Spiced blueberry slab pie takes one of summer’s simplest pleasures and scales it up so there’s enough to share. You can use any shortcuts you want–store bought pastry or frozen berries–to make this big ole beauty.
Adapted from Cynthia Graubart | Blueberry Love | Storey Publishing, 2021
The crust may tear in places when being rolled to size or transferred to the baking sheet, but it patches easily.-Cynthia Graubart
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Blueberry Slab Pie FAQs
Can I freeze leftover blueberry slab pie?
Yes, these leftovers freeze well. Let the pie cool completely, gather up whatever is leftover, and wrap it tightly. Freeze for up to 2 months. When you decide it’s time for pie again, thaw at room temperature. If you want to reheat it, you can pop the thawed pie into a 350ºF oven until warmed through, about 10 minutes.
How do you make a lattice pie crust?
Lattice tops are easy to make using individual strips of dough. For step by step instructions, with photos, check out this tutorial on How to Make a Lattice Pie Crust.
In this recipe
Spiced Blueberry Slab Pie
Ingredients
- 2 packages (2-count) refrigerated pie crusts (4 total pie crusts) or equivalent amount of pie dough
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
- 8 cups (2 1/2 lbs) fresh or frozen blueberries
- Flour for dusting the work surface
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- Decorating sugar or other large grain sugar
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Let the pie crusts rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes, or according to package directions.
- In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the berries and toss to coat. (Note: If using frozen berries, add them just before pouring the filling into the pie.)
- Dust a work surface with flour and place one pie crust on top of a second crust. Press and roll the pie crusts into a rectangle 14 inches (35 cm) wide by 19 inches (48 cm) long.
- Fold into fourths, move to a rimmed baking sheet, and line up the folded corner with the center of the baking sheet. Unfold and lift the edges of the pie crust to allow the crust to fall into the corners. Leave the overhanging edges and move the baking sheet to the refrigerator while you prepare the top.
- Add more flour to the rolling surface, if needed, and place the remaining pie crusts on top of each other on the flour. Press and roll into a rectangle 15 inches (38 cm) wide by 20 inches (50 cm) long. Leave whole or cut into strips if making a lattice top.
- Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and pour the spiced blueberries evenly into the pie. Top with the second crust, tucking under at the edges, or decorate in a lattice pattern. Pinch or flute the edges as desired. If using a full top crust, cut slits in the top crust for venting.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water and brush the top of the pie with the egg wash. Sprinkle with decorating sugar.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F (180°C) and bake until the crust is browned and cooked through and the blueberries are bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes more.
☞TESTER TIP: If your crust is getting too dark, cover with foil for the final few minutes of baking.
- Cool, then cut into squares for serving.
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Next time you are charged with bringing a dessert for a crowd, consider making and bringing this spiced blueberry slab pie. My daughter and her fiancé hosted a dinner for the two families to meet and this was my contribution to great acclaim. While I normally think about pairing blueberries with lemon in pies, this version with cinnamon and nutmeg was different and delicious.
To my mind, slab pies give the perfect ratio of crust to filling, so the crust is important. I made my own due to some dietary restrictions, but using the suggested refrigerated crusts would make this a breeze to make.
The recipe makes a BIG pie–I got 24, not the 15 listed, servings with ice cream–-so I was able to send people home with leftovers. Overall, a winner!
It’s blueberry season, and in my case that means blueberry pie. I’ve been frustrated making fruit pie lately because I usually use the recipe on the back of the Minute Tapioca box, but it’s been absent from store shelves for a while during the pandemic, so I’ve been in search of recipes that use other thickeners. This recipe for spiced blueberry slab pie looked promising, and so I started in on this one.
I worked with store-bought crust, and pasted and patched my way to a covered sheet pan. I ended up not needing the fourth pre-rolled crust for the lattice.
The blueberries fit my jelly roll pan perfectly–but that’s because what I thought was eight cups when I bought those “Jersey Fresh” packages turned out to be six. I still used the same amount of cornstarch, sugar, and spices, and it worked perfectly.
The pie was perfect, not too sweet. I’m diabetic, so I have to be careful with things like decorative sugar and the amount of sugar in pie filling. When I make this for company in the future, I think they’d appreciate the filling being sweeter, but to me this pie is a winner!
I feel a little guilty for liking this spiced blueberry slab pie more than round pie, but I do! I also noticed that people are much more willing to eat pie for breakfast when it comes to them in a square. My kitchen has a miniature oven, so I halved this recipe and baked it on a 1/4 sheet pan, which was ADORABLE.
I used a premade gluten free crust, and it worked like a charm.
I started with all fresh berries (600 grams for 4 cups, for my half recipe) but that was insufficient to fill the pan–I could see from the photo that it was meant to be brimming with fruit. So, I added another 2 cups of frozen berries I luckily had in the fridge from a too-enthusiastic blueberry purchase last week.
We got six squares and had them for a midnight snack, then I packed a few squares for my husband’s camping trip, which were all consumed in the car before they even started hiking.
Originally published August 7, 2021
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If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Sasha Pravdic
Blueberries are evocative of childhood summers— Coppertone suntan lotion (not sunscreen!), swimming and our yearly pilgrimage to Michigan for U-Pick blueberries where my brother and I would pick buckets of blueberries while simultaneously feasting on them until our lips and teeth were deep blue. This spiced blueberry slab pie does those memories justice.
The spices add a depth of flavor without overwhelming the blueberries and the pastry is nice and crisp. My husband said it tasted like a delicious gourmet pop-tart which is a huge compliment coming from him–his love of pop-tarts is unrivaled.
I was fearful of rolling out such a huge pastry but it worked out fine (there was definitely a bit of patching involved), but I think that next time I’d make half the recipe in a 1/4 sheet pan for ease of handling the pie crusts. I served this with vanilla ice cream.