Cherry Slab Pie
This fantastic Cherry Slab Pie is outrageously delicious! It's flavored with almond extract in the filling and the glaze on top. It's terrific to make in summer when fresh cherries are in season. We like to serve it for tailgating parties, potlucks, Family Reunions or backyard barbecues. Also great for the Fourth of July.
Equipment
- 1 13x19" cookie sheet pan
- 2 large mixing bowls
- 2 wooden spoons
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 pastry wheel to cut lattice crust
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 cherry pitter or sharp knife to pit cherries
- 1 spatula
Ingredients
CHERRY FILLING:
- 6 double crust plain pastry pie crust or homemade pie crust
- 12 cups fresh cherries pitted, halved and patted dry
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour (bleached flour toughens baked goods)
- 1 tbsp. almond extract
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 to 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup half-and-half or milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
ALMOND GLAZE:
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 2 tbsp. half-and-half or about 1 tbsp. water
Instructions
CHERRY FILLING:
- Grease a large 13”x19” cookie sheet (with edges).
- Roll out half of the pastry to a rectangle that will fit and overlap the cookie sheet.
- Gently place pastry into greased cookie sheet.
- Roll out remaining pastry and cut in ½” strips with a pastry wheel.
- Set aside.
- Stir cherries with 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, flour, almond extract and lemon juice in a mixing bowl.
- Spread onto crust.
- Dot with the butter.
- Arrange long strips of lattice crust across the top of the cherries horizontally and vertically.
- Roll edges inward and then flute.
- Brush top crust with half-and-half or milk. (1/3 cup or so).
- Then sprinkle with sugar (about ½ cup until well covered).
- Bake at 400° for 10 minutes.
- Reduce heat to 350° and bake for about 1 ½ hours to 1 hour and 50 minutes, or until cherries are fully cooked.
- Syrup will thicken and bubble up thickly through the openings in the top crust.
- Cool completely before adding glaze.
ALMOND GLAZE:
- Combine ingredients to make a thick icing.
- Drizzle over top of cooled Cherry Slab Pie.
- Allow icing to set and harden about 15 minutes before cutting into pieces.
Notes
NOTE: My slab pie cooked 10 minutes at 400° and 1 hour and 50 minutes at 350°, before it was set enough and syrup was thickened.
NOTE: Do not add the cherries to the bottom crust until you have the top crust ready to go. Otherwise, the cherries and juice will sit too long on the bottom crust and it will become soggy.
NOTE: The pie is done when the syrup is no longer thin and runny. It will thicken like a sauce when cooked long enough.
NOTE: Unless you are really fast at weaving a lattice crust and can do the entire thing in 5 minutes, I do not recommend a true lattice crust for this recipe. If it takes you 15 to 20 minutes or longer to weave it, the filling will be in the unbaked crust too long and it will get soggy.
NOTE: I used a homemade pie crust, but you can use roll-out refrigerated pie crusts from the grocery store if you don't have the time or inclination to make our own pie crust.
Cherries provided courtesy of Northwest Cherry Growers.
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
[nutrition-label]Nutrition
Calories: 179kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 2gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 89mgPotassium: 103mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 46IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!