Ultimate Peach Vanilla Slab Pie: The Perfect Crowd-Pleasing Dessert Recipe

Get ready to be the star of your next gathering with this incredible Peach Vanilla Slab Pie! This dessert isn’t just a treat; it’s a celebration, perfect for backyard barbecues, family reunions, or any occasion where you need to feed a happy crowd. Unlike overly sweet pies, this recipe strikes a beautiful balance, offering a delightful blend of flavors that will leave everyone asking for more. The secret lies in a meticulously crafted whole wheat pastry dough, infused with a hint of fresh lemon, and a luscious filling of ripe peaches sweetened with rich brown sugar and a generous touch of aromatic vanilla.

Crafting the Perfect Pie Crust: The Foundation of Your Slab Pie

Before we dive into the juicy peaches, let’s talk about the unsung hero of any great pie: the dough. This recipe features a spectacular homemade crust made with whole wheat pastry flour, which lends a subtle nutty flavor and a tender, flaky texture that’s simply irresistible. The fresh lemon adds a bright note, cutting through the richness and enhancing the overall flavor profile. This dough requires a significant chilling period, ideally overnight, but at least two hours. This step is crucial for developing flavor, relaxing the gluten, and ensuring the butter remains cold, all of which contribute to an ultimately flaky and easy-to-handle crust.

Preparing Your Homemade Pie Dough: Tips for Success

Using a food processor makes quick work of incorporating the butter into the flour, resulting in a mixture that resembles coarse meal. This texture is ideal for a flaky crust, as it ensures the butter is evenly distributed but still in small, distinct pieces.

• Food Processor Method: Combine flours and salt, then pulse briefly. Add cold, cubed butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. This typically takes only 4-5 pulses. Then, with the processor running, slowly add the liquid mixture until the dough just starts to come together into a shaggy ball. Be careful not to overmix!
• Hand Mixing Method: If you don’t have a food processor, don’t worry! You can easily make this dough by hand.

For hand mixing, follow these steps:

• Place the dry ingredients (flours and salt) in a large bowl and whisk them together thoroughly.
• Cut in the cold butter cubes using a pastry cutter or two knives. Work quickly to prevent the butter from warming too much. Continue until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Gradually add the wet ingredients (oil, lemon juice, cold water). Stir vigorously with a sturdy wooden spoon until the dough comes together and forms a shaggy ball. You might need to use your hands to gently bring it all together.

Once your dough has formed, divide it into two pieces: one larger (about 60% of the total dough) for the bottom crust, and one smaller (40%) for the lattice top. This is where a food scale can be incredibly helpful for precise measurements. Flatten each portion into a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and place them in the refrigerator to chill. Remember, patience is key here; at least two hours, or even better, overnight, will ensure your dough is perfectly chilled and ready to be worked with. Once the dough has sufficiently chilled, you can move on to preparing the delectable peach filling.

Preparing the Sweet & Aromatic Peach Filling

This Cooking Light recipe originally calls for peeling the peaches. While peeling six pounds of peaches (roughly a dozen!) can be a labor of love, it certainly yields a very smooth filling. However, consider an alternative: for a more rustic and less labor-intensive approach, you can absolutely leave the skin on! Peach skin softens beautifully during baking and adds a lovely color and subtle texture to the pie. Next time, I plan to embrace the rustic charm and skip the peeling, and I encourage you to try it too.

When preparing your peaches, be sure to use a very large bowl – or better yet, an 8-quart stockpot, as I eventually discovered! You’ll be working with about 12 cups of sliced peaches, plus all the additional ingredients for the filling. It’s crucial to have enough space to toss everything together thoroughly. Every single piece of fruit needs to be beautifully coated with the brown sugar, cornstarch (which acts as our thickening agent), fragrant vanilla bean paste, and a hint of warming cinnamon. This ensures a consistent, flavorful bite in every slice of your slab pie.

Assembling Your Masterpiece: Rolling the Dough and Filling the Pie

Now, for a moment of brutal honesty: while this homemade dough is utterly delicious, light, and flaky, it can be a bit challenging to work with, especially when rolling it out to fit a large slab pie pan. I was initially intimidated, but I can confidently say that the end result is more than worth the effort. For me, making the dough itself is the easy part; rolling it out to such a large dimension and transferring it without tearing is the true test of patience and skill. But fear not, with a few tips, you’ll master it!

If you find yourself intimidated by the thought of homemade pie dough, especially for your first attempt at a slab pie, there’s absolutely no shame in using a good quality pre-made pie dough. Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, for example, would work wonderfully. Just remember, this is a truly large pie, so you’ll likely need at least two packages to cover both the bottom and the lattice top.

Mastering the Dough Transfer: A Step-by-Step Guide

Transferring the rolled-out dough onto a large baking sheet is often the trickiest part of making a slab pie. Here’s a method that I’ve found to be highly effective:

• Start by rolling your larger dough disk out between two generously floured sheets of plastic wrap. This prevents sticking and allows for a thinner roll. Aim for a rectangle slightly larger than your baking sheet (around 19 x 13 inches for an 11 x 17-inch pan).
• Once you achieve the desired size and shape, slide a large, flat-edged cookie sheet or a sturdy cutting board directly underneath the bottom layer of plastic wrap with the dough. This provides essential support.
• Carefully remove the top layer of plastic wrap from the dough.
• Now, invert your 17-inch by 11-inch rimmed baking sheet (the one you’ll bake in) over the dough on the flat cookie sheet.
• Using the flat cookie sheet as a support, confidently flip the entire stack over. The dough should now be perfectly positioned, resting inside your baking vessel.
• Don’t panic if some of the dough breaks off during this transfer! It’s a large piece of delicate dough. Simply place any broken pieces where they’re needed to fill gaps.
• Cover the repaired area with plastic wrap and gently roll over it again with your rolling pin to mend it seamlessly. The beauty of pie dough is its forgiving nature!

Once the dough is in place, press it firmly into all corners and up the sides of the pan. Remove the remaining plastic wrap. Congratulations, your bottom crust is ready for its delicious peach filling!

Creating the Lattice Top: A Touch of Elegance (or Rustic Charm)

Now, it’s time to add the beautiful lattice top. Don’t be intimidated by this step! It’s surprisingly simple and adds a professional, elegant touch to your slab pie. Even if your strips break a bit, just piece them back together and smooth them out with a fingertip. Remember, rustic is good, and a homemade look often means more character!

• Roll out your second, smaller dough disk between two sheets of lightly floured plastic wrap to an 11 x 17-inch rectangle.
• Using a knife or a pastry wheel, cut the dough lengthwise into 3/4-inch-thick strips.
• Arrange these strips in a classic lattice pattern over your peach mixture. If you’ve never attempted a lattice before, it’s really not as hard as you might think! Take a look at this helpful video and tutorial for a visual guide.
• Once your lattice is complete, use any excess dough to seal and crimp the edges of your pie beautifully.
• Finally, brush the latticed dough lightly with an egg yolk wash (egg yolk whisked with a teaspoon of water). This will give your pie a gorgeous golden-brown shine as it bakes.

Baking and Serving Your Delicious Slab Pie

The moment you slide your peach vanilla slab pie into the oven, your kitchen will be filled with the most incredible aromas. The sweet peaches, warm vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon will create an inviting fragrance that signals pure comfort. Bake until the filling is thick and bubbly, and the crust is golden brown and irresistible. Once out of the oven, the hardest part is waiting! Allow the pie to cool for at least 20 minutes before digging in. This cooling period is essential for the filling to set properly, ensuring perfect slices.

When you’re ready to serve this glorious dessert, be sure to offer a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream alongside each slice. The cool, creamy ice cream melting into the warm, fruity pie is a match made in heaven that few can resist. A dollop of freshly whipped cream or a drizzle of homemade caramel sauce would also be fantastic additions. This peach vanilla slab pie is truly a dessert that brings people together, creating delicious memories with every bite.

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