LAJ

If you can find Braeburn apples, use them. Otherwise, Granny Smith for a more tart, Honey Crisp and Gala for more sweet. It depends what you like, and with Granny Smith, there's enough sweet to offset in the recipe to offset it.

Enough puff pastry sheets to cover 6 apples.

Equal amount of raisins and pecans. 3-4 Tablespoons or so. 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Mix all that together.

Core 6 apples, and save all 6 stems. Install the mixture in the cores of the apples. Cut 6 sheets of puff pastry to tightly wrap the apple. You want it round, and you want the heat of your hands to form the dough. (I know it's not puff pastry-like to do that, but tough. It's my recipe) When the apples are totally covered, set them aside. Take one more sheet of puff pastry, and cut 12 leaf shapes out that will match in size and scale to the apples that are set aside. Use a knife to score them so it looks like there are leaf-veins on them, and wet the underside of them so as to apply them to the top of the apple. Once set so the ends of the leaf meet at the top, put the stem in where it "should" be at the top of the apple.

Preheat the oven to 400. Put the apples in a baking pan big enough to keep space between them. Pam or parchment on the bottom of the pan. Put the apples in the oven and keep an eye on them because you're looking for a golden color, so about 20-ish minutes. The puff pastry won't puff, and that's good. It will rise, but not look like baklava, or other puff recipes. Once starting to get golden, reduce heat, and go another 15-25 minutes. Peirce an apple to make sure it's tender inside. Don't burn it, but you want to cook the apple inside. Don't let the leaves burn. You'll see how it plays out. Once done, pull out and let cool.

While apples are baking: In a sauce pan, 2 cups of water, 1 cup of brown sugar, 4 tbsp of butter and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Warm on medium heat until boiling-melted and smooth. I've added two teaspoons of cornstarch to make it thicker, but it's not necessary. If you do, make sure and dissolve in water, and stir in slowly to the hot mixture.

I've done this both ways, and both ways are fine. Spoon some syrup over the apples a few times in the last ten minutes of baking, or pull the apples out, let them sit, and prior to serving, warm them up, warm up the sauce, and add sauce as they're being served.

They look awesome, and taste better.

Here's a pic, and that's sort of how you want the leaf to look, and as said, it'll be glued to the apple, not free floating like the pic.