I have burned more marshmallows than I have ever toasted properly, and I stopped pretending it was bad luck. The trouble with cooking over a fire is that the fire is the least reliable part of it, so anything fussy will let you down at a campsite. Everything here is built for a pie iron, a sheet of foil, or a dutch oven set in the coals. Most of it you can prep before you leave home.
1) Foil-Packet Apple Crisp
Toss sliced apples with cinnamon and a little sugar, pile them onto a square of foil, and top them with a handful of oats and butter before sealing the packet tight. Set it on the coals for 15 to 20 minutes and give it a shake halfway through so the bottom does not scorch. The foil traps the steam and softens the apples while the top crisps against the metal. I make a separate packet for each person so nobody has to share, and they come off the fire ready to eat.
2) Classic S’mores
The whole thing lives or dies on the marshmallow, and the marshmallow lives or dies on your patience. Keep it a few inches above the coals rather than down in the flames, and turn it slowly until the whole surface goes deep golden and the inside slumps. This is the step most people rush, and a scorched black shell over a cold center is what rushing gets you. Sandwich it with a square of chocolate between two graham crackers and press gently so the heat softens the chocolate. Let it sit for 30 seconds before you bite in.
3) Pie-Iron Cherry Pie Pocket
Pie filling and two slices of bread turn into something close to a hand pie in a pie iron. Butter the outsides of the bread, spoon cherry filling into the middle, and clamp it shut before it goes on the coals. Cook it 3 to 4 minutes a side until the bread is deep golden and crisp. The filling holds serious heat, so give it a few minutes before the first bite. A dusting of cinnamon sugar on the outside is not traditional, but I do it anyway.
4) Cast-Iron S’mores Dip
This is what I make when there is a crowd and I do not feel like handing everyone their own stick. Spread chocolate chips in a cast iron skillet, cover them with a layer of marshmallows, and set the pan near the coals until the marshmallows puff and brown on top, about 5 to 7 minutes. The skillet holds heat long after it leaves the fire, so it stays gooey through second helpings. Serve it with graham crackers and let people dig in straight from the pan.
5) Pie-Iron Apple Pie Pocket
Swap the cherry for apple filling and you have the version I reach for most. The bread crisps against the hot iron into something that shatters like a crust, and the apples go soft and jammy inside. Keep the filling off the sealed edges or it leaks and burns onto the iron, which is a miserable thing to scrub at a campsite. Four minutes a side is usually right. A little cinnamon sugar on the outside finishes it.
6) Campfire Banana Boats
Leave the banana in its peel and slice it lengthwise without cutting all the way through, then stuff the pocket with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Wrap the whole thing in foil and set it on the coals for about 5 minutes, until the peel darkens and the inside goes molten. The peel does the work of a pan here, which is why this is one of the easiest things you can hand a kid at a campsite. Eat it with a spoon straight from the foil.
7) Dutch-Oven Peach Cobbler
A dutch oven is the closest thing you get to a real oven at a campsite, and cobbler is what it does best. Layer sliced peaches in the bottom, spoon a simple batter over the top, and cover the lid with hot coals so the heat comes from both directions. Give it 30 to 40 minutes and resist the urge to lift the lid every 5, because every peek lets the heat out and adds time. The top should go golden and the fruit should bubble up around the edges. Scoop it warm.
8) Pie-Iron Grilled Cheese
Grilled cheese in a pie iron is the campsite lunch that quiets everyone down for a few minutes. Butter the outsides of two slices, fill them with cheese, and clamp the iron shut before setting it in the coals for 2 to 3 minutes a side. The sealed edges mean the cheese melts fully instead of sliding out the sides the way it does in a skillet. Peek early to check the color, since bread goes from golden to burnt faster than you expect over a fire.
9) Campfire Monkey Bread
Cut biscuit dough into pieces, roll them in cinnamon sugar, and pack them into a greased dutch oven or a foil pan. Set it over the coals with a few on the lid and bake until the pieces pull apart and the centers are cooked through, roughly 25 to 30 minutes. The trick people miss is greasing the pan well, because caramelized sugar welds to bare metal and takes half the bread with it. Pull it apart with your hands while it is still warm.
10) Pie-Iron Pizza Pocket
Two slices of bread, a spoon of sauce, and a handful of mozzarella make a pizza pocket that beats anything you brought in a cooler. Butter the outsides, keep the sauce away from the edges so it seals cleanly, and clamp it in the iron for about 3 minutes a side. The bread crisps into a shell and the cheese pulls when you tear it open. Keep a little extra warm sauce on the side for dipping.
11) Pie-Iron S’mores Pocket
This is the s’more for anyone tired of losing marshmallows to the fire. Butter two slices of bread, lay chocolate and marshmallows between them, and clamp the whole thing in a pie iron before setting it in the coals. It seals into a toasted pocket in 2 to 3 minutes a side, with a molten center and nothing dripping into the ash. Let it cool for a minute before you open the iron, because that filling comes out hotter than it looks.
12) Pie-Iron Quesadilla
A tortilla folds into a pie iron better than bread does, and it crisps up beautifully against the hot metal. Fill half with cheese and whatever else you have on hand, fold it over, and clamp it shut for about 2 minutes a side. The iron presses everything together so the cheese glues the whole thing into a crisp, foldable piece. This is my go-to when the s’mores supplies run out but the fire is still going.
13) Foil-Packet Sausage and Peppers
This is the one savory thing on the list that eats like a real dinner. Slice sausage, peppers, and onions, pile them onto a sheet of foil with a little oil, and seal the packet so the steam stays in. Set it on the coals for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until the sausage is cooked through and the peppers go soft and a little charred. Build the packets at home and they go straight from the cooler onto the fire. Eat it out of the foil or pile it onto a roll.
14) Pie-Iron Breakfast Egg and Sausage Pocket
Breakfast is where the pie iron earns its place in the pack. Line the iron with buttered bread, crack an egg over it, add cooked sausage and a little cheese, and top with a second slice before clamping it shut. Set it in the coals for 4 to 5 minutes a side, until the egg is set and no longer runny. The one thing you cannot rush is the egg, so check it before you commit to a bite. It is a full breakfast that comes off the fire in one handheld piece.
15) Pie-Iron Donut
Refrigerated biscuit dough is the shortcut that makes this work with almost no effort. Butter the iron, press a round of dough inside, and cook it 2 to 3 minutes a side until it puffs and turns golden all the way through. Roll it in cinnamon sugar the second it comes out, while the surface is still buttery enough to hold it. Eat it hot, because a campfire donut waits for no one.
