Dutch Oven Double Chocolate Brownies
A boxed brownie mix pushed further with syrup and chips, baked over coals.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 4 oz
- cal / oz
- 105
- protein
- 5 g
- serves
- 8
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 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
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Boxed brownie mix | 1 box (about 19 oz) | |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs, water, and oil | as the box calls for | eggs ride in the cooler; oil and water do not |
| Chocolate syrup | 1/2 cup | squeeze bottle, no measuring cup needed |
| Chocolate chips | 1 cup | |
| Oil or parchment for the oven | a thin coat |
Method
- Start a chimney of briquettes well before you want dessert. You need 28 of them at usable heat.
- Wipe the inside of a 12 inch dutch oven with oil, or line the bottom with parchment.
- Dump the mix straight into the oven. Add the eggs, water, and oil the box asks for and stir with a long spoon until no dry pockets are left.
- Stir in the syrup and the chips. The batter will look loose. That is the syrup.
- Set the oven on 10 briquettes and put 18 on the lid. Most of the heat belongs on top or the bottom scorches.
- Check at 15 minutes, then every 5. A splinter of wood pushed into the center should come out with crumbs, not batter.
- Pull the lid, sweep the ash off before you open it, and let the oven sit off the coals for ten minutes before cutting.
This is a boxed mix doing what a boxed mix does, with two additions that matter. The syrup adds sugar and moisture without adding another egg, which is what keeps a dutch oven brownie from drying out over uneven coals. The chips stay whole and give you pockets of melted chocolate instead of a uniform slab.
Coal placement is the whole recipe. Ten under and eighteen on the lid puts the heat above the batter, so it bakes rather than fries against the cast iron. If you smell scorching, lift the oven off the bottom coals entirely and let the lid finish it. This one needs a cooler for the eggs, so it belongs at the car, not in a pack.
Packing
Mix box, syrup bottle, and chips travel together in a dry bag. Eggs are the only cooler item. Count out your briquettes at home so you are not guessing in the dark.
Variations
- Spoon the finished brownie into flat-bottom ice cream cones and skip cutting entirely.
- Swap the eggs for powdered whole egg and water if you have no cooler. Texture gets denser.
- Instant coffee, a teaspoon stirred into the batter, sharpens the chocolate.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/super_chocolate_brownie-1933.asp