Apples in Pastry

Heat oven to 425. Blend walnuts, sugar, cinnamon & butter until crumbly. Peel & core apples but save the stems. Stuff center of each apple with the walnut mixture. Roll 1 sheet of pastry on a floured work surface to an approximately 14" square. Cut into 4 squares & place 1 apple in the center of each. Stick a stem in the middle of the filling of each apple. Bring corners of dough to the center, overlapping them slightly. You will have 4 extra folds of dough for each apple. Brush one side of each fold with water & press it against the apple in the direction of the moistened side. Cup your hands around the dough, gently molding it to the shape of the apple. Put apples on an ungreased baking sheet & refrigerate. Roll remaining sheet of dough to a 14" square. Cut into 4 squares. Put each of the remaining 2 apples in the center of a square & cover as before. Cut remaining dough into various-sized ovals & score the tops with a sharp knife to resemble the veins of leaves. Brush tops of apples with water & gently press on leaves. Beat egg with 1 Tb. water. Brush apples with some of this glaze. Bake until pastry begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 & bake until pastry is rich gold, 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, bring cream & maple syrup to a boil. Turn heat down to medium & continue boiling until reduced to 1 c. Serve sauce warm or chilled with the warm apples.