Dutch Oven Apple Crisp
Six apples, an oat crust top and bottom, and 45 minutes under coals.
- calories
- 650
- weight
- 9.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 68
- protein
- 6 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total time
- 60 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.
- Dessert
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Apples | 6 medium | firm ones; Granny Smith or Honeycrisp hold shape |
|---|---|---|
| Ground cinnamon | 2 tsp | |
| Ground nutmeg | 2 tsp | |
| Quick oats | 3 cups | quick, not rolled, so they soften in the bake time |
| All-purpose flour | 1 cup | |
| Brown sugar | 2 cups | |
| Baking powder | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Butter | 1 cup | softened, not melted |
Method
- Build a fire early and let it burn down. You want coals, not flame.
- Slice the apples thin. Toss them with the cinnamon and nutmeg in a bag or bowl.
- Work the butter into the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt with your hands until it clumps.
- Press half the crumb into the bottom and up the sides of a 12-inch dutch oven.
- Dump the apples in and scatter the rest of the crumb over the top.
- Lid on. Set the oven on about 8 coals and put 16 on the lid, so most of the heat comes from above.
- Bake 45 minutes. Rotate the oven and the lid a quarter turn every 15 minutes so nothing scorches.
- Done when the top is light brown and a knife goes through the apples without resistance.
The crust is laid down twice, bottom and top, which is what separates this from a plain crumble. The bottom layer takes the liquid the apples throw off and turns it into something you can lift out with a spoon. Without it you get syrup pooling in the bottom of the oven.
Coal placement is the whole game. Two thirds on the lid, one third underneath: that browns the top crumb while the apples steam through slowly. Load the bottom heavy and the sugar on the floor of the oven burns before the fruit is soft. The original called for 2 tsp of salt, which reads like a typo against 2 cups of sugar; 1 tsp is enough to keep it from tasting flat.
Packing
Combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in one gallon bag at home. Cinnamon and nutmeg go in a second small bag. Butter and apples ride in the cooler. Slicing the apples at home and bagging them with the spice mix cuts camp prep to five minutes, though they will brown.
Variations
- Two cans of apple pie filling replace the fresh apples and the slicing entirely.
- Swap the flour for a cup more quick oats if you want it looser and more crumble than crust.
- A splash of lemon juice on the sliced apples keeps them from going grey if you cut them at home.
https://www.campercommunity.com/threads/dutch-oven-apple-crisp.676