I'm never much of an outdoorsy gal. What can I say? Ok I mean, do not get me wrong, I love the ocean. And beautiful scenery makes my heart flutter. I loved my honeymoon in Costa Rica, and the mountains are magical. All that being said: the end of the day, I used to have a bed and a roof. Well last weekend I went on my first official camping trip and it was fun damn.
Yes, I am 100% out of my comfort zone, but Andy loves camping and I thought the trip Father's Day with some friends would be fun. I went in with an open mind and had a good time. (I mean, we were paid on the last day and had distribution camp in the middle of a flash flood and I am left with a good attitude.)
My favorite part of the entire course weekend was the food. (Surprise Surprise!) I really got a kick on creative ways of cooking on a campfire and we had some amazing meals! Our friends camped pros so we followed their lead on just about everything, but I willingly got involved with desserts. Now- I'm sure you can imagine that cooking on a fire is a different ball game cooking in the oven, but we still had some amazing treats. The first night I did a version of Strawberry Rhubarb Dump cake which was great, and Saturday night, we had a S'mores bar (with S'mores Ritz Cracker Reeses being the favorite hands down.) I could not get photos of these creations in the dark about it, but I did catch these cinnamon Rolls brunch to share!
I prepped these at home before leaving, roll dough into a log and freeze until the morning of our departure. I packed in ice and kept cold until the next morning. Then I cut the dough into rolls and let proof beside the campfire. To "cook" we put the cast iron Dutch oven over some hot coals and placed the hot wood on top. I think he's really good! They have been completely cooked within 10 minutes and I even think I could have removed 8 minutes. I brought the cream cheese frosting that I made at home and basted and served them quickly enough. (The heat of melting continues to cook for a long time after you remove them from the fire.)
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup
- flour 3¼ cups all purpose
- 1 (. 25 ounces) instant yeast pack
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt coffee
- ¼ cup water
- 1 egg
- [sucrebrun
- 1 cup packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup buttermilk softened
- 2 tablespoons butter soup softened
- 4 cheese oz cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like.)
- heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix butter; stir until melted. Let cool
- In a large bowl, combine 2 ¼ cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt .; whisk together. Add water, egg and milk mixture; beat well with an electric mixer. Add the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, using a wooden spoon to mix well after each addition. (The dough will be too thick and sticky to use mixers at this point.)
- When the dough has just pulled together, put it on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. (Dough will bounce light pressure.)
- Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle 12x9 inches. (Use your 9x13 baking dish as a guide.) Spread the softened butter all over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with the sugar mixture with cinnamon and press lightly so it does not fall when riding. Roll the dough and pinch seam to seal.
- Cut the dough into two equal logs and wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in a zip lock bag. Keep frozen until you are ready to cook.
- In the morning, you want to have the cinnamon rolls, remove and let thaw at room temperature. (Or the day before if you are not the outdoor cooking ... they tend not to remain completely frozen for too long in a cooler.
- Slice dough into 12 equal and instead rolls in bottom of a Dutch oven with butter. Cover and near the fire to proof for about an hour, or until the rolls are inflated.
- cook on the campfire, some coals with hot wood fire on top. (You can improvise- this is what worked for us.)
- bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden and cooked through. slather with frosting (recipe below), and the service immediately. (they will be hot, but at least out of the Dutch oven so they stop cooking
- Whisk the softened butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time. Beat until creamy and spreadable consistency.