In May, Kasey and I went to Carberry Elementary to help out with their Idaho History Pioneer Day. Tanner & Brody have been studying Idaho History this year in 4th grade. This was a big activity for all the 4th graders. It was a big day! We had lots of fun with 94 - 4th graders and they devoured 7 cobblers and some chocolate chip bars and homemade rolls. 
We had a little pretend display showing how the Pioneers would use a tripod and fire to cook.....>>>>>>
Kasey's Dutch Oven Cobbler
2 - 21 oz. cans fruit or pie filling (whatever you like)
1 cake mix, any flavor (white, yellow,
chocolate, whatever you like)
1 cube butter, cut into pieces
Dump fruit
(juice & all) or pie filling into a 12 inch dutch oven. Sprinkle evenly with dry cake mix. Dot with pieces of butter. Place lid on dutch oven. Place 8 briquettes on bottom and 16 on
top. Cook until done, about 40 to 60 minutes. Peek inside occasionally until
done.
You can
double this recipe or adapt it to fit any size dutch oven. Just layer the ingredients to fill your dutch oven and
cook until done.
Since we were doing so many we cheated and baked them in the oven at 350 for 1 hour.
We made several flavors.
Cherry with Chocolate Cake (2)
Cherry with Vanilla Cake
Apple with Vanilla Cake
Peach with Yellow Cake (2)
We also made some great chocolate chip pan cookies in cast iron skillets. I doubled the recipe and filled 2 skookie pans and 2-12" skillets full. The skookies ran over in the oven! ugh!! what a mess that was!! I prefer to use skillets with sides on them.
Cast Iron Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie
1 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 T. vanilla
2 c. flour, divided
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips, divided
Place in mixing bowl: eggs, both sugars, vanilla, and butter beat well.Add half the flour into the wet ingredients and mix well.
Add the baking soda, salt & the rest of the flour and mix well.
Add 1 c. chocolate chips and mix in.
Spread mixture evenly in a lightly sprayed cast iron skillet.
Spread the remaining 1/2 c. chocolate chips on the top of the mixture and gently push them in.
Bake at 375 for 13 to 15 minutes. Don’t overbake as the cast iron pan stays hot and they continue to cook after coming out of the oven.
*** in 2017 a Double batch made enough for 3 – 10”, 1 – 12” & 2 – 5” frying pans. I baked them all at once on convection bake at 375 for 13 minutes.
We also made a batch of roll dough and actually baked them with briquettes so the kids could see how that is done. They were beautiful and yummy!!
A few things we taught them.....
Dutch ovens
are made of cast iron. They are durable,
versatile, and economical. The biggest
obstacle is that they are heavy. But
that is a good thing too because they will last forever! If
properly cared for a Dutch Oven will last for 100 years or more. In fact it will get better and better with lots
of use.
Benefits of cast iron:
- Cooks
evenly & keeps food hot for a long time
- Can be
used in the oven, on the stove top, with briquettes and over a campfire
- When
well-seasoned, the surface is black and is a natural nonstick surface
- The
more you use it the better it gets
Caring for your cast iron:
- Soon
after using, wash with hot water, do NOT USE SOAP, scrape with a plastic
scraper or brush and dry with a paper towel
- Rub
with vegetable oil after each use & place a clean paper towel inside
& store in a dry place
- If you
have not used your dutch oven for several months you will want to heat it
up before using it as the oil goes rancid when stored for a long time
How many
briquettes do I need to cook at 350 degrees?
Here are 2 rules that will work for any size dutch oven. Pick the one that is easiest to remember
& use it.
(1) Take the size of the
oven, double it, and then put 1/3 of the coals on the bottom and 2/3 on the top. Each additional charcoal adds 10-15ยบ to the
cooking temperature.
(2) There is also the “Rule
of 4”. Take the Dutch oven diameter and
add 4, that is the number of briquettes for the lid. Take the Dutch oven diameter and subtract 4
and that is the number of briquettes for the bottom. For example, a 12-inch oven will have 16 on
top and 8 on the bottom.
You may need to add or subtract depending on the weather conditions. If it is cold, windy, high humidity or high
elevation, it might take more coals to get the same temperature. If it is hot and sunny, it might take less.
If your food needs to cook longer than 30-45 minutes you may need to
add a few more fresh coals.
Keep your lid on tight and try to reduce the number of times you peak
inside, because each time the lid is opened, it will take a little longer to
cook.
All in all it was a great day!!! The twins loved having their DAD at school with them.
