Stuffed Baked Apples ala mode

8 large baking apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
2 tbsp. butter
1 3/4 cups boiling water

That's it!
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Wash apples and core to 1/2 in of bottom of the apple. I use the strawberry and tomato topper from the Pampered Chef. Makes it a breeze and you don't by accident dig too deep.
In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and raisins. In a 9x13 pan set your apples and stuff with mixture. Let some fall to the bottom. It's ok!
Top with a dot of butter. Pour boiling water in the pan. Bake 30-40 min. You want it to be tender and easy to slice, but not MUSHY and gross. Remove from oven, baste the juices from the bottom. Don't ask your kids for a baster though, you never know what you might end up with. Myself, I ended up with 4 items that were all useful, but not interchangeable. Quite an evening. Hope you like it too. Best with ice cream, but in reality, isn't everything?