Breakfast Recipe – Berry Cobbler!

When hitting the trail for a weekend backpacking/camping trip, most people look forward to the views, the breezes, the smells, the wildlife, etc but not the food!  Why not?!?  Although a backpacking “kitchen” is not as versatile as your 4-burner stove at home, you can still make some tasty, nutritional gourmet meals on the trail.  Gourmet backpacking takes a little bit of planning up front, but typically pretty simple cooking on the trail.  In upcoming blogs, we’ll be posting some of our favorite things to make on the trail.  Most are originally from other sources, but none the less, we think they should be shared!

Our first recipe post is for Berry Cobbler on the trail!  This is pretty flexible and can be altered to include the tastes that you enjoy.  This recipe feeds 2 people – so, for more, adjust accordingly.

At home, prepare 2 sealable plastic baggies (like ziplock):

1. Fill the first bag with 1/2 cups of Bisquick instant biscuit mix.  On the outside of the bag, with a permanent marker write “Add 3 TBSP of cold water & knead until mixed”

2. Fill the second bag with 2 TBSP of sugar, 1 TSP of cornstarch, 1/2 cup of dehydrated berries and any spices you might like (dash of cinnamon, nutmeg or maybe some vanilla powder).  You can either get pre-dehydrated berries from a gourmet foods store (such as Wholefoods) or dehydrate them yourself with a cheap dehydrator.  If you’re dehydrating yourself, we recommend raspberries and sliced strawberries – these are the easiest to dyhydrate fully.    On the outside of the bag, with a permanent marker write “Add to 1 cup boiling water”

On the trail, for breakfast or maybe even dessert – using a large or medium pot (with a lid):

1. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add in the sugar/berry/corn starch mixture (this direction should already be written on your ziplock bag).

2. As this mixes, add the 3 TBSP of water to the Bisquick bag and knead until the water is completely mixed in.

3. Using a pocket knife, cut off the tip of one corner to make a hole about 1 cm in diamter.  Squeeze “dollops” of dough (about the size of spoonful) into the boiling berry mixture until there is no more dough.  Push down the dumplings with a spoon so they’re immersed.

4. Turn the stove to a simmer and cover for 7-9 minutes.  Check occasionally, adding water if needed to prevent burning.

You can use the cook time to start cleaning up camp – but don’t let it over cook.  Once it’s done, test one of the dumplings by splitting it with a spork – it should look cooked inside – like a pancake, not doughy.  If you don’t like cleaning up, or don’t have the water to spare, we recommend eating out of the pan.  (after it’s cooled)  This makes enough for 2 people for breakfast.

This is a sticky mess to clean up.  If you do use bowls, wipes work the best rather than water and soap.

Berry Cobbler for Breakfast!