Dutch Oven Strawberry Cobbler
Freeze-dried strawberries rehydrated in the pot, biscuit dough dropped on top, coals above and below.
- calories
- 430
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 96
- protein
- 5 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 50 min
- water
- 600 ml boiled
- 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
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried strawberry slices | 3 oz | about 4 cups loose |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 3/4 cup | split: 1/2 cup for the fruit, 1/4 cup for the dough |
| Cornstarch | 3 tbsp | tapioca starch works the same |
| Powdered lemon juice or citric acid | 1 tsp | |
| Vanilla powder | 1/2 tsp | extract in a dropper bottle is fine |
| All-purpose flour | 1 1/2 cups | |
| Baking powder | 2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Powdered whole milk | 3 tbsp | |
| Shortening or coconut oil | 5 tbsp | solid at camp temps, cuts into the flour |
| Coarse sugar | 1 tbsp | for the top |
Method
- Pour 500 ml of water into the dutch oven and bring it to a boil over coals or a low fire.
- Add the strawberries, the 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch, the lemon powder, and the vanilla. Stir until it thickens, about three minutes. Pull it off the heat.
- In a bag, work the shortening into the flour, baking powder, salt, remaining sugar, and milk powder until it looks like gravel. Add 100 ml of water and squeeze until a shaggy dough forms. Do not knead it smooth.
- Drop the dough in eight or nine lumps over the fruit. Leave gaps. Sprinkle the coarse sugar over the top.
- Lid on. Set the oven on 8 coals and put 16 on the lid. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, rotating oven and lid a quarter turn every ten minutes.
- Done when a biscuit splits dry in the middle. Let it sit ten minutes or the fruit runs.
The source version is a lattice-crust pie with four pounds of fresh berries, an egg wash, and an oven. None of that travels. Freeze-dried strawberries carry the same flavor at a tenth of the weight and rehydrate in the pot, which is also where the cornstarch does its thickening. Fresh fruit needs a 45-minute sit and a drain to shed water; freeze-dried needs the opposite, so the water goes in on purpose and in a measured amount.
A cobbler top replaces the crust because rolled pastry and cold butter are not camp materials. Shortening stays solid without a cooler and cuts into flour the same way, and powdered milk plus water gets you the liquid without the egg wash. Coals matter more than the recipe: heavy on the lid, light underneath, or the fruit scorches before the biscuits set.
Packing
Two bags. Bag one: strawberries, cornstarch, lemon powder, vanilla powder, and the 1/2 cup sugar. Bag two: flour, baking powder, salt, milk powder, and the 1/4 cup sugar. Shortening rides in a screw-top jar.
Variations
- Swap in freeze-dried mixed berries or dried apples; apples want an extra 100 ml of water.
- No dutch oven: cook the fruit in a pot, skip the dough, and spoon it over crushed shortbread.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/strawberry-pie