dough needs time to rest, as it will eventually rise and become flaky, but it needs that fridge time. Try for at least 2 hours, or overnight if you have the time!
• I find that the oils from the lemon zest really enhances the flavor of pies! Try not to skip this step!! Lemon zest is an amazing addition! If you have time, try mixing your sugar and lemon zest an hour or two before you mix your filling. The longer the lemon oils sit with the sugar, the better punch of flavor you will get in your pie!
• Rule of thumb: when working with pie dough, never let the dough get warm or the butter melt. Anytime you notice your dough softening, move it to the fridge to firm up again. Cold dough makes some sexy, delicious layers in pie! Do not bake your pie when your dough is at room temp! You pie needs to sit and chill for at least 30 minutes before baking. Again, you will get amazing texture and layers as a result. You can also use the freezer to chill your dough.

If you try this recipe, I would love your feedback! Please leave a star rating, a comment below or on the reel in Instagram! Also please share what you made and tag @eatmaudes !! Thank you so much for stopping by and making yumminess with me!

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