Jon has decided that this is his new favorite dessert and all other apple desserts are a waste of time. I think I agree. This is a big apple pie with a slightly tart filling and a delicious, apple cinnamon icing on top. The great thing is that it's a BIG apple pie so it will serve a crowd. This pie is best within the first day or two after it's baked because the crust tends to get soggy after the second day so be sure to eat it fast... not that that was an issue in this house.
Before the icingApple Slab (dairy-free alternatives in blue)
Crust
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (you could use all-purpose)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cold lard (or butter)
10 Tbsp. cold butter (Earth Balance)
1 tsp. vinegar
6-7 Tbsp. ice cold water
Filling
10 cups peeled, cored, and sliced Granny Smith or other firm, tart apples (the icing will make the pie way too sweet if you use sweet apples)
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Icing
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Directions:
-Make crust: In a food processor, blend flour, salt, baking powder, sugar until well mixed. Add lard and butter (Earth Balance) and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. The lard and butter chunks should be the size of a small pea. Add the ice water and vinegar and pulse just until the dough starts to come together into a ball. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 2 pieces... one slightly larger then the other. One ball being about 60% of the dough and the other 40% of the dough. Pat the dough into flat rectangles, wrap in plastic wrap, and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350*
- With the larger rectangle of cold dough, on a lightly floured surface, or between two pieces of plastic wrap, roll out the dough until it's about 11x15". Don't worry if the dough is rough around the edges. This pie is very forgiving.
-Place the dough into a 9x13", ungreased baking pan. Let the dough come up the sides of the pan, pressing them gently into place. It's fine if the sides aren't completely covered but patch any holes in the bottom because you don't want the filling leaking out.
-Mix together all filling ingredients in a large bowl until the apples are all coated in the other ingredients. Dump the filling gently into the pan lined with dough being careful to distribute the apples evenly.
- Roll the remaining cold dough into a rectangle large enough to cover the top of the pie. Lay the crust on top of the apples. It's fine if the dough doesn't reach the sides of the pan but try to get it close. Cut 6 or 8 slits in the top of the crust to let steam escape while cooking.
- Place slab in the 350* oven and bake for one hour. Remove from oven. It should be golden brown and bubbling around the edge. Allow to cool completely before adding the icing.
- Stir together all icing ingredients and drizzle over completely cool apple slab. Serve!
Yields 12-16 pieces depending on how you slice it.
