camp meals

Pie Iron Dessert Sandwich

Bread, pudding, cookie crumbs, and marshmallows pressed in a pie iron over coals.

calories
430
weight
4 oz
cal / oz
108
protein
6 g
serves
1, scales
prep
5 min
cook
8 min
total time
13 min
water
120 ml cold
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 2 slices day-old holds up better than fresh
Instant chocolate pudding mix 2 tbsp the kind that sets with cold water
Powdered milk 1 tbsp replaces the fridge milk the box calls for
Cold water 1/4 cup
Chocolate chip cookie 1
Marshmallows 4
Butter or oil 1 tsp for the irons

Method

  1. Shake the pudding mix, powdered milk, and 1/4 cup cold water in a bottle or bag. Let it sit two minutes until it thickens.
  2. Grease both faces of the pie iron and set the bread in one side.
  3. Spread the pudding on the bread. Crush the cookie over it and add the marshmallows. Top with the second slice.
  4. Close the iron and set it in coals, not flames. Three to four minutes per side.
  5. Open it and check the color before you commit. Bread goes from pale to black fast.
  6. Let it sit a minute. The filling comes out hotter than the bread suggests.

Pie irons run hot and uneven, so a filling that is already set does better than one that is still liquid. Instant pudding mixed with powdered milk and cold water thickens in about two minutes with no fridge and no cooking, which is the whole point of using it here instead of a milk-based pudding cup.

The cookie is structure, not flavor. Crumbs soak up whatever the marshmallows release when they melt, so the filling stays in the sandwich instead of running out the seam of the iron. Coals, not flames: bread over open flame is charred outside and cold inside.

Packing

Pudding mix and powdered milk go in one small bag together. Cookie and marshmallows in another, or the cookie turns to dust in your pack anyway, which is fine here.

Variations

  • Swap the pudding for vanilla and use a graham cracker instead of the cookie.
  • A spoonful of peanut butter powder mixed into the pudding thickens it and adds protein, but drops the nut-free tag.

https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/ainsleys-best-dessert-sandwich-ever