Cherry Plum Slab Pie Food

CHERRY PLUM SLAB PIE

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture resembles coarse meal and the butter is the size of small peas.
• Add 1 tablespoon of water and continue mixing. Add more water as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a dough forms.
• Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Remove the dough from refrigerator. If necessary, let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes until slightly softened but still cold.
• Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick.
• Transfer the dough to a quarter sheet pan (approximately 9"x 13"). Trim any excess dough from the edges, or tuck under the excess dough to form a thicker edge. Crimp the edges as desired for a decorative edge.
• Place the pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
• Pit the cherries and plums. Slice the plums into 1/4-1/2" slices. Cut the cherries in half if you prefer smaller pieces.
• In a large bowl, stir together the cherries, plums, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Combine the flour, brown sugar, almonds, cinnamon, and salt. Add the butter, and mix with a pastry blender, a fork, or your fingers until crumbs form. Set aside.
• Transfer the filling to the chilled crust, spreading evenly. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the top of the filling.
• Place the pan on a larger rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper to catch any spills.
• Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbly. Allow the pie to cool before serving.

FOUR-FLAVOR SHEET PAN PIE

Steps:

• For the crusts: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Unroll 3 of the pie crusts on a lightly floured work surface. Stack them on top of each other. Roll out the thick, layered dough to a 15-by-21-inch rectangle. Press into a rimmed baking sheet so that the crust comes up the sides and hangs over slightly. This will be the bottom crust. Chill until ready to use, at least 30 minutes.
• Use the remaining crust for the top of the pie. Unroll it on a lightly floured work surface and roll it to a 14-by-18-inch rectangle. Cut the dough in half so you have two 7-by-9-inch pieces. One half will be the top crust for the apple portion of the pie. Cut the other half into 1-inch diagonal strips to use for the lattice on the cherry pie. Place the rectangle and strips on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill until ready to use.
• For the apple pie: Toss the apples in a medium bowl with the sugar and lemon juice. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and cook until thickened, about 1 minute more. Cool completely.
• For the sour cherry pie: Place the cherries in a medium bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup cherry juice with the cornstarch in a small saucepan until completely smooth. Add the remaining cherry juice and sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy, about 30 seconds. Pour the sauce over the cherries and gently fold to combine. Cool completely.
• For the pumpkin pie: Whisk together the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and the egg and in a medium bowl until smooth. Set aside.
• For the pecan pie: Whisk together the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, eggs and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fold in the pecans and set aside.
• Once all fillings are made, begin assembling the pie. Remove both baking sheets with dough from the refrigerator.
• Visualize the sheet pan is divided in half lengthwise and then crosswise so you have 4 equal quadrants. Each quadrant will hold a different pie filling. Prick the bottom crust all over with a fork.
• Add the pie fillings in this order: Add the apple pie filling to the upper left quadrant of the crust; spread it to cover a 7-by-9-inch rectangle. Moving counter clockwise, pour the pumpkin filling right under the apple pie filling and spread it the same size as the apple filling. Spread out the cherry filling next to the pumpkin filling. Fill the top right empty space with the pecan filling.
• Cover the apple pie quadrant with the reserved rectangle of dough. Lay the pie strips out diagonally over the cherry pie quadrant. Press any remaining strips of dough around the edge of the pie to thicken the rim. Crimp the edge of the pie, making sure to incorporate and crimp together the dough from the apple quadrant. Brush the edges and the dough on top of the pie with egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Cut decorative slits in the apple pie crust.
• Bake until all pies are set and the crust on the apple pie and cherry pie is golden brown and crisp, 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes.

CHERRY PLUM SLAB PIE WITH WALNUT STREUSEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, combine cherries, plums, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice; toss to coat., On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 16x12-in. rectangle; transfer to an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Trim even with rim of dish. Add filling. For topping, in a small bowl, mix oats, walnuts, flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling., Bake until filling is bubbly and crust is golden brown, 50-55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

PLUM SLAB PIE

Steps:

• For the crust: Combine the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor and mix until combined. Add the butter and pulse until evenly combined and the size of small pebbles. Pour in the vinegar and pulse 1 to 2 times until just combined. With the food processor running, slowly pour in the cold water, adding just enough for the dough to form a ball. You may not need the entire 1/3 cup of water.
• Remove the dough from the food processor and form it into a ball. Cut off about a third of the ball so you have a small piece (about 10 ounces) and a larger piece (about 1 pound 6 ounces; see Cook's Note). Form both pieces of dough into discs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet very lightly with cooking spray.
• Dust a work surface lightly with flour. Roll the larger disc of dough into a rectangle that is 2 inches larger on all sides than the baking sheet. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and then unfold it over the baking sheet, gently guiding the dough into the baking sheet and lightly pressing it into the corners, sides and bottom. Refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the pie.
• Lightly dust the work surface with flour and roll out the smaller disc of dough into a 20-by-12-inch rectangle. Place a ruler along the 12-inch side of the dough and make a mark with a pizza cutter every 1/2 inch. Turn the ruler along each mark and use it as a guide to cut a straight line, making twelve 1/2-inch strips that are 20 inches long. Transfer the strips of dough to a baking sheet, laying them diagonally so they fit and dusting the strips with flour as you lay them down. Refrigerate while you make the filling so the dough does not begin to stick together.
• For the filling: In a large bowl, mix together the plums, granulated sugar, cornstarch, almond extract, orange zest and juice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, making sure the plums are evenly coated. Let sit no more than 5 minutes.
• To assemble: Evenly spread the filling over the crust on the baking sheet. Lay one of the dough strips diagonally across the baking sheet from one corner to the other. Repeat laying strips parallel to the first piece evenly across the rest of the pie. You can cut strips down to size as you work your way towards the end of the pie, making sure to leave a bit of overhang on both sides.
• Take every other strip of dough and fold it back over itself so that it exposes a little more than half of the filling. Lay a long strip of dough in the opposite direction, going diagonally from one corner to the other. Fold the dough strips back down and you will begin to see a lattice form. Fold back every other strip of dough that you didn't fold back before, and then lay another strip of dough diagonally across the pie, working towards a corner. Continue this process until half the pie has a lattice top. Then rotate the pan and repeat the same process on the other side to finish the lattice.
• Fold the dough hanging over the sides of the pie up and over the edge, tucking the ends of the strips from the lattice top inside. This will ensure the strips of dough stay anchored to the edges of the pie. Crimp the edges of the dough using your pointer fingers and thumb to pinch the dough together.
• Whisk together the heavy cream and egg and brush evenly over the lattice top and edges of the pie. Sprinkle the entire pie with turbinado sugar and bake until the crust is a deep golden brown and bubbles form towards the middle of the pie, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let cool completely, at least 40 minutes.

SPICED PLUM PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. Line a 9-in. pie plate or cast iron skillet with bottom pastry; trim even with edge. Arrange plums in crust. In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Stir in egg, orange juice and zest. Pour over plums; dot with butter. , Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry., Bake 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly (cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary). Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm with ice cream if desired.

CHERRY STREUSEL SLAB PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Unroll pie crusts; place one on top of the other on work surface. Fold sides in to make straight edges; roll crust into 14 x 12-inch rectangle. Fit dough into quarter sheet pan (rimmed 13x9-inch); trim and crimp edges. Refrigerate.
• In food processor, place Streusel ingredients. Cover and process until mixture is sandy and clumps up when pinched. Set aside. In large bowl, mix Filling ingredients.
• Spread filling evenly over refrigerated pie crust. Sprinkle generously with streusel; bake about 1 hour or until juices are bubbling. Cool on cooling rack at least 30 minutes before serving.

CHERRY HAND PIES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, whisk 4 tablespoons water, sugar, brandy, cornstarch, lemon juice, tapioca, lemon zest and salt until combined. Add cherries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool., Preheat oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough to a 14x9-in. rectangle. Cut out eight 3-1/2 x 4-1/2-in. rectangles. Repeat with remaining dough. , Transfer 8 rectangles to parchment-lined baking sheets; spoon about 3 tablespoons cherry mixture in center of each. Whisk egg and remaining 2 tablespoons water. Brush edges of crust with egg wash. Top with remaining 8 rectangles; press edges with a fork to seal. Brush tops with egg wash; cut slits in tops., Bake until crust is golden brown and slightly puffed, 25-30 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Combine confectioners' sugar, hot water, melted butter, extracts and salt; drizzle over pies. Garnish with freeze-dried strawberries if desired. Let stand until set.

SOUR CHERRY SLAB PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If using frozen cherries, defrost and drain. In a large bowl, combine cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt. Stir to combine; set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger piece of dough into an 18-by-12-inch rectangle. Transfer to a 15-by-10-by-1-inch rimmed baking sheet, (pastry will hang over sides of pan). Pour cherry mixture into lined baking sheet; set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining piece of dough into a 16-by-11-inch rectangle. Drape over filling. Bring bottom pastry up and over top pastry. Pinch edges to seal. Using a fork, prick top crust all over. Brush with heavy cream.
• Bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 40 to 55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack until just warm to the touch, about 45 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until desired glaze consistency is achieved. Use a spoon to drizzle over top. Serve warm or room temperature.