Strawberry Brownie Slab Pie

Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 35 mins | Course: Dessert | Serves: 32

Brownie pie is just the right amount of fudgy decadence, wrapped in a flakey crust with strawberry slices on top and sprinkled with a lovely salty and sweet crusted pine nut (or other favorite nut). Slab pie is made in a jelly roll baking pan, consists of a double crust pastry rolled into the pan and a triple filling of the brownie mixture. So if you wanted to make a single 8 slice pie, cut the brownie recipe by 1/3. Inspired by Si Foster at A Bountiful Kitchen https://abountifulkitchen.com/fudge-brownie-pie/ 

1 recipe for perfect pastry, rolled out 13.19 (recipe included below)

1 ½ cups butter, melted

3 cups dark chocolate chips

3 cups sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

6 eggs

¾ cup cocoa powder

¾ cup flour

16 oz strawberries, hulled and sliced

5 oz pine nuts

¼ tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

Melt butter and chocolate chips together in a metal or other heat-proof bowl over 2” simmering water. Take off the heat and whisk in the sugar and vanilla until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, working quickly to keep them from scrambling. Lastly stir in cocoa powder and flour with a rubber scraper. 

Preheat oven to 425*. Roll pastry into a rectangle 13.19 inches. Press gently into a jelly roll pan and crimp the edges. Bake for 10 minutes then pull out of the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350* and pour brownie mixture into partially-baked crust (pastry recipe and full instructions below). Bake for about 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool fully. Slice strawberries and scatter decoratively over the pie. Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet and add the salt and sugar. Stir for about 2 minutes or until they get a bit golden and smell fragrant. Scatter a few over the top. Slice the pie with a pizza roller.

Perfect Pastry: (makes 2 pie shells or 1 slab crust) 

2 ½ cups flour

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks butter) cut into tablespoons

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

8 Tbsp cold water

In a food processor with the metal blade, add the flour, salt and baking powder. Pulse once to mix. Top with the tablespoon size slices of butter and pulse until the mixture is roughly mixed together like a coarse cornmeal mix and the butter bits are no bigger than the size of a pea. You’ll want to do most of the mixing before adding liquid to keep the dough tender. Add in the vinegar and water and quickly pulse about 16 (or fewer) times to incorporate, the dough will begin to come together. Spread plastic wrap on the counter and wrap into a rectangle, flatten the dough (pressing in little areas that may need to still come together) and chill them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, longer is fine (up to several days). The dough can be made by hand in a large mixing bowl with a pastry blender, a large fork or even your hands; remember to do most of the mixing work before adding liquid to keep the pastry from being tough. I find dough made by hand needs 1 additional tablespoon of water. You may need to add 1 additional tablespoon of water if the weather is very dry as well.

Preheat oven to 425*. Using a sheet of waxed paper or parchment, dust your rolling surface with a sprinkling of flour. Place chilled pastry on top, dust the top lightly with flour and roll out an inch or so larger than your pie plate, for slab pie roll out the rectangle to be 13.19 inches (if pastry is really cold it may need to warm up a bit before it rolls easily; if it cracks give it a few minutes before continuing to roll). When the pastry is rolled out, use your rolling pin to help fold the dough over the baking sheet or jelly roll pan. Press in and crimp dough edges decoratively, prick the shell multiple times with a fork and chill another 15-30 minutes.