How To Use A Sheet Pan To Make A Pie That Feeds A Crowd

If your loved ones are infamous for fighting over the last slice of your famous chocolate pecan pie with a luscious, puddling-like filling, the obvious solution may be to simply make more than one. However, that also means cutting, shaping and par-baking several separate crusts, figuring out how to fit them all in your oven, and transporting them safely if you're traveling for the holidays. A much simpler solution is to simply make one large pie — which is very possible if you swap your pie plate for a sheet pan.

Called slab pies, the sheet pan version of this dessert takes little more work than baking a normal-sized single pie, but is capable of feeding at least 12 people. That means you can easily modify your favorite bakery-worthy blueberry pie to feed the whole family with just a few adjustments to the recipe. You'll need about 2 ½ half times as much filling and up to 3 times as much crust as your recipe calls for. If you normally use store-bought pie crust, keep in mind that you'll need to cut it into rectangles, so you may want to get a little extra.

Additionally, store-bought crust will need to be neatly patchworked together to cover the whole bottom of your sheet pan. Gently pinching the seams together with damp fingers should do the trick — just be sure to use pie weights when par baking your bottom crust to prevent the seams from splitting back open due to shrinking crust.

Converting your traditional pie recipes into slab pies not only helps ensure everyone gets a sweet treat, it also offers an opportunity to get creative with your fillings and test your pie decorating skills. For instance, you can give your apple pie filling a flavor boost with sour cream, which will also give it a sturdier, more custard-like consistency that may hold up better to being cut into over a dozen square slices. If your favorite grocery store or farmers market doesn't have enough apples, you can easily supplement by combining them with pears, plums, or peaches for a fall fruit pie your loved ones will ask for again and again.

Covering a slab pie with a top crust is another challenge that's really just an opportunity in disguise. Neatly piecing together a uniform crust over 9 by 13 inches of sugary filling is no easy task — so we suggest skipping it altogether. Instead, cut your top crust into strips to create a simple latticework crust. You don't even have to do a diagonal, as a simple square basket weave will still look beautiful when baked.

If you have leftover crust, use leaf-shaped cookie cutters to make it into extra decor for your pie. This can be especially pretty on pies that don't normally have a top crust, like pumpkin. Extra pieces cut from the bottom crust can become pretty leaves or flowers scattered over the top of the pie for a seasonal touch.