I think maybe we're suffering a little disaster burnout, so I thought a chat about one of the finer things in life was called for. So...

What's your favorite campfire sweet recipe? I've got two favorites:

I love s'mores, but the standard recipe isn't my favorite. I prefer using soft choco chip cookies and marinating the marshmellow in kaluha first. mmMMM!

Tied for my favorite are Banana Boats: cut a little door in a banana and peel it back but not off. Scoop out some of the banana and fill the cavity with choco chips and mini marshmallows. Then close the door, wrap it in foil, and throw it on the coals, turning it regularly until the banana gets soft. Unwrap and grab a spoon! (this one works great in the oven too!)

Teach me your secrets oh Gurus!

Two packets of instant brown sugar & maple oatmeal mixed with two packets of hot chocolate and two single-serving packets of peanut butter. Many a cold night and cold morning were made warm with this goo!

-Blast

For a while I took to including two butterscotch hard candies in each days ration. Worked pretty well even for a semi-ultralight hiking regime. I usually only used one a day but having the option for a second was worth having two. Sometimes I would pound up the spares and pour it into my hot drink. A change of pace and addition of quick energy on a cold morning.

The key was to buy high quality butterscotch candy, make sure you get it fresh because it loses its flavor and bite as it ages, and I wrapped the pieces, which were already wrapped, in extra aluminum foil to better resist the abuse of backpacking.

Something about butterscotch worked morning or evening with coffee or tea. A whole lot of sweet without a huge amount of sugar, bulk, weight, or expense.

A roll of Lifesavers works and if you get a variety pack you get a selection.

Sounds yummy Blast! Do you make the oatmeal or hot chocolate first, or is peanut butter the glue?

We're speaking the same language Art. What a nifty trick! I might just try this one for breakfast.

For family camping, I like to take along a tube or two of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls in the cooler. Pop the tube, roll one of the pre-cooked rolls around a stick, and roast over the fire until cooked. Drizzle with a little icing and enjoy.

It also works well with many other types of dough (biscuit dough is another good one).

mmmmmm... that sounds yummy Paul! And way easier than making banock.

Campire Sweets. I love s'mores. I have a fire pit in the back yard and we are always trying new configurations before hitting the trail.

Our special treat is instead of Hersey bars we use Ghiradeli caramel dark chocolate squares. And the huge jumbo marshmellows. This way we can heat the marshmellow, then pull and eat the top skin as an amuse bouche (DW loves cooking shows)then reheat the marshmellow for a still huge bite.

Tea with honey and dried mango. There's a local hippie-organic store that dry their own patch, making it hard and tough as jerky.

Also liquorice in any form.

-jh

WOW.

I found out where the sugar I cut out in my diet was going.

Paul810 ... great idea! I'm taking my family on a mini-vacation in a few days. I will try it out.

I also like Sheriff Blast's recipe with the oatmeal and peanut butter - very good survival food. I'll mess around with it when I get back from travel.

cheers,
Pete #2

Those banana boats are a favourite with my kids too. For an adult version some orange liqueur is a nice addition ! ... and a bit more liqueur while you wait for them to cook is good too.

Cored apples stuffed with dried fruits, chocolate, etc and some juice (or splash or water) (or some more of that liqueur) wrapped if foil in the coals is good too.

I'll be away with the gang in a couple of weeks so this has got me thinking that I'd like to bring along something new to try. I'll keep an eye out for some inspiration !

Keep 'em coming ....

here's another a friend just told me about - Roasted Chipmunks:

Take 2 - 2 bit brownies, put a peppermint patty between them, wrap in foil and throw on the coals.

Hard to go wrong with chocolate! Rolos would probably be yummy too, and i bet that if we dunked those brownies in Aussie's orange liqueur it would be even better.

bacpacjac, your question got me to thinking about campfire food in general. I started thinking about a variation of campfire potatoes, only instead of potatoes you could maybe use apples instead ... with butter and sugar maybe ... hmm, this could get messy though, couldn't it? I know what we'll be experimenting with next few campouts now

mmmmm Mark, I'm not a stove girl but I amd a food girl. Now you've got me thinking about potatoes. And apples.

So many recipes, so little time. Let's see, when is that spring campout again ...

We could probably start an entirely new forum just for recipes, Mark.

My husband loves what he calls "Pudgie Pies" - basically sandwiches of peanut butter, Nutella, and bananas cooked in a cast iron pie iron. We have a wood-burning fireplace so we make those quite often during cold MN winters.

oh my goodness, those sound good Christina! Fried pb & banana sandwiches are yummh but with nutella? that would divine after a day of hiking or paddling.

We took the Beavers hiking last night and the Scouts met us mid-way with a roaring campfire. they treated us to what they called "oatmeal pie cookies". Take two crunchie oatmeal cookies, slather pie filling between them. (we has cherry and blueberry) Then wrap in foil and roast on the coals, turning frequently, until the cookies feel soft. mmMM!

If you take an apple corer with you, remove the apple core and replace with a mix of brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins; wrap with aluminum foil and bake in the the coals for 10-15 minutes. If you have some extra apples, use the corer to make bottom plugs for the apples so all the stuff doesn't run out when it heats up.

Of course, if you have other people around, and need to use the campfire for your treats, that means you have to share. "Share" = give your stuff to other people. Personally, I would rather just take a large chunk of good chocolate and hoard it for myself. Don't need no stinkin' campfire!

Sue

I love the way you think Sue!

My favorite: Peanut butter s'mores. Just like the original, but with a slather of PB instead of chocolate. My DW leaves the chocolate in.

Charms Sour Candy Balls. Great For Hikes And around the campsite. Other Then that Candy Bars such as Snickers, Milkyway And Hershey bars.

It's hard to go wrong with candy and chocolate, Frisket. You just can't beat the basics sometimes.

For cool weather, chocolate chip or oatmeal cookie dough (usually eaten raw). Summer calls for s'mores usually with tropical chocolate and peanut butter.

Sweet Dreams,

Jerry

mmmmm! thanks Jerry!

Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream pies.

I'm getting hungry again!

Me too ... [sits in corner drooling]

Sue, I'd like that a lot better without the raisins

Flour Tortilla,Banana,Nutella,Marshmallows,Graham cracker crumbs,butter:Smear tortilla with butter,1side only, Split Banana length wise,place on edge of tortilla,smear center of banana with Nutella,add mini-marshmallows & Crumbs(peanuts work also),Roll up in Tortilla(butter side-in),Roll this into Foil with 2-3" of foil(makes nice handles),on each side,try to roll tightly,Twist foil on each end,firm but not tight,Place on edge of Hot coals,turn occasionally for 5 minutes or when you smell tortilla toasting,It's done,place on cold rock for 1-2 minutes to cool a bit,tear off one end of foil about 1/3 way down&Enjoy!

Richlacal, that sounds delicious!

Here's another one someone just suggested for our upcoming Scouts camping trip:

Toasted Angel Cake
-Cut day-old unsliced (loaf) bread into 2-inch squares
-1 can sweetened condensed milk
-1 box shredded coconut

Place bread squares on a stick. Dip squares in sweetened condensed milk, then in coconut. Toast over fire.

We have three kids and my wife is a gourmet chef. While s'mores have always been a favorite of ours, she kicked it up a notch. We now do a "S'mores Bar" as in "salad bar."

We do the standard graham crackers with marsh mellows but instead of just a piece of chocolate we use the small snack size candy bars. Some of the family favorites are Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, Mounds or Hershey's Dark Chocolate. Everyone gets to choose their own "poison" and everyone is always happy.

Hmmm...getting to be camping weather...