Tricks, Treats and Pudgy Pies

Okay, so not all my posts are about motorcycles.  As riding season comes to an end, there are gaps in the late fall season until the snow flies and we pull the sleds off the trailer.  Halloween is next week, and the annual Hayes Haunt at Hayes State Park in the Irish Hills area has become an annual tradition.  Halloween campouts are common at campgrounds in the fall, and several state parks I know of host them during October and some in late September. This will be our third year attending, and it’s a blast to pull the camper out, decorate for Halloween, walk through the camp checking out all other other Halloween displays, the costume contests, trick or treating, the spirit of the season.  If you like to camp, and have kids, definitely look into reservations at local campgrounds for their Halloween festivities.  It’s a hoot!  This season, as I pulled out the decorations and untangled a mess of orange and purple string lights, I went over the camping checklist in my mind, and it occurred to me that it could be fun to make fall themed pudgy pies over the campfire, a variation I’d never tried before.

Pudgy pies, or Hobo pies, as they are called, have been a camping favorite for many, made with those long handled irons that look like they’d make an incredible weapon.  We’ve made them for years, ham and cheese, pizza, sausage and egg, and of course the traditional apple or cherry pies (add cream cheese, it’s devilish!).  This year, my plan is to try out Caramel Apple and Pumpkin Pudgy pies.  I Googled it, (of course) and didn’t find an actual pudgy pie recipe of this kind, so I’m trying my own hand at making these this year.  Trying to shave calories wherever I can, these are slimmed down versions, however, take the idea and make it your own.

Caramel Apple Pudgy Pies

Apple Pie Filling
Fat Free Cream Cheese
Reduced Fat Peanut Butter
Fat Free Caramel Dip (Marzetti’s)
Whole Wheat Bread
Fat Free Spray Butter

At home, mix the cream cheese and peanut butter with a beater and bring along in a container.  Spray the bread slices with fat free butter and place them in the pie irons.   Spread the peanut butter/cream cheese mixture on one slice, then apple pie filling, drizzle with caramel, close the irons and cook until done.

Pumpkin Pudgy Pies

15 oz. can Pumpkin Pie Filling (not canned pumpkin!)
     (Note: if the pumpkin pie filling is not sweetened, add sugar, powdered sugar or Splenda, to taste)
1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
Fat Free Cream Cheese
Whole Wheat Bread
Fat Free Spray Butter

At home, mix the pumpkin pie filling, pumpkin pie spice and powdered sugar (if needed) with a beater and bring along in a container.  Spray the bread slices with fat free butter and place them in the pie irons.   Spread the pumpkin mixture on one slice of bread, and cream cheese on the other. Close the irons and cook until done.

Let me know what you think!   Check back for a full report..    Though the forecast is chilly, we look forward to another great Halloween camping weekend.