What do you get when you cross a pie with a bar? A slab pie of course. It’s everything great about a fruit pie but made in a baking dish so it’s thinner and manageable enough to pick up with your hands just like a lemon square or a brownie. It’s logical and genius because one slab pie feeds a crowd, can be made in advance and totally portable. With the clock is ticking on summer fruit, now’s the time to savor every last bite before it’s all a distant memory.

Making pie crust: With just a handful of ingredients (that you probably already have) and a food processor, you can make pie crust from scratch in all of 1 minute. But the secret lies in the details. 1) Pulse the ingredients in the food processor until the mixture looks like sand. DON’T OVER MIX! 2) Knead the dough until it just holds together. DON’T OVER KNEAD! 3) The dough needs to be cold, cold,cold when it goes into the oven for flaky results. DON’T RUSH IT!

About the fruit filling: Any summer fruit will do in the pie as long as you have about 6 cups. Be creative! How about peach, apricot and plumb or do a pantry dive and use up what you have. You could even split the fruit down the middle with one on each side (two pies in one!). So many options with a slab pie.

Goes with… edamame hummus, Asian barbecued salmon, slow roasted grape tomatoes

Cherry Blueberry Slab Pie

Prep time: 10 minutes + 1 hour chilling

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Serves 6-8

All-Butter Crust

2 ½ cups four

2 tablespoons cane sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold and cut up

3-4 tablespoons cold water

Milk or cream to brush on crust before baking

Fruit Filling

2 pints blueberries

1 quart cherries, pitted

¼ cup cane sugar + more for sprinkling

2 tablespoons flour

Juice of ½ lemon (about 1 tablespoon)

Crust – In a food processor mix flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water one tablespoon at a time and pulse until dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. Divide into two flat rectangles, 1 slightly larger. Wrap in plastic and chill 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Filling – In a large bowl, toss cherries and blueberries with sugar, flour and lemon juice. Pour filling into piecrust

Pie – Butter and flour a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. On a lightly floured surface roll larger dough to a roughly 11 x 15-inch rectangle and place in the prepared baking dish. The dough should go up the sides to the top. Add the fruit, spreading evenly. Roll out smaller dough to fit over the top, crimping the edge. Make a few slits on top (so the steam from the fruit can vent as it cooks), brush with milk or cream and sprinkle with more cane sugar. Bake 45 minutes until bubbly and crust is golden brown.

Read the original on: Secrets of a Home Cook