you're making mealtime meaningful.
I have to confess something. I’ve never actually been to Chicago. So I’ve never actually eaten a Chicago-Style Bakery Apple Slice in a Chicago bakery. But! I did come across them on the internet and as soon as a saw that gooey apple filling peeking out of flaky pie crust and encrusted in thick sugary glaze, I wanted in. One of the nice things about cooking is that you can kind of travel the world right in your own kitchen and while my kitchen is very much not a Chicago bakery, it can at least taste a little like one with these in it. And yours can too. All you need is some pie crust, apple filling, and a quick little icing to top it all off.
While these slices look pretty impressive, they’re actually incredibly simple to make. You need two pie crusts, for which the recipe is below. (But it is basically our All-Butter Pie Crust if you’d like to print it out separately.) (And yes, you can use storebought crust if you’d rather.)
Even if you’re starting with a round of dough, you want to roll it into a rectangle that’s roughly the same size as your jelly roll pan…
… And then press it into the bottom of the pan. If you went a little too big, no big deal, just fold over and press in the edges.
Then, you’re going to take four cups of your favorite apple pie filling and spread it all over the crust. You don’t need to leave a border.
Next, you’ll roll out another rectangle of dough which you place right on top of that apple filling. Press the two crusts together where you can but don’t stress over it. If some filling shows through, that’s fine! And there’s certainly no need to crimp. This is casual business.
Cut a few vents in the top and then bake. It’ll take about forty minutes for that crust to get beautifully golden but then you do need to wait for it to cool.
See, if you didn’t, that icing would run right off and that crusty sugared icing is kind of a necessity here. Once the apple slices have cooled, whisk together some powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk and spread it all over that top crust.
When the icing has hardened, it’s time to slice and serve, which is really the best time. Even if you can’t get to Chicago to try one, these sticky, flaky, gooey slices are a delight right out of your home kitchen.
Chicago-Style Bakery Apple Slices
Yield(s): Serves 12
15m prep time
40m cook time
30m inactive
you're making mealtime meaningful.
For the pie dough:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, chilled (2 1/2 sticks)
- 1/2 cup ice water, plus more as needed
For the filling:
- 4 cups apple pie filling (canned is fine)
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
Preparation
- For the pie dough:
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt.
- Remove one stick of butter from the fridge and using a cheese grater, grate butter over the flour mixture. If butter gets too soft, place in the freezer until firm again and start on the next stick of butter. Continue grating until all butter is used, stirring into the flour mixture in between sticks.
- (Alternatively, you can cube or slice the butter and cut in using a pastry blender or two forks.)
- Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the 1/2 cup ice water. Using a fork, toss quickly to combine.
- Refill ice water container, then drizzle in 2 tablespoons of cold water at a time, stirring after each addition, until dough is moist and holds together easily. Try not to add any more water than you need to -- dough shouldn't be sticky. You should be able to see small pieces of butter throughout the dough.
- On a lightly floured work surface, quickly and gently knead dough just to bring it together. Divide in half, then flatten each half into a 1-inch thick rectangle.
- Wrap each rectangle in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400°F and set aside a 9x13-inch jelly roll pan.
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour, then roll out one rectangle of dough roughly the same size as jelly roll pan. Press into the bottom of the pan.
- Spread apple filling over the pie dough.
- Roll the remaining rectangle of dough out to the same size, then pick up and lay on top of the apple filling. (You can also use a rolling pin to roll the dough up to make transferring easier.) Pinch edges of dough together but don't worry too much about sealing completely.
- Slice a few vents in top crust to release steam, then bake until crust is golden brown, about 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
- When pie has cooled, make the glaze:
- Beat together the sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk until smooth, then spread glaze over the top of the crust evenly. Let set and harden, then slice into squares and serve. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from The Hungry Bluebird.