DUTCH OVEN COOKING: GLUTEN-FREE HUCKLEBERRY PEACH COBBLER

When John Muir penned the famous lines "the mountains are calling and I must go", he must have been pinning for the beauty of nature and for the tasty grub he'd consume around the campfire. At least the two seem to go together in my mind. For whatever reason, food always tastes better in the mountains. Whether on horse back or glamping in the camper, we seem to eat like kings when we head to the woods. Of course, I don't want to spend the whole time prepping or cooking food, so I look for delicious meals and desserts we can enjoy which are prepped ahead of time. Don't get me wrong, we throw a bag of chips and some carb-loaded beverages in as well, but I just can't do a weekend binge eating junk while I'm off grid and surrounded by everything natural. And to be honest, while there are a lot of "gluten free" snacks available these days, not many are all that palatable. I'd rather make my own.

When we gather together with friends or family for a weekend up in the mountains, I try to put together either a main course meal or a dessert in my dutch oven. It can feed a crowd and with a liner in the oven, it is breeze to clean up. I've found the best success when using briquettes, and will share in another post Casey's tried and true dutch-oven cooking basics. That man is chief of our fire!

We served this out of our backyard fire pit to celebrate my grandma's 91st birthday in July. She fondly remembers her mother's Depression-era peach cobbler as one of her favorite treas. I wanted to recreate that dessert, but add in our mountain huckleberries for a Montana twist on this southern classic. Of course, a person can modify this recipe easily to make it full of wheaty, gluten goodness if you'd like. I am pleased to say, whenever I make this dessert, those wheat-eaters I'm cooking for scrape the crumbs. So if you have allergies in your tribe, this is an excellent option to keep everyone happy. Oh and if you live somewhere where you don't have wild huckleberries freshly plucked from the shrub, first of all, I'm so sorry for you, and secondly, you can substitute blueberries, but please understand they are an inferior choice to the wild purple treats of the northwest. We sure do love our huckleberries here in Montana!

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE FILLING

1/3 CUP ORGANIC SUGAR

2 15 OZ. CANS OF SLICED PEACHES

3 OR 4 FRESH, ORGANIC PEACHES

1 PINT ( OR TWO HANDFULS) FRESH-PICKED HUCKLEBERRIES

CINNAMON TO TASTE

3/4 CUP GLUTEN-FREE BISQUICK

TOPPING

2 1/4 CUP GLUTEN-FREE BISQUICK

1/4 CUP ORGANIC SUGAR

1/2 CUP UNSALTED BUTTER, MELTED

1/2 CUP MILK

DIRECTIONS:

SPRAY DUTCH OVEN WITH LODGE COOKING SPRAY AND LINE WITH A LODGE PARCHMENT LINER FOR EASY CLEAN UP.

COMBINE COBBLER FILLING INGREDIENTS AND PLACE IN LINED DUTCH OVEN. IN A GALLON ZIPLOCK BACK (I DO THIS AT HOME AND PUT IT IN THE COOLER OR FRIDGE) COMBINE TOPPING INGREDIENTS. CLOSE IT UP AND MIX WITH HANDS. USE A BOWL AT HOME. PLOP TOPPING IN CHUNKS OVER THE FRUIT FILLING AND THEN SPRINKLE WITH A MIXTURE OF CINNAMON AND SUGAR.

IF BAKING AT HOME. SET OVEN TO 350 F. AND BAKE FOR 45 MINUTES.

IF BAKING IN THE FIREPIT, CHECK OUT POST ON CASEY'S FOOL PROOF METHOD FOR COOKING OVER THE FIRE PIT. BAKE FOR 1 HR TO 1 HR AND 20 MINUTES.

SERVE WITH HOMEMADE ICE CREAM FOR AN ESPECIALLY DELICIOUS TREAT.