This pie iron dessert is so easy to make with minimal ingredients to pack and it cooks up right over the campfire.
Desserts are my favorite meals to plan for our camping trips. There’s just something special about sitting around the fire at night and enjoying a hot homemade dessert.
Chocolate cherry hobo pies have only four ingredients, so they are easy to plan, pack and make. But don’t let the simplicity fool you. These handheld desserts are so good!
Cast iron pie irons are an easy way to make desserts while camping because they act like mini ovens to cook everything through quickly. I’ve heard pie iron recipes called pudgy pies, hobo pies, mountain pies, or toasties. Regardless of what you call this type of campfire dessert – they’re good!
Looking for more camping desserts cooked in different ways? Here’s a post of my all-time favorites!
More Pie Iron Camping Recipes
35 of the best pie irons recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert
Cherry Chocolate HOBO Pie Ingredients
- Bread : You can use any kind of bread in this sandwich, just be sure to add some butter on the outside of the bread so it toasts up.
- Cherry Pie Filling: Packing a can of premade pie filling makes this recipe so easy, but you can also make homemade cherry pie filling at home, refrigerate it, and then pack it in your cooler to use.
- Chocolate Chips: I prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips, but dark chocolate chips would also be very good.
a note from Jenny
I’m not a huge chocolate fan, but the hot, melty combination with the sweet and tart cherries is really delicious!
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Equipment Tips and Tricks
Cast Iron Pie Iron (Camp Cooker): Pie irons are made of aluminum or cast iron, but I highly recommend using cast iron as they withstand much higher temperatures for longer periods of time.
However, aluminum pie irons do not require seasoning and can be cleaned like all other dishes, so there are benefits to using them as well.
- Round cast iron camp cooker
- Square cast iron camp cooker
- Double cast iron camp cooker – allows you to make twice as many sandwiches with half the work prepping and cleaning!
- Aluminum pie iron camp cooker – although I don’t like the way they cook as much, they are easier to use because they don’t need to be seasoned and can be cleaned like all your other dishes.
Portable Over the Fire Cooking Grate: While cooking in hot coals or embers is ideal for cast iron pie irons, you can also cook over a fire by using a fire grill grate. It’s perfect for a wide variety of campfire pits and can easily be adapted to work at your site.
It’s also great if you just started your fire and want to get cooking right away! Simply place your pie irons on the grate and turn halfway through cooking.
Steps to Make Cherry Chocolate Pies
In this section you’ll find a step by step tutorial of how to make this recipe with photos. The full recipe with exact measurements, steps and a printable card can be found at the bottom of the post.
Scroll to see step by step photos ->
1. Prep the pies
Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Place one piece of bread with the butter side down into one half of the pie iron.
2. Assemble the pies
Place some chocolate chips on the bottom piece of bread. Scoop cherry pie filling in the center and then top with a few more chocolate chips. Cover with another piece of bread, butter side up, and then close up the pie iron.
3. Cook over campfire
There are two options when cooking with a pie iron: in the coals or over the flame. I find that cooking in the coals is faster, but sometimes can result in over cooking/burning more easily. Cooking on a grate over the fire is usually a few minutes slower, but you have a bit more control over the temperature.
- Hot coals: Place pie iron directly in the hot coals and embers from your fire. If your fire has been going for awhile, simply pull a pile of coals a bit to the side and place the camp cooker on those hot coals.
- Over the flame: Use a grill grate to create a flat cooking surface over the fire. Place the camp cooker on the grate and let it cook.
4. Enjoy!
Let me know if you try out these chocolate cherry pudgy pies on your next camping trip!
Cherry Chocolate Hobo Pies
Ingredients
- 8 slices cinnamon bread
- 1-2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup cherry pie filling
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Spray the inside of the pie iron with cooking spray.
- Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Place one piece of bread, butter side down, into one half of the pie iron.
- Sprinkle a tablespoon of chocolate chips across the piece of bread. Then, spoon about 1/4 cup of cherry pie filling in the center of the bread.
- Add another tablespoon of chocolate chips across the top. Top with a second slice of cheese and a slice of bread, butter side up.
- Close the pie iron and cook over a campfire elevated on a grate or in campfire coals.
- Cook long enough for the outside of the bread to toast up and to heat the contents of the sandwich and melt the cheese. This usually takes about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.