Easy Apple Pie Bars (Slab Pie Recipe)- The Bossy Kitchen (2024)

Easy Apple Pie Bars (Slab Pie Recipe) is a traditional dessert from Transylvania, Romania, baked in a jelly roll pan, cut in squares, and dusted with powder sugar.

Enchanting Flavors

October is here, and apples are in season and a little cheaper, which means it is time to bake an apple pie, Romanian style.

I have to confess that writing this recipe, as easy as it looks like, kind of kicked my butt.

I always try to do the best work I can when bringing my own culture into the American one with my recipes.

American apple pie is not the same as the Romanian version; therefore, I had to research and figure out how to name the pie.

Most Romanian pies are baked in trays, cut into squares, and served with powder sugar on top. They look more like bars.

However, it came out that the proper English term for this kind of pie is a slab pie.

For those who do not know what a slab pie is:A slab pie is simply a shallow pie made in a rimmed baking sheet, usually a jelly roll pan.

It feeds a crowd, and it takes less time to prepare, as you don't have to hand shape a bunch of pies.

However, as the slab pies are very traditional and standard in Romania and most Eastern European countries, I guess this is the right name for my recipe.

This recipe comes from my German grandmother, who lived in Transylvania. The apple filling is slightly sweet and also cooked before assembling the pie.

We cook the apples first, with butter, sugar, and spices, until the apple juices are reduced to almost nothing.

There is no cornstarch, flour, or other ingredients to thicken the filling. We sometimes add raisins and walnuts, as I did in this recipe.

It is not mandatory, but that makes the pie delicious and different.

The slab pie can be filled with anything, farmer's cheese, apples, berries, quinces, or pumpkin. We take advantage of what fruits are in season and make a pie.

Ideal for Gatherings

These pies are excellent for potlucks, parties, and other events with lots of people.

Call them rustic. I think this is a good word for them.

There are many recipes out there to make a pie crust, but this one, in particular, was very interesting to me because of the ingredients required.

My grandmother writes that you can use different combinations of liquids for the dough: 6 tablespoons wine, OR 1 tablespoon rum (yum!) and five tablespoons water, OR 1 tablespoon vinegar and five tablespoons water.

Basically, you have three versions of the same recipe that will taste slightly different. I tried all of them, but I loved the one with the wine.

There is no alcohol left after you bake the pie, but the crust had a subtle taste which I liked a lot.

You can make the dough by hand or use a food processor. Make your life easier if you can! Also, use any apples you want.

I remember the women in my family making apple pies with leftover apples, cheap ones, small and slightly ugly.

Nothing was wasted, and the pies were great! Also, you can keep the skin on the apples if you like!

There is a lot of nutritional value in the skin, but feel free to peel the apples before grating them if you don't like them unpeeled.

PIN THIS FOR LATER:

Have fun making this apple pie version. Call it bars, slab pie, or placinta cu mere (in Romanian), and let me know what you think! See you next time!

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Apple Pie- Romanian Style

Baked Apple Rice Pudding

📖 Recipe