Beautiful Cherry Slab Pie

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You guys, I know the title says it, but this really is a Beautiful Cherry Slab Pie. Not only is it beautiful, but it tastes good and it is a good size to feed friends and family at your next get together!

I realize this pie might look hard to make, but with a few simple steps, you can make a pie just like this and be proud of it!

Cherry Pie Filling From Frozen Cherries

Now, to save time, you can always buy your pie filling, nothing wrong with that, in fact, there are a lot of great options out there. If you are like me and prefer to make it yourself, keep reading this section.

I used frozen cherries to make the pie filling. This time of year, fresh cherries are really hard to find, and if you can find them, they are never very good. Frozen is the best option and great to use for this filling. Now, the cherry filling will need to be thickened and you have several options- flour, cornstarch, or tapioca starch. My preference is almost always cornstarch. So, that is what I will show in this recipe.

Start with a heavy bottom, good-sized pan. I love my Lodge enameled cast iron for this. It is easier to keep the pie filling from burning if you have a good thick bottom and sides on your pan as opposed to a cheap, thin pan. Now, you will need something to thicken the cherries. Add all ingredients and bring to simmer over medium-low heat. Allow it to cook for about 8-10 minutes until thickened. Then, cool to room temp before adding it to your pie.

Making Pie Dough

If you have always been too intimidated to make your own pie dough, don’t be. I have a great post all about it here. I love to make a partial wheat crust and I show you how to make a great, delicious, and totally flaky crust in that post. With a few simple tips, you will be making pie dough like a pro.

Shaping the Pie Crust For The Slab Pie

This the part that generally feels intimidating to people. Don’t let it! It is a little work, but not too bad. This slab pie is made in a Nordicware Jelly Roll Pan. I started by rolling the bottom crust. Each crust, top, and bottom are shaped from 2 single batches of pie dough. So, normally when you make pie dough, you split the dough in half, using 1 half for the top and 1 half for the bottom. In this slab pie, you will make 2 batches of pie dough, and use 1 for the bottom and 1 for the top. You will have excess, but that is better than being short! So, roll the bottom on a lightly floured surface. Fit it to your pan and crimp the edges. Sorry, I should have gotten more photos of this process, but I forgot while I was working away.

Now, once the bottom is finished, I used the jelly roll pan as a template to trace for the top. With a pencil, trace around the bottom of the pan. This is the guide you will use to make the top crust to scale. Place the bottom crust in the fridge and roll out your top crust.

The Lattice Work

I used to make my lattice on top of the pie itself, but changed recently and found a much easier way. Roll your dough into a long rectangle. I rolled mine to about 1/8 thick. I see a lot of latticework where the crust is so thick. I prefer mine a little thinner than that. This will require a bit more. So, dust your surface and check until the dough you are rolling frequently. Once it is rolled, cut into 3/4-1 inch strips. I actually use an Omni quilting grid ruler to do this. I linked to Amazon, but have always bought mine at Hobby Lobby with the coupon. I cut the dough with this pastry wheel.

If you can see in the photo below, under the strips I have my rectangle template. I am using this as a guide. I go over the guide, as I want to have wiggle room. It will be trimmed later. Let’s start your weaving.

Your weave can be as tight or loose as you choose. I wanted mine to be pretty tight, but not right up next to each other. So, I gave a little less than 1/2 inch between the strips.

Trim the edge of the latticework following the lines on parchment. Gently move the parchment on the back of a sheet pan flipped over and move to the freezer to chill for about 10 minutes.

If you are decorating your pie as I did, these are the leaf cookie cutters I used. Cut them and place them in the fridge as well. Chilled decorations will hold their shape better than room temp ones will.

Assembling The Beautiful Cherry Slab Pie

Your bottom, top crust, and decorations should be chilled. Now, as the cherry pie filling has the tendency to soak your bottom crust and make it soggy, you can prevent this by brushing the bottom with melted butter. This creates a moisture resistent layer.

Add in your cherry pie filling. I like mine up pretty full, as I like it when it bubbles up quite a bit between the lattice work and even over flows a bit.

Dot on a few tablespoons of butter.

Remove the top crust latticework from the freezer, remove from the parchment paper, then carefully place on the pie filling. If you need to trim it up a bit to fit inside the bottom crust, do this with a sharp pair of scissors.

Brush with an egg wash. This isn’t necessary, but sure makes the pie more beautiful! Then sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.

Place your prepared leaves or whatever decoration you have chosen to use.

Brush the decorations with egg wash as well, then sprinkle them with the sugar too.

Tips For Baking The Cherry Slab Pie

• Bake on the bottom shelf in the oven. You want to make sure the bottom crust bakes the same time as the top, but this won’t happen unless it’s in the lower half of the oven.
• Always, always place a larger pan under the slab pie. If it is cooked right, it will bubble over and make a mess in your oven. Tinfoil will also work if you prefer.
• You will know when your pie is done with a few signs. The top crust will be a beautiful golden brown, as shown below. The filling will be bubbling all the way through the pie.

Beautiful Cherry Slab Pie

This is the finished pie and isn’t it beautiful?? There is something so nostalgic about pie.

The filling is the perfect balance with the flaky crust. especially topped with the sugary top crust.

The bottom crust is exactly as it should be- perfectly baked and still separated from the filling. It was able to hold it’s own with the layer of melted butter.

If pie is your thing, I have a few other options:

• Simple Pie Pops. I love these quick, individual options.
• How about a Chocolate Pecan Pie? This is one of my husband’s favorites!
• Do you like hand pies? If so, these delicious Blueberry Hand Pies are so good!
• A go-to of mine for the holidays is a Praline Pumpkin Pie.