Maida Heatter'S Free-Form Apple Pie

• Pastry
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut up
• 3 -4 tablespoons ice water
• Filling
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1 tablespoon cognac or 1 tablespoon water
• 3 - 3 1/2 lbs granny smith apples (peeled, cored, and cut into 8ths)
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
• Glaze
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves

1. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl.
2. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Add water and toss with a fork until pastry holds together.
4. Shape pastry into a ball and flatten into a disk.
5. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
6. Melt butter in a 12" skillet over medium heat.
7. Increase heat to high and add sugar and brandy.
8. Stir in apples and cover and cook 3 minutes, stirring apples twice.
9. Uncover and add raisins and cook apples, stirring until tender and liquid evaporates, about 6 minutes more.
10. Cool apples completely.
11. Stir in nuts.
12. Heat oven to 425.
13. Meanwhile, on a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry into a 14 inch circle.
14. Transfer pastry to a large cookie sheet.
15. Arrange apples on pastry, leaving a 2 to 2 1/2 inch border around the edge.
16. Fold edge of pastry over apples.
17. The pie shell should be about 9 inches in diameter.
18. Bake 15 minutes.
19. Reduce oven temperature to 400 and bake 30 minutes, until crust is golden brown.
20. Melt preserves through a sieve into a cup.
21. Drizzle over filling.
22. Cool on cookie sheet.
23. Transfer to serving platter when cool.

pastry, flour, sugar, salt, cold butter, filling, butter, sugar, cognac, granny smith apples, raisins, walnuts, apricot preserves

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/maida-heatters-free-form-apple-pie-348476 (may not work)