Applejack Pie

This is a slab pie, the kind that feeds a crowd on Thanksgiving without committing you to making four round pies. Twenty-five tart apples (think Granny Smith, Cortland, or Northern Spy), pile into a 12×18 sheet pan between two lattice-friendly crusts and come out feeding twenty.

The pastry uses shortening instead of butter, an old-school move that gives a flakier, more shatter-prone crust at the cost of some flavor. Cut the shortening in until the pieces are pea-sized; that uneven distribution is what creates the layered, bubbled flake when steam hits it in the oven.

A drizzled powdered-sugar glaze finishes the warm pie, the milky-sweet ribbons across golden lattice are what give applejack pie its name and Pennsylvania Dutch heritage.

Watch the crust around minute 35. If it’s browning faster than the apples are softening, drop the oven to 350°F (175°C) and tent loosely with foil.

Pro Tips

• Use a mix of tart apples for complexity. Granny Smith for sharpness, Honeycrisp or Braeburn for sweetness and structure that holds shape during the long bake.
• Toss the sliced apples with the sugar and cinnamon and let them sit 15 minutes before filling. That maceration draws out excess juice you can drain off, preventing a soupy pie.
• Cool 15 minutes, glaze while still warm. The glaze sets into a thin, slightly cracked sheen instead of melting away.
• Cut into squares, not wedges. Slab pie wants a square serving knife, not a pie server.

Variations

• Add a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg or a tablespoon of bourbon to the apple filling for depth.
• Stir a handful of dried cranberries into the apples for tart pops.
• Use butter in the pastry instead of shortening for richer, flavor-forward crust at the expense of some flake.