Dill Pickle Cheddar Camp Muffins
Savory muffins with pickle and cheddar, baked in a Dutch oven for lunches you can hand out cold.
- calories
- 215
- weight
- 2.6 oz
- cal / oz
- 83
- protein
- 8 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Lunch
- Snack
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| All-purpose flour | 1 1/2 cups | |
|---|---|---|
| Baking powder | 1 tsp | |
| Baking soda | 1/2 tsp | |
| Sea salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Shredded cheddar | 1 cup | a block grated at camp holds up better than pre-shredded |
| Dill pickles | 1/2 cup, chopped | drain them or the batter goes slack |
| Fresh dill | 2 tbsp, chopped | 1 tsp dried works |
| Pickle juice | 2 tbsp | |
| Eggs | 2 | |
| Milk | 1/2 cup | powdered milk mixed with water is fine |
| Unsalted butter | 1/4 cup, melted |
Method
- Build a fire down to coals, or start a chimney of briquettes. You want about 8 coals under the oven and 16 on the lid.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cheddar, pickles, and dill in a bowl.
- In a second container, beat the eggs with the milk, melted butter, and pickle juice.
- Pour the wet into the dry and stir until the flour just disappears. Overmixing makes them tough.
- Fill parchment cups or liners two-thirds full and set them in the Dutch oven. Use a rack or a few pebbles so they sit off the bottom.
- Lid on, coals top and bottom, 20 minutes. Rotate the oven a quarter turn every five minutes so nothing scorches.
- They are done when a tops springs back. Lift them out and let them cool all the way before they go in a box.
Bread at camp usually means someone sawing at a loaf on a dirty table. Muffins skip that. They come out of the oven already portioned, they hold together in a lunch kit, and they can be eaten cold with no assembly.
The pickle juice is doing chemistry, not just flavor. It is acidic enough to kick the baking soda, which is what lifts a batter this heavy with cheese. Drain the chopped pickles well anyway. Extra brine turns the crumb gummy, and gummy is what you get when a Dutch oven runs cooler than you thought.
Packing
Combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a bag at home so camp mixing is two containers instead of five. Pickles, cheese, eggs, and butter ride in the cooler. Cooled muffins pack in a rigid box with parchment between layers.
Variations
- No Dutch oven: bake them at home the day before and carry them as-is. They keep a day, two if it is cold.
- Swap half the cheddar for crumbled bacon if you already have a pack open.
- Powdered eggs and powdered milk make the batter shelf-stable, though the crumb comes out drier.
https://camprecipes.com/dill-pickle-cheddar-snack-muffins