Banana boats, filled cones and warm cookie sandwiches make simple campfire desserts because most of their ingredients are ready to eat. Prepare the portions before lighting the fire, and let an adult manage the hot cookware and roasting tools.
Set up before cooking
Check the campsite’s current fire restrictions and use its permitted fire ring or cooking area. Keep water available and follow the National Park Service’s camp-cooking guidance. A fire ban means choosing a permitted alternative, not making a smaller fire.
Cook over controlled heat with appropriate cookware or a stable cooking grate, rather than dropping packets into flames. Use long tools and heat-resistant protection. Open foil away from faces because steam and melted fillings can burn, and let each dessert cool before tasting. Check ingredients for your group’s food allergies.
1. Banana boats
For each serving: one banana, a little chocolate, a few mini marshmallows and optional crushed graham crackers.
- Leave the peel on and cut a slit lengthwise into the banana without cutting completely through the bottom.
- Gently open the slit and add the fillings without overfilling.
- Wrap in foil suitable for cooking and warm on the grate, turning with tongs as needed, until the banana softens and the fillings melt.
- Move the packet to a heat-safe surface, open carefully and let it cool. Eat the filling with a spoon; do not eat the peel.
Image Source: The Kitchn
2. Walking s’mores bowls
For each serving: graham-cracker pieces, chocolate pieces and a marshmallow.
Put the crackers and chocolate in a small heat-safe bowl. Toast the marshmallow with a suitable roasting tool, then have an adult slide it into the bowl and stir. Let it cool before eating.
Using a bowl keeps this portable s’mores idea simple without adding hot marshmallow to disposable snack packaging. Do not heat a snack bag or place it near the fire.
3. Filled campfire cones
For each serving: a waffle cone, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and optional small pieces of fruit.
Fill the cone loosely, wrap it in cooking foil and warm it gently on the grate. Turn it with tongs and check frequently: the cone can scorch before a large filling melts. Cooking time depends on heat and portion size, so use the melted filling as the cue instead of a fixed three-minute promise. Unwrap on a heat-safe surface and cool before serving.
Image Source: Hip 2 Save
4. Cookie s’mores
For each serving: two cookies and one toasted marshmallow. Chocolate-coated or coconut cookies provide a different flavor from graham crackers.
Toast the marshmallow, place it between the cookies and gently press them together. Use a plate while assembling and wait until the filling is comfortable to eat. Check the cookie ingredients, especially when serving people who avoid nuts, coconut, milk or wheat.
Image Source: Le Creme de la Crumb
5. Cinnamon-sugar biscuit bites
For a small skillet: fully baked biscuits cut into bite-size pieces, a little butter, and cinnamon mixed with sugar.
Warm the biscuit pieces in a suitable skillet with the butter, turning so they do not scorch. Move the skillet safely away from the heat, toss the pieces with cinnamon sugar and cool slightly before serving. These are an easy cinnamon dessert inspired by churro flavors, rather than traditional fried churros.
Start with fully baked biscuits. Raw biscuit dough wrapped around a stick can brown outside while remaining uncooked inside. The FDA explains that flour is a raw food; dough needs proper cooking, not merely a browned surface.
Pack away ingredients and rubbish when finished, and fully extinguish the campfire according to the site’s instructions before leaving it.
