Naval Academy Apple Cannonballs

Ingredients
Six (6) apples, cored and peeled
One-half (1/2) pound of granular sugar
Cinnamon sugar (Ground Cinnamon and granular sugar mixed, to taste)
One quarter (1/4) pound of butter (recall the Academy only served us butter)
Pie Dough - Six (6) Ounces, or of sufficient quantity

Preparation
Roll out a one (1) ounce piece of pie dough into a circle approximately six (6) inches in diameter. Place a cored, peeled apple in the center of the pie dough. Fill the center of the apple with cinnamon-sugar mix. Fold the pie dough around the apple and place the conglomeration onto a greased (non-stick) cookie sheet pan. Bake the apples at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately twenty-five (25) minutes or until the apples are soft. Be careful you don't burn the pie crust.

Hard Sauce: Place the granular sugar and butter into a mixing bowl and beat them until they are thoroughly mixed. Add either Vanilla or Rum flavoring to the sugar-butter mix and stir it in.

When the apples are baked, place a good, healthy dollop of Hard Sauce on top of the apple-in-crust.

Easy Hard Sauce: While it's quite possible to make Hard Sauce with granulated sugar as specified, it's a lot quicker and easier to use confectioners (powdered) sugar.

Hard sauce is simply flavored thick texture cake frosting. Confirm with the ladies that 'from scratch' icing is made a lot easier with confectioners than granulated sugar. It makes smoother stuff regardless of beating and takes a lot less beating effort to dissolve in the butter.

Certificate of authenticity: The recipe has been served aboard USS John Marshall (SSBN-611) on the 38th submerged day of the last patrol before overhaul inside the Arctic Circle at 105 feet and five knots.