Peanut Butter Log
Peanut butter, powdered sugar, and milk powder pressed into a log you slice on the trail.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 3.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 177
- protein
- 20 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 15 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.
- Snack
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Day hike
- Car camping
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Peanut butter | 2 cups | creamy or chunky, either works |
|---|---|---|
| Powdered sugar | 1 cup | |
| Powdered milk | 1 cup | nonfat dry milk, not a creamer blend |
Method
- At home, stir the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and milk powder together in a bowl. It goes from sticky to stiff dough. Work it with your hands at the end.
- Split the dough in half and roll each half into a log about two inches across on a sheet of plastic wrap.
- Wrap tight, twist the ends, and chill for an hour so the logs firm up and hold their shape.
- Move the chilled logs to a freezer bag for the trip.
- On trail, peel back the wrap and slice off rounds, or just bite the end off. Rewrap what you do not eat.
This is three shelf-stable ingredients doing structural work. Peanut butter alone is a mess to carry; the powdered sugar and milk powder soak up the free oil and turn it into a dough stiff enough to slice. The milk powder is not there for flavor, it is there for body and a bit more protein per ounce.
The original chilled the logs and kept them in a cooler until the trailhead. That is worth doing at home because cold dough rolls cleanly, but the chill is not what keeps it safe. Nothing here needs refrigeration. Heat is the only real enemy, and heat only costs you the shape.
Packing
Two logs in one heavy freezer bag. In hot weather pack them low and central in the pack where the load insulates them, and expect softening past a day out. Above about 80 F they slump into something you eat with a spoon, which still works.
Variations
- Swap half the powdered sugar for cocoa powder to cut the sweetness.
- Roll the finished logs in crushed pretzels or shredded coconut for texture and salt.
- Raisins or mini chocolate chips kneaded into the dough add bulk without changing how it holds together.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/peanut-butter-log