Originally Posted June 21, 2017 The other night Eric and I went to a new restaurant for our weekly date. It was supposedly Italian. The first thing we ordered was a “Not so Crudite” appetizer plate that was described as grilled stone fruit paired with some grilled vegetables and ranch (why did we order this??) As we’re eating, Eric takes one of the grilled half-peaches, tastes it, and thoughtfully says, “I think…Yeah, I think it’s a peach!” And I stare at him, because of COURSE it’s a peach. And that’s when I found out that he thought “stone fruit” was a new special kind of fruit that he’d never heard of.
This totally reminds me of Eric and the Nutella incident, in which he thought Nutella was spelled Gnutella. Once again: he will never live it down. (I have to take advantage of my blog for stuff like this, because the number of stupid things I say compared to Eric is like 10 to 1, so I have to dig in when he thinks stone fruit is magical and can’t spell Gnutella.
Peach & Apricot Slab Pie
This recipe is a staple in my sister-in-law Sandi’s family. She grew up with an apricot tree in the backyard, just like I did, but somehow my parents didn’t realize that apricots are God’s gift to Slab Pie, because I definitely didn’t have this recipe before last summer, when I begged it off Sandi. If you don’t have a tree full of ripe apricots to choose from, sometimes it’s cheaper or more convenient to throw a couple peaches in with it–or use all peaches. You really can’t go wrong with any combo. I didn’t count the first time, but on my second pie I used about 14 medium/large apricots, and 3 large peaches.
(Don’t hate me for my newbie lattice crust guys. First time for everything. At the end of the day I still got to eat PIE!) The first time we had it (I made it twice in one week), my BFF Sarah requested only a tablespoon of cream on top. She changed her mind halfway through her slice of pie. More cream! More cream! Let this be your mantra.
How to prepare your apricots and peaches
A note on the amount of sugar called for in the recipe: I literally JUST wrote a blog post where I complain about “real” cooks who are incapable of giving me a real recipe and instead tell me to add stuff until it looks right. I’m not that kind of cook. So you may be raising your eyebrows at my sugar amounts. Here’s the thing: not all apricots are created equal. Sometimes you have super ripe fresh-from-the-tree apricots. And sometimes you have week-old apricots from the grocery store that you were waiting to ripen but instead the skin is shriveling while the inside remains hard and begins to rot. (The worst, right?)
Here’s a peach I used in this pie. Not even ripe enough to get to the pit. You want to end up with a pie that is not overly sweet; too much sugar covers up the beautiful tartness of the apricots. So the general rule is this: if you have ripe apricots, use 1 and 1/2 cups sugar. If you have stubborn not-quite-ripe fruit, use 2 cups, or meet somewhere in the middle. The nice thing is that it’s not going to make or break your pie. If you’re pie is too sweet, or a little too sour, guess what, people are still going to ask for seconds, especially when you show them the cream trick.
Making the crust and assembling the slab pie
Here’s how I often transfer pie dough: just roll it right up on the rolling pin, then unroll into a large casserole dish.
Aaaand here’s the part where I made my semi-acceptable lattice crust and then realized I forgot to add the butter and spices. So I folded back my lattice, because I would rather have butter in my pie then a pretty crust. I mean, priorities.
Final touch: Pour cream on your pie!
You haven’t lived until you have drizzled an obscene amount of heavy cream all over your slab pie. I didn’t think I would like it at first, when Sandi told me that her family eats most summer-fruit-cobbler-ish anything in a bowl, with a small puddle of cream. I’m not that into whipped cream. (I think I got burned one too many times as a kid by thinking a cake was frosted in buttercream and it turned out to be whipped cream) And isn’t cream a step down from whipped cream? No. No it is not. We’ve been complicating our lives too much guys. Put down that mixer. Just pour on the cream: no vanilla, no sugar, just straight up cream. (Or half and half will do.)
Here’s the original recipe, it’s always fun to see old recipes like this I think: (don’t worry the printable is below)
(They all call it a cobbler, but a double crust?? It’s a pie, right?) If you make this recipe, share it on Instagram using the hashtag #TheFoodCharlatan so I can see it! I love that.
More great desserts with peach and apricot!
Peach Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting « this cake is super sweet and so delicious! Also click over to read about my sister and the novel she wrote! Dang she’s awesome. No Bake Dulce de Leche Cheesecake with Caramelized Peaches: Peach Custard Pie « the ONLY way I will eat peach pie. I mean except today’s slab pie. Peach Pull Apart Bread with Caramel Sauce: Blushing Apricot Pie from All Roads Lead to The Kitchen Apricot Turnovers from The View from Great Island Apricot Pie. Girl knows how to work those apricot recipes. Apricot Crisp Bars from Barefeet in the Kitchen Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram
