More peach love coming at you today in the form of this cutie of a Peach Slab Pie. Have you ever made a slab pie? If you’re not familiar with it, it’s just a more shallow pie made in a rectangle, or even square, baking sheet. And I’ve gotta say, I prefer it to the more traditionally shaped pie. It’s easier to make, in my opionion, serves more and has a much better filling to crust ratio. I’m a filling gal all the way, so pies tend to not be my thing, unless we’re talking maybe a graham cracker or other cookie crust. But something in bar form, that you can pick up and finish in a few bites, even on the go if you wish, is right by me. In fact, I last served these on the drive-way as the monkeys were whizzing by on their scooters.
This sheet pan pie, (maybe a better name than slaaaaab, don’t you think,) starts with a light a flaky butter crust. The crust is quickly made in a food processor with flour, a little sugar and salt, butter and a dash of milk and water. You can also make it in a mixer or by hand with a little elbow grease. Or, if you’re pressed for time or just don’t feel like making crust, you can use store-bought crust. But this one is really good and so light compared to what you might find ready-made. Even better than my fav short-cut pie dough from Trader Joe’s. Shhh. Don’t tell them I said that.
Once you make the dough, it’ gets divided in half & chilled for about thirty minutes or until firm. Meanwhile you mix the simple filling up of sliced fresh peaches, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and salt. I keep the sugar pretty minimal here because the summer peaches are so fabulously sweet already. But if your’s aren’t or you are using frozen peaches, add a tad more sugar. Then you let that lovely, little peachy combo hang out and develop even more deliciousness.
The crust then gets rolled out and you press one half down into your sheet pan so it slightly hangs over the sides. Then this will chill while you roll the top layer. Once the top’s rolled , you’ll add the filling, dot with a little butter and now you’re ready to finish it off. Ok, now here’s where I find that some shy away from making pies because the dough, especially that top crust, can be intimidating. Well, I’ve got you on this one. This crust is really nice to work with, compared to some trickier doughs I’ve handled. The key is just to make sure it doesn’t get too warm or soft. This is why it’s important to chill it well after making it.
Then, you’ve got options as far as assembling. As you can see from the photos, I’ve cut my crust into strips and layed that out in lattice form. But if you look closely, it’s what you might call a lazy lattice, as I did no weaving at all. Just evenly spaced strips in one direction, then topped them with more strips going the other way. And it your strips rip, no worries, just patch them back up and if you’re not happy with some of the patching, cut cute little shapes with a cookie cutter to cover those spots up. Great trick, right?
Alternatively, another fun little design element you can go with, that’s super easy, is to use a cookie cutter to cut shapes of choice and place those all over the top and skip any type of lattice or traditional top crust all together.
Then whichever route you go, finish it off by brushing the top with an egg wash and sprinkle on a little sugar for good measure. Place it in a preheated oven and wait for it to turn into a bubbly, light golden masterpiece. You can get right in there while it’s warm, like I know some prefer, though it will be oozy (not a bad thing.) Or once it’s room temp, let it have a chill in the fridge to be able to cut into cute little bars. I love eating this cold. Add a nice scoop of vanilla ice and we’re in business.
The dog days of summer are almost gone and while my absolute favorite season, autumn, is almost here, I’m not quite ready to say adios to the peaches and all the rest of the amazing fruits currently available. If you’re on the same page, hurry up and get in on some of last of the fun with this Peach Slab Pie.
And if you’re interested in more peach recipes, here’s some more ideas…..
- Grilled Peach, Chicken, & Basil Summer Salad
- Peach, Apricot, Bourbon & Thyme Mini Galettes
- Peach & Raspberry Crumble
- Cherry Peach & Sangria Popsicle
- Bourbon Peach & Basil Sangria
Oh, and if you do make this or any of the above, please be sure to leave a comment or tag me on Instagram. Cheers to almost being at the end of the week and on to a three day weekend!
Peach Slab Pie
Ingredients
Filling:
- 6 cups peaches, peeled & sliced into wedges (about 8-9 peaches)
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsps brown sugar
- 2 tbsps fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3 tbsps cornstarch
Crust:
- 3 1/4 cup +2 tbsps (432g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsps granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 9 oz cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 1/2 tbsps milk
- 2 tbsps water
To Assemble:
- 1 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp cream or milk
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
For the Crust:
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Begin by making the crust. Add the flour, sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Then add the cold, cubed butter and process until the butter is pea-sized and the mixture resembles a course meal. Add the milk and pulse until the dough just starts to come together. It's ok if it's a tad shaggy.
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Pour the dough out onto a clean counter and form into a rectangle. Then divide the rectangle almost in half so that one piece is slightly larger than the other. Wrap each piece tightly with plastic wrap. Place into the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Then start the filling.
For the filling:
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Add all the filling ingredients to a large bowl and gently mix with a spatula or your hands to combine and ensure the peaches are evenly coated. Set aside.
To Assemble:
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Preheat oven to 375F/ 177C. Once the dough has had enough time to chill and feels firm, remove the larger dough rectangle from the refrigerator and roll out between two pieces of parchment paper (my preferred method) or on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the larger piece of dough to a little larger than a 13-by-9-inch rectangle. Then carefully lay it into the 13-by-9-inch rimmed baking sheet, pressing into corners (the dough should hang over sides) and trim any excess pieces as necessary. Chill in the refigerator while rolling the second piece of dough.
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Then using the same method you rolled the first piece of dough, roll out the remaining piece of dough to a 13-by-9 inch rectangle. If you are doing a lattice top, cut the dough on the diagonal into about 1 1/2 inch strips. (Alternatively you can use a cookie cutter to simply cut out desired shapes to place place those all over the top. Though try not to use too small shapes as they will burn easily.)
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Now remove the chilled bottom layer from the refigerator and pour the filling evenly over it. Use the 1 tbsp of butter to dot all over the filling.
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For the lattice top- Place about 5 or 6 strips diagonally across filling in pie pan, 1 inch apart (I suggest using maybe every other strip for the right length).
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Then put the remaining strips diagonally across the other strips (at a 90 degree angle,) 1 inch apart, to the strips already in place to create a lattice. Trim the ends as necessary and fold the trimmed bottom crust over the strips, building up an edge. Seal, crimp, or flute the edge. (If using cut out shapes, simply place those all over the top And crimp up the bottom layer of dough.)
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Whisk together the egg and 1 tbsp cream in a small bowl. Brush the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp of sugar all over the top. Freeze for 15 minutes.
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Then bake on a large baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (in case it drips) until filling is bubbly and crust is golden brown, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature or my favorite way, cold. (To cut into bars, it’s easiest if the pie is slightly chilled. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*If your peaches aren’t too sweet or you are using frozen, add a little more sugar as necessary to the filling.
