This apple slab pie has everything your sweet tooth desires! Doesn’t a flaky cinnamon crust filled with luscious apple butter and an almond oat crumb sound irresistible? You know you want a slice!
Invite more people over because this Apple Butter Crumb Slab Pie feeds a crowd! Enjoy a piece with our Homemade Cinnamon Coffee
I often call fall soup season, but I think I’m going to re-nickname autumn pie season!
Not that I don’t like pie year round! “Pass the pie, please!” sounds awesome in any season. But the American holiday table is incomplete without a pie.
Using apple butter for slab pie
Nothing is as American as the classic apple pie. But we’re putting our own spin on the tradition by using apple butter.
I love a good apple butter. You know the kind… lusciously smooth, a tad sweet with just the right amount of spice. The type of jammy apple butter you load onto buttered toast to make chilly fall mornings delightful? Well, we’re giving this condiment new range with this slab pie recipe.
Apple butters can vary widely in sweetness. If you have a sweet tooth, go for one with a bit of sugar in it. If you like a less sweet dessert, go for an unsweetened variety.
Want to try making apple butter from scratch? If you share my sweet tooth this recipe from Hunger Thirst Play is great. For an unsweetened jam I like this version from Foodal.
Cinnamon pie crust
With all the time you save not peeling apples, you can make this awesome cinnamon pie crust recipe from scratch.
The crust is deliciously flaky but still tender. That’s because I use vanilla extract in the recipe.
Many recipes call for vodka or vinegar because it inhibits gluten formation, which can lead to a tough pastry. But I use my homemade vanilla extract which is made with only vanilla and vodka. This trick gets the tender results but with lots of extra flavor.
And flavor is important in this pie dough. The first time around I made an all butter crust and it got all melty in the oven.
There’s got to be some compromise between flavor and beauty. So I split the difference and used half shortening so that the pie crust would hold its shape better.
I was tempted to go all in on the shortening, but I still wanted a bit of butter for the flavor factor.
If desired, you can use an egg wash for a glossy cinnamon pie crust. Whisk together one egg and a tablespoon of heavy cream and brush it on your crust with a pastry brush before you fill it.
Crumb topping for pie
Now let’s talk crumb…because when I polled my Facebook peeps about pies an incredible number of them asked for crumble! So we’re delivering the goods with an almond oat crumb that’s nutty and sweet. They were so right, too!
I can’t imagine this apple butter pie without a crumb topping now!
Dessert for a crowd
The busy holiday season NEEDS this pie because who has enough time to create multiple desserts to feed a crowd?
Isn’t it a relief to know you don’t have to peel apples for this recipe? Apple butter to the rescue! This key ingredient makes this an easy apple pie recipe.
But if you’re like me, there can never be too many desserts at a gathering. The maple walnut pie and the rum raisin apple brown betty are two of my favorite fall treats!
So seriously, invite more people to your party…because there’s a whole slab ‘o pie to be had! Do I need to say more? Enjoy ;-)
Apple Slab Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Pie crust
- 3¾ cup all purpose flour (16.875 ounces by weight)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup butter , very cold
- ¾ cup shortening
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 9-12 tablespoons ice water
Filling
- 1 -28 oz jar apple butter
- 1½ cups oats
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup sliced almonds
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¾ cup butter , very cold
Instructions
Pie crust
- Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar in a large bowl.
- With a pastry cutter, cut in butter and shortening until pea sized clumps form.
- Add in vanilla and begin to add ice water one tablespoon at a time.
- At this point you’ll need to start working the dough with your hands.
- Add water until a dough forms. Add too little and it willl be crumbly. Add too much and it will be sticky. Also try to not overwork the pastry. You want to see clumps of butter and shortening in the finished product.
- Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.
- One the dough is cold, roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper slightly larger than the size of your pan. It will help you roll it to the right dimensions.
- Roll and crimp pie crust edges and pierce the bottom of crust with a fork to prevent bubbles.
Filling
- Using an offset spatula, spread apple butter in the pie crust.
- In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, almonds, salt and cinnamon,
- Cut butter into the flour mixture until a crumb forms.
- Top pie with crumb and chill for an hour. (This will prevent the crust from “melting” in the oven).
- While the pie is chilling, preheat oven to 350F.
- Bake pie 50-60 minutes, or until it’s golden.
Notes
- If desired, you can use an egg wash for a glossy crust. Whisk together one egg and a tablespoon of heavy cream and brush it on your crust with a pastry brush before you fill it.
- Apple butters can vary widely in sweetness. If you have a sweet tooth, go for one with a bit of sugar in it. If you like a less sweet dessert, go for an unsweetened variety.
- I tested this recipe with my homemade vanilla extract which is strong and made with just vodka and vanilla beans. If you don’t have homemade, find the best, double strength extract you can find, preferably with little to no sugar or water added.
Nutrition
Expecting guests? Lots more fall pie and tart recipes to try this season!
You might also like:
Grilled p
Apple butter glaze sears flavor into this juicy grilled pork.
Leave a Reply