Skillet Cookie Over Coals
One log of dough, one cast iron pan, and enough patience to keep it off the flames.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 3.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 4 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 25 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
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough | half a 16 oz tube | keep it cold until it goes in the pan |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stick spray or olive oil | a short spray | skip it if the skillet is well seasoned |
Method
- Build the fire early and let it burn down. You want coals with a thin ash coat, not flames.
- Grease a 6-inch cast iron skillet, or leave it dry if the seasoning is good.
- Press half the dough tube into the pan and push it flat to the edges. It will spread a little, so leave a small gap at the rim.
- Set the skillet on a grate over coals, off to the side of any live flame. Bake 15 to 25 minutes.
- Rotate the pan a quarter turn every few minutes so one side does not run ahead of the other.
- Pull it when the edges are set and browned and the middle still looks soft. Let it sit five minutes off the heat before anyone digs in.
Cast iron over a campfire is mostly a heat management problem. The pan holds a lot of energy and passes it straight into whatever touches the bottom, so direct flame gives you a burnt underside and raw dough half an inch above it. Coals off to the side, a grate, and a few rotations solve that. Low and slow is the whole technique.
Tube dough is the shortcut that makes this a camp recipe instead of a baking project. It is a cooler item and it stays soft, so nothing gets measured or mixed at the site. Covering the skillet with foil traps heat above the dough and helps the top catch up to the bottom, which matters more when your coal bed runs hot.
Packing
The dough tube lives in the cooler, not the food bin. Warm dough spreads thin and burns before the center bakes. Bring a lid or a square of foil to cover the pan if the top is lagging behind the bottom.
Variations
- Press a chocolate bar and a handful of graham crumbs on top in the last five minutes for a s'mores version.
- Flaky salt over the top before it cools cuts the sweetness.
- A camp oven or a covered grill works the same way. Watch it, because the timing shifts.
https://campfirefoodie.com/the-best-skillet-cookies