apple slab

Despite my recent health nut ways, I promised you some fall baking. And I'm a woman of my word. So, without further adieu, apple pie. Well, kinda. Over the summer I shared my all-time favorite apple pie recipe. The holy grail of apple pies, Southern Comfort Apple Pie. Any apple dessert has big shoes to fill to even compare to that sacred pie. And, yet, I'm not one to rest on my laurels. I can't let well enough alone. I must continue the search for the next greatest apple pie. It's a noble quest, I know.

So I bring you today not Apple Pie, but Apple Slab. The name was not my idea, I assure you. But please don't let it scare you away. I've mentioned before my aversion to the concept of any food in "loaf" form. Meat loaf is the prime suspect in this category. Bread obviously gets a "get out of jail free" card on this issue since I'm powerless against its carby goodness.

However, the idea of a food in "slab" form is perhaps even worse than the dreaded "loaf." The only other thing I can even recall being classified by the slab, is a slab of concrete. Or maybe granite or marble? Yet, all of these things seem appropriate as slabs. This apple slab, on the other hand, does not. There is nothing hard or slab-ish about this delicious dessert. It is flaky and gooey and perfectly spiced and coated in an apple cider glaze. I can think of no instance where any of those adjectives would describe a slab of concrete. This, my friends, may be more accurately described as Apple Pie Bars or just Apple Deliciousness.

Either way, I recommend you make a slab o' this sometime soon. It's everything delicious about Apple Pie but in smaller, less guilt-inducing squares. Plus apple cider glaze. Did I mention the apple cider glaze? It's pretty epic. Now go make a slab and enjoy!

Apple Slab

Crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

Filling:
1 cup Panko bread crumbs, or other coarse dry bread crumbs; or 1 cup coarsely crushed cornflakes
6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cinnamon

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup apple cider
small pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

To make the crust: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and salt together. In a measuring cup, stir 3/4 cup water with several ice cubes until it is very cold.

Cut the cold butter into cubes and toss them in the flour mixture to coat. Put the mixture in the bowl of a food processor and pulse in short bursts until the butter pieces are the size of hazelnuts. Pulsing in 4-second bursts, slowly drizzle the ice water into the food processor through the feed tube. As soon as the dough comes together in a ball, stop adding water.

Remove the dough from the food processor and divide it into two pieces; one should represent about 40% of the dough, the other, about 60%. Shape each piece into a rectangle and wrap first in parchment paper and then in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Take the larger piece of pastry out of the fridge, and put it on a floured work surface. Roll it into an 11" x 15" rectangle. Don't worry about the ragged edges; they'll disappear under the top crust. Place the crust in an ungreased 9" x 13" cake pan. Patch up any holes by pushing the pastry together with your fingers, or adding a pinch from the excess on the sides. Push the pastry up the sides of the pan a bit, to make a shallow pastry container for the apples. Put the crust in the fridge while you get the apples ready.

Start preheating your oven to 350°

To make the filling: Spread the bread crumbs or crushed cornflakes evenly over the crust. Spread the sliced apples atop the crumbs. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the apples.

Roll the remaining piece of pastry into a 9" x 13" rectangle. Lay the top crust over the apples. Seal the edges of the two crusts as well as you can. If the whole thing has become warm and sticky and hard to work with, pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm it up.

Just before baking, slash the crust 6 or 8 times to allow steam to escape. Put the slab in the preheated 350°F oven, and bake it for an hour. Remove it from the oven; it'll be golden brown, and the filling should be bubbling. Allow to cool completely before glazing.

To make the glaze: Combine the confectioners' sugar, apple cider, cinnamon, and salt. Start with 1/4 cup of the cider; if you've made this kind of icing before, you know it's easier to add more liquid, than to try to take it away. Add enough liquid to make the glaze pourable. Drizzle the glaze atop the slab.

Yield: 16 to 24 servings, depending on size.

Sources: crust from Baked Explorations, apple slab adapted from King Arthur Flour