Cobbler

Eaton Rapids Joe asked about cobbler recipes, and I admit a fondness for easy, filling, tasty sweetness.  Cobbler fits the bill exactly.

Years ago, when I was scoutmaster for a troop of hungry Scouts, several of my brethren scoutmasters started a little competition during camporees.  Each scoutmaster would make one cobbler, in a large dutch oven on Saturday night, and we'd submit our efforts to the boys who would decide the winner.  I won a few, but my friend Billy Netherland won more than his share.   The basic recipe went like this:

Ingredients.

1 stick butter or margarine
2 cans fruit filling.  Peaches, apples, blueberries, it didn't matter
1 box cake mix.  Cheaper is better.  We're talking Dollar Store, True Value cake mix.

Prep.
Line a large Dutch Oven with aluminum foil.  Melt your butter in a saucepan.  Add the two cans of filling to the dutch oven, then sprinkle that whole box of cake mix on top.  Drizzle that melted butter atop the cake mix, then give it one stir with a wooden spoon.  One stir.  You've not mixing, you're simply giving it one stir.

Cooking.

Put that Dutch oven in the fire and put some coals atop it.  You're going to need the equivalent of about 18 charcoal briquettes on the bottom and about six on top.  Let it bake for about a half-hour, or until the bubbling mixture passes the toothpick test.  You'll know when it's done.

Caveat.  For proper cooking on a campfire, you're going to need a proper Dutch Oven.  One with legs, and a lid that will hold coals.

This one is from Camp Chef, but several manufacturers make them.  I've used Lodge, and other makes, but for proper campfire cooking you'll need the legs and the lid.  One of the cool things about a proper camp dutch oven is that the lid can be flipped over to use as a skillet.

I have my inside dutch ovens, and I have my campfire dutch ovens, and never the twain shall meet.  You can't use a legged oven on the house stove, and you can't really cook on a campfire without legs.

One winning cobbler secret.  Add a tablespoon of vanilla extract into the fruit topping.  (Don't tell Billy I told you.)