Walking Apple Pie
Crushed animal crackers, canned apple filling, and a shot of whipped topping, eaten out of the bag.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 84
- protein
- 3 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 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
- No cook
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Single-serving bags of animal crackers | 4 bags (about 1 oz each) | any small sweet cookie works if the bag is sturdy |
|---|---|---|
| Canned apple pie filling | 1 can (21 oz) | already cinnamon-spiced, no cooking needed |
| Canned whipped cream | 1 can | keep it cold or it goes to liquid |
Method
- Press each unopened cracker bag flat and crush the cookies down to gravel. Hands work; a water bottle rolled over the bag works better.
- Cut the top off each bag with scissors instead of tearing it. A torn bag splits down the side halfway through eating.
- Spoon about a quarter of the can of apple filling into each bag, straight onto the crumbs.
- Top with whipped cream and stir once or twice with a spoon. Eat directly from the bag.
This is a dessert built around a container you already have. The cracker bag is the bowl, the crushed cookies are the crust, and nothing gets dirty except a spoon. That matters more at a campsite with one wash tub than the flavor does.
The canned filling is the reason it works cold. The apples are already cooked soft and spiced, so there is nothing to heat and nothing to rehydrate. Whipped cream is the one item that needs a cooler, which is why this stays a car-camping recipe. Drop it and use a pudding cup if you want the same thing out of a pack.
Packing
The cracker bags and the can ride in the food bin at room temperature. The whipped cream goes in the cooler and comes out last, since a warm can sprays foam that collapses on contact.
Variations
- Swap the apple filling for cherry or peach. Same can, same method.
- A squeeze of caramel or a shake of cinnamon sugar over the top before you stir.
- No cooler: skip the cream and use shelf-stable vanilla pudding cups instead. Then it packs for backcountry too.
https://campfirefoodie.com/walking-apple-pie-a-cozy-portable-camping-dessert