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When I worked at Philmont Scout Ranch, one of the weekly activities was Cobbler Night. We’d cook enough of five or six varieties of dutch oven cobbler to feed literally hundreds of people each week. Multiply that by eight seasons, and I’ve made a lot of cobbler.
Still, this delicious treat isn’t one I think I’ll ever get sick of. And it’s suuuuuuper easy to make, too. So if you’re looking for a nearly fail-proof dessert for your next camping trip or bonfire, give this sweet treat a try.
Equipment
Dutch Oven
We have a 5 quart Lodge Dutch Oven, and we love it. The only caveat with this model is that the curved lid sometimes makes stacking coals a little trickier. If you’re going to make use your dutch oven with coals or charcoal often, I would recommend a model with a flat, lipped lid.
Dutch Oven Lid Hook
We don’t have one of these, but we wish we did. These lid hooks make it a lot easier to open the lid and rotate the dutch oven as needed. Metal tongs work alright, too, and that’s what we’ve used, but a lid hook is definitely on our camping wish list.
Aluminum Foil
While cast iron is relatively easy to clean, cobbler residue can be a little harder to scrape out. You can save yourself some time and elbow grease by lining your dutch oven with aluminum foil or a disposable oven liner. Just make sure to get liners that match the dimensions of your dutch oven.
Firewood or Charcoal
Dutch oven cobbler can be cooked over the coals of a burned down campfire or charcoal briquettes. There’s really no difference between the two as far as cook time goes (in my experience), but prepping charcoal does take less time and it’s a little easier to stack on the lid of your dutch oven.
If you’re going to use campfire coals, set the fire 30-45 minutes before you want to cook your cobbler to give it time to burn down. If you are using charcoal, 15-20 minutes is usually enough time to get them ready.
Charcoal Chimney (Optional)
If you opt for charcoal briquettes, a charcoal chimney is super handy for getting your coals prepped for cooking.
Dutch Oven Cobbler
Ingredients
- 2 cans Canned Fruit or Pie Filling Just about any fruit will work. If your fruit of choice has a lot of juice, such as peaches, you might want to drain a little bit off so you don't end up with soggy cobbler.
- 1 box Cake Mix Pick a cake mix that will complement your fruit of choice. Cherry pie filling works really well with chocolate cake mix. Apple and peach work well with white, yellow, or spice cake mix. Berry fillings usually work well with white or yellow mix, too.
- 1/2 C Salted Butter
- 1 can Soda Again, pick a flavor that will complement your fruit and cake mix. Lemon lime is typically a safe bet for most mixes, and ginger ale can be a good twist. Colas tend to work better with chocolate cake mixes, but it's all according to personal preference.
Instructions
- While your coals or charcoal are getting hot, line your dutch oven with tin foil for easy clean up later.
- Dump canned fruit or pie filling into the dutch oven and spread evenly. Top fruit with box of cake mix and spread evenly without mixing with the fruit. Cut butter into chunks and scatter evenly over the top of the cake mix. Pour one can of soda evenly over the whole concoction. Do not mix.
- Set dutch oven onto hot coals and spread more coals evenly around the lid. After 15 minutes, rotate dutch oven clockwise by 90° and the lid counterclockwise by 90°. Repeat the rotation step every 15 minutes until the cobbler is done. Total cook time will depend on the temperature of your coals and the liquid content of your fruit mix.
- Cobbler is done when fruit is bubbly and cake mix is golden brown on top.
Bon appétit!
- Jess
