DELUXE APPLE TART

Steps:

• Prepare pastry:.
• In medium bowl with fingertips, quickly knead flour, butter, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 2 tablespoons water until dough forms a ball, adding more water if necessary 1 teaspoon at a time.
• Pat pastry into bottom and up side of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom; refrigerate.
• Peel, quarter, and core 3 apples and cut into even 1/8 inch slices to make about 3 cups.
• In a medium bowl, toss apple slices with lemon juice and 2 tablespoons sugar.
• Peel and core remaining apples; cut into chunks.
• In blender or food processor, combine 1/4 cup water with about 1/3 of the apple chunks.
• Cover and process at high speed until apples are pureed.
• Add remaining apple chunks, a third at a time; blend until smooth.
• Spoon into a 3 quart saucepan; stir in 1/3 cup apricot preserves and 2 tablespoons sugar.
• Over high heat, heat to boiling.
• Reduce heat to medium-high; cook, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until very thick. There should be about 1 1/2 cups applesauce.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Spread applesauce evenly over pastry.
• Arrange reserved apple slices, closely overlapping, to form concentric circles around pie.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until apples slices are tender and lightly browned.
• Remove pie to wire rack.
• Strain remaining apricot preserves through a sieve into a small saucepan.
• Over medium-high heat, heat to boiling.
• Continue cooking about 2 minutes longer or until mixture is thick enough to coat a spoon.
• Brush mixture evenly over top of tart.
• Cool tart in pan on rack.
• Remove outer ring of tart pan before serving.