Campfire Pie Iron Pies
Two slices of bread, a spoon of pie filling, and a hot iron over coals.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 70
- protein
- 6 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 3 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 8 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Sandwich bread | 1 loaf | soft white holds the seal better than dense wheat |
|---|---|---|
| Canned pie filling | 1 can | apple, cherry, or blueberry |
| Butter | 1/4 stick | keep the wrapper on and use it as a handle |
| Brown sugar | 2 tbsp | |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp |
Method
- Set the pie iron in the coals empty for two minutes so it comes up to heat.
- Open it and rub butter over both faces. Dust each side with brown sugar.
- Lay a slice of bread into one half. Spoon on filling, keeping it off the edges.
- Sprinkle cinnamon and a little more brown sugar over the filling.
- Top with the second slice, close the iron, and clamp it shut.
- Hold it over the coals two minutes, flip, and give it two more. Check the color before you commit to a third minute.
- Tip it onto a plate and wait. The filling comes out hotter than the bread suggests.
A pie iron is a small hinged skillet that clamps two slices of bread into a sealed pocket. The heat crimps the crusts together, the sugar on the outside caramelizes against the metal, and the filling steams in its own moisture. Nothing here needs a pot, water, or a pan to wash.
Butter and sugar on the iron faces are not garnish. They are what keeps the bread from welding to the metal and what turns a plain toasted sandwich into something with a crust. Keep filling away from the edges or it leaks, burns on the outside of the iron, and the pocket never seals. Coals cook these better than flames — flames blacken the bread before the middle is hot.
Packing
The can, the bread bag, and a foil-wrapped stub of butter. Premix the cinnamon and brown sugar in a film canister so nobody is passing two containers around a fire.
Variations
- Swap the pie filling for pizza sauce, pepperoni, and mozzarella and you have dinner instead.
- Chocolate hazelnut spread with sliced banana works the same way and needs no can opener.
- One iron feeds one person at a time. Bring three or four if the group is bigger than two.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/pie_iron_pies-550.asp