For the pastry, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. (I swear every cookbook in America references peas when they say the size the butter should be. However, since in this scenario you will run the dough a bit more, if you stopped it when the butter was say, the size of small grapes, or something similar, it would probably be just fine.) With the motor running, pour the water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. You can also successfully freeze this dough and defrost in the refrigerator overnight, or on the counter for a few hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 by 14-inches–I try to get it as close to the size of my half sheet pan as I can, but I don’t want the dough to completely fill it or it will be too thin. You can trim the edges if you are into a straight look, but I never do. I can’t bring myself to make this tart too perfect. I love its rustic edges, plus also, more tart! Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.

Peel and core the apples. Slice the apples into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the very middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. Alternatively, you can make other arrangements, just a square pattern, circles, etc. The idea is to make the apple slices appear organized and to cover as much as possible of the tart dough. Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar (it will look like a lot, but have no fear) and dot with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out, or push it down with a spatula. The apple and sugar juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine. Even when you don’t think it will be. Trust. When the tart’s done, heat the apricot jelly together with the water (or rum or Calvados) and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn’t stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature. You can pick this tart up and eat with your hands, or you can place it on a plate. I never serve it with ice cream or even whipped cream, because I love the crisp tart dough and how simple it is, but of course, the choice is all yours!