So, went camping again last weekend. Always gotta have something sweet after dinner out there, right? Usually, it’s just s’mores, which are fine, but kinda get old. This time, I figured I’d try a couple of different things I saw somewhere. Wanted something fun, especially if you got kids around, or even just for us adults acting like kids.
Campfire Cones Attempt
First up, I decided to try those campfire cone things. Seemed easy enough.
What I did beforehand:
- Grabbed a box of sugar cones, not the flimsy cake ones. Need something sturdy.
- Packed a bag of mini marshmallows.
- Threw in some chocolate chips – semi-sweet worked for me.
- Added some chopped nuts and sliced bananas for variety. You can really toss anything in there.
- Most important: packed a roll of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Don’t cheap out on the foil.
Making them at the site:
Got the campfire going nicely, let it burn down to some good coals, not raging flames. Handed everyone a cone. Then it was just stuffing everything inside – layers of chocolate, marshmallow, banana, nuts. Packed ’em pretty full. Then, wrapped each cone tightly in a piece of foil. Made sure it was sealed up good.
Placed them on the grill grate over the coals, not directly in the fire. Kept an eye on them. Rotated them a bit using tongs after maybe 5 minutes. You gotta be careful here; they can burn fast if the heat’s too high. Pulled them off after about 7-10 minutes total. Let them cool for a minute or two because that melted stuff inside is like lava.
How they turned out:
Honestly? Pretty darn good. Everything was melted and gooey inside the cone. It was messy, for sure. Napkins are a must. But way more interesting than a standard s’more. Cleanup was easy too, just toss the foil.
Orange Brownie Experiment
The other thing I tried was baking brownies inside oranges. Sounded weird, but fun.
Prep at home:
- Made brownie batter. Yeah, just used a box mix. Keep it simple, right? Mixed it up according to the instructions.
- Poured the batter into a sturdy ziplock bag. Easier to transport and pipe out later.
- Bought a few big, thick-skinned oranges. Navel oranges work well.
The campfire part:
Once the fire was going and we had some decent embers, I got started. Cut the oranges in half horizontally. Scooped out the inside pulp – saved that for breakfast the next day. Left the empty orange peel halves, like little bowls.
Snipped a corner off the ziplock bag with the brownie batter. Squeezed the batter into each orange half, maybe filled them about two-thirds full. Didn’t want them overflowing when they baked.
Now, the tricky part. Wrapped each filled orange half really well in heavy-duty foil. I actually used two layers per orange half just to be safe. You want to seal it tight so ash doesn’t get in, but maybe leave a tiny bit of room for steam.
Carefully nestled these foil packets directly into the hot embers around the edge of the fire. Not in direct flame. This took longer than the cones. Left them there for maybe 25-30 minutes? Hard to say exactly. Rotated them once carefully with tongs.
The result:
Pulled one out to check. Unwrapped it carefully – hot! Used a stick to poke the brownie. It seemed cooked through. They actually worked! The brownie was baked, maybe a little dense, but definitely cooked. Had a slight hint of orange flavor from the peel, which was nice. It wasn’t the best brownie ever, but the novelty factor was super high. Felt like some real old-school campfire cooking.
So yeah, those were my two attempts this time around. Both were pretty successful, I’d say. More effort than s’mores, but a fun change. The cones were easier and quicker, the orange brownies were more of an interesting project. Worth trying if you want to mix up your campfire dessert game.
