Sour Cherry Slab Pie

God bless Martha Stewart for creating the Sour Cherry Slab Pie. God bless Deb Perelman for adapting Martha's recipe. God bless White House Fruit Farm for selling 10 lb tubs of pitted, tart cherries. And hopefully, God bless me for my take on the slab pie technique. I love a good pie crust. I fell in love with this recipe four years ago when Deb Perelman of the Smitten Kitchen blog reeled me in with the crust-to-pie ratio in this recipe (150% to 100%, respectively). What carbo-loving lady wouldn't love that range? White House Fruit Farm, a 75 acre fruit and vegetable farm located in Canfield, Ohio, sells 10 pound containers of Montmorency cherries every July. This year I decided to order a tub and what better way to use those tart cherries than to make Sour Cherry Slab Pie. I mean, the slab pie really is perfect for the summer because you can easily eat it sans fork. It's great for picnic or parties on the go where you want the convenience of a cookie but the happiness of fruit pie. I've made this recipe several times now (10 lbs of of cherries goes a long way) and found a couple of tricks to make the slab pie process easier:

1. Make parchment paper your new best friend. I use an 18x13 non-stick, baking sheet for this pie and I line it with parchment paper. I actually use enough paper so that it goes up the sides of the pan. It makes removing and cutting the pie easy and clean up a breeze. I also use two sheets of it to roll out the dough. Besides helping to keep the dough from sticking to the counter it gives me a size guide for the pan.

2. Use a food processor to start your dough. I've had a lot of people tell me that making pie crust is difficult. I have found that pulsing the dry ingredients and the butter together in the food processor evenly distributes the butter throughout while keeping it pea size for flaky crust. Then I put the mixture into a mixing bowl and add the water slowly, at first using a wooden spoon and then folding the dough together with my hand. Works like a charm every time for me!

3. Drain the cherries well or use more cornstarch. The key to the slab pie working sans fork is that the cornstarch adequately gels the cherries and sugar mixture. If not, they will leak a little when you bite them. They still taste divine but you may not be happy with the cherry juice stains on your favorite shirt. Add enough cornstarch so that you only have little juice with the cherries and the sugar mixture binds to the fruit.

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Sour Cherry Slab Pie

Crust Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

2 sticks unsalted butter

1/2 to 3/4 cup cold water

Filling Ingredients:

6 cups sour cherries, pitted and drained

1 cup of sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch (more as needed)

Juice of half a lemon

Pinch or two of salt

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Glaze Ingredients (optional):

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Yield: 12-16 servings Prep Time: 60 mins Bake Time: 55 mins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt. Stir to combine; set aside.

3. Combine the crust ingredients and fold until blended into dough (see suggestion #2 above). PLEASE NOTE: You will do this step twice. You will need to make TWO crusts!Once both crusts are made, shape them into rectangular disks, wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator for one hour.

4. On lightly floured parchment paper, roll out the first piece of dough into an 18-by-12-inch rectangle. Place into parchment lined baking sheet; set aside.

5. Pour cherry mixture into lined baking sheet; set aside.

6. On a lightly floured parchment paper, 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.

7. 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.

8. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, water and lemon juice until desired glaze consistency is achieved. Use a spoon to drizzle over top. Serve warm or room temperature. Enjoy!

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