Can I make this in a half-sheet pan?

Yes, double the recipe for a half-sheet pan!

What do I do with a sticky pie dough when rolling?

Add more flour as you roll, only as much as needed to prevent dough from sticking.

Can I use a store-brought caramel sauce?

Totally, no judgement here if making caramel isn't your preference! You can also skip it entirely.

How do I reheat the caramel sauce?

The caramel sauce will harden when cold (leftover sauce should be stored in the fridge). To return to sauce consistency, I prefer to slowly heat over low heat in a pan, whisking constantly. You can also heat in 30 second bursts on low in the microwave, stirring between, though it's more likely the caramel will split from heating too quickly. If it splits, return to a pan and whisk vigorously over low heat until the sauce comes back together.

Apple Slab Pie with Salted Caramel

Description

Serve up a crowd with this apple slab pie! The cinnamon-spiced apple filling and flaky pie crust gets perfectly salted caramel topping!

Equipment Needed: Quarter sheet pan, Pie weights (or uncooked, dried beans)

Ingredients

Units

Pie Crust

390g all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
240g (1 1/4 cup) vegetable shortening, cold and cubed
3/4 cup cold water
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 large egg yolks
Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water)
Sparkling coarse sugar

Apple Filling

1 1/4 cup apple cider
Juice of 1 lemon
250g granulated sugar
3 pounds granny smith apples, cored and sliced into 1/4″ slices
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Salted Caramel Sauce

200g granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons quality flake salt

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Instructions

Pie crust. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Rub shortening in with fingers until mixture is sandy with some clumps of shortening left. In a separate bowl, whisk together water, lemon juice and egg yolks. Stir into flour mixture with wooden spoon until dough is just combined. Divide into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.
Apple filling. Place 1 cup apple cider, lemon juice and sugar in large saucepan. Bring to a low boil. Toss apples with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, and add to boiling mixture. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until apples are just fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Combine remaining 1/4 cup cider and cornstarch, add to apple mixture and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Set aside to cool.
Blind baking. Preheat oven to 450°F. Roll 1 disc of dough to a rectangle large enough to fill sheet pan and up the sides, about 12″x 15″. Trim any excess. Pierce bottom of crust with a fork, top with a sheet of parchment and fill with unbaked, dried beans or pie weights. If crust feels warm, rechill in fridge before baking. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove pie weights and parchment, brush with egg wash and return to oven and bake another 5 minutes, until light golden brown.
Pie assembly. Allow blind-baked crust to cool slightly. Fill with apple mixture (leaving any juices behind). Roll second disc to size of sheet pan. Trim to meet the edge of the bottom crust. Press firmly with finger all around to seal. Slice at least 4 large cuts in top to allow steam to escape. Alternately, you can create a lattice top as described above.
Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Bake at 450°F for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 350°F and bake another 20-25 minutes, until top is deep golden brown and filling is bubbling.
Salted caramel sauce. Place granulated sugar in a large saucepan (3 quart minimum, avoid non-stick). Whisk sugar until dissolved and begins to bubble. Stop whisking. Let bubble until color darkens to a deep amber color, only swirling the pot occasionally. Add butter (mixture will bubble rapidly). Whisk vigorously until combined. If mixture looks split, remove from the heat and continue whisking rapidly. It may take a few minutes for butter to fully combine.
Return to heat and slowly add heavy cream while stirring constantly. Mixture will bubble rapidly again when heavy cream hits the caramel. Boil for 1 minute while stirring. Serve warm.

Notes

Unbaked pie crust and filling may be made in advance. Store up to two days and stored in fridge before continuing with step 3.
Store leftover pie in airtight container in fridge.
Store leftover salted caramel in fridge. Reheat in pan over low heat, whisk constantly.

Keywords: mixer-free, fresh fruit dessert, holiday desserts