Did you ever make campfire donuts? I’ve never made them before, but before Dan and I headed out on our last camping trip of 2020, I somehow got the idea to try. Dan and I don’t usually make campfires, but with the beautiful fall evenings which are mosquito free, I thought it would be a good time to enjoy a fire and try something new. So, I watched a Youtube video, gathered what I needed, and left home with anticipation of all we’d see and do and eat!
Here’s what I needed to make the donuts:
- a cast iron skillet
- a potholder
- tongs
- 8 ready-to-bake jumbo flaky biscuits
- Crisco (shortening)
- Icing
We bought firewood at the state park store, and we gathered some kindling. However, we still had trouble starting a fire, but our nice campsite neighbors gave us some additional kindling as well as a fire starter. Once the fire got going, the rest was a piece of cake, or should I say, donut?
I took the ready-to-bake biscuits, and cut an “x” in the middle, and then reformed the biscuit to a donut shape. Once the shortening was melted and bubbly, we fried the biscuit. This went quickly, maybe 2 minutes per side, at the most.
Then we decorated the donuts with icing, gave away 2 to our helpful neighbors, ate 2 ourselves, and packed away 4 to have with our next 2 breakfasts.
So, how did they taste? They were good, kind of similar to a funnel cake, but not exactly. They were really the best tasting right after making them, but they were still good for breakfast the next morning. However, I would like to see if I can improve upon them for the next time.
Here’s my thoughts:
- Should I use something different than Crisco shortening? Perhaps using a different cooking oil would improve the taste.
- I had bought cookie icing in a resealable tube, so I could save the leftover icing. However, I really like a cream cheese icing, so I plan to try this the next time.
- Instead of cutting an “x”, I could “press out” a circle in the middle of the biscuit. The inner circles could cook as donut holes. It’s possible “cutting out” some of the weight of the biscuit would improve the flavor as well by making it less heavy, less filling.
- Lastly, are ready-to-bake biscuits the best option to use? I have a recipe from my Grandmother who made home-made donuts. I want to find that recipe and try making campfire donuts from it. I can still hear my Grandma say, “Anything in moderation.”, and she lived until she was 98.
- Other toppings, such as powered sugar or cinnamon and sugar, could be great choices. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a “campfire donut bar”? What kind of toppings would you want?
Now, I wouldn’t want to eat them too often, but I do think campfire donuts can be an occasional, fun treat to make when out in the woods. What do you think? Have you ever made campfire donuts? Let me know in the comments below. Until the next time, stay safe, and enjoy your day!
Chambers on the Road 
How fun and they do look delicious! I love to camp, but haven’t done it in a while. A campfire is a must, but I prefer to cook on a Coleman stove – other than grilling meat. Definitely try it again and give us another report!
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I will report back once I have found the best way. That could take a while! We love to “camp”,but we are in our travel trailer with a stove, oven and microwave. At our age, this works best for us. Thanks for reading, and have a good day tomorrow!
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Our pop up had a gas stove, but I decided that trying to clean up that small area was just too time consuming. That’s when I switched to an electric skillet set up outside and the Coleman stove. Hubby manned the camp fire and we made a good team. Sometimes he cooked breakfast over the fire and it tasted so good. He did not cook at home though!
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Sounds like great memories! I’ve never had breakfast made over the fire. Perhaps we will try that sometime. Enjoy your day tomorrow!
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Yes, I have made campfire donuts! We always just sprinkled ours lightly with sugar. I think canned biscuits work well, and I swear by frying in Crisco (learned that from my mom) unless I am cooking now and use olive oil for everything. All my mother’s recipes called for Crisco and I do not think you can improve on it. She used to make donuts, too, but they were similar as they were a cake donut.
I would think cutting a hole would work well, along with giving you donut holes! I use fire starters in my fire pit, and they are little bundles of straw coated with wax. They will usually burn long enough for the kindling to catch.
I also love camp fire biscuits made in a cast iron dutch oven, plus, campfire peach cobbler in a cast iron dutch oven is awesome.
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Oh, all of that sounds so good! I like the idea of lightly sugared; I would probably use powdered sugar. I will have to build up to using a cast iron dutch oven. Thanks for reading and making me hungry. 🙂 Enjoy your day tomorrow!
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Oh yes! We love campfire donuts when camping with the grandkids. They are eager to arise when we mention we’re making donuts. Our favorite topping is cinnamon sugar. Sometimes we’ll spread a little fruit preserve on them. It’s fun and delicious.
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I thought about some fruit preserves on them. I really like the cinnamon sugar option. I am sure it is a lot of fun with the grand kids! What great memories for you all ! Enjoy your day!
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My husband usually prepares the fires at my house. Mainly because he has had boy scout training. My favorite thing when the weather gets cold is to have a roaring fire going in the fireplace.
I am not a fan of donuts, but they look good. What about chocolate icing? If not the powdered sugar is a good one.
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Oh yes, a cozy, roaring fire in the fireplace is so nice!! It’s good to not eat too many donuts; good for you that you are not a fan. I think the chocolate icing could be a very popular choice! Enjoy your day!
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Looks yummy!
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Yes, they were! But it is better to not eat them too often. Enjoy your day and the beauty all around you!
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Thanks Betty.
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Have used a lot of Crisco to cook things – works well when making pie crusts. Have made some good meals over camp fires in cast iron pans. Sounds like you had fun making your donuts.
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Yes, it was fun! And I will be making another apple pie soon. I want to find more ways to use my cast iron skillets. I inherited 2 from my uncle and would like to use them more. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day!
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They look yummy. But, most places we stay don’t have a fire ring. In fact, in three years of full time I don’t believe we have ever made a fire. Maybe we’re missing out.
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This is the first time we have made a fire in the 2 years we have had our camper. It was such a beautiful night – perfect temperature, clear night sky with stars and the moon and …NO Mosquitoes! We really enjoyed it. We won’t have campfires often, but every once in a while, it’s nice to do something different. Enjoy your day!
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Donuts look great! I like cream cheese frosting but you can make lemon and powdered sugar and make a drizzle. Cutting a hole in the middle with a tall bottle cap would make it lighter and you’d have holes. Think hair spray bottle cap. PAM lid too wide.
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Oh, I love lemon!!! I had not thought of that. I do wish I had bought the cream cheese frosting. I don’t think the tube of white cookie icing tasted nearly as good. I will have to keep an eye out for the right size bottle cap; I do think cutting the hole out would work better, too. Thanks again for the lemon idea!! Enjoy your day!
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Ah, brings back memories. My grandmother made these for us growing up and called them “doughbutts”. She always used the cheapest biscuits she could find. The best icing is powdered sugar and water. And crisco is a must. They are however only good right away. So save the dough but not the already cooked.
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That’s a good idea to save the dough. They were really good right after cooking. Your memories make me smile! Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day!
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I love campfires. Loving your article, very well written.
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Thank you very much. Enjoy your day!
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These are great to make indoors and letting toddlers make the holes. The taste is
best freshly made, later the taste is not as good. I made these with my Brownies and Girl Scouts about 45 years ago. I had a messy kitchen, but with a big glass of very cold milk, they went home content. Try granular sugar or powder sugar or Brown sugar. Mmm good.
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Thank you! I haven’t made them indoors – yet. And I totally agree the best taste is when the donuts are freshly made. We did eat the leftovers over the next couple of breakfasts. We warmed them a bit in the microwave, but still, not as wonderful as at first. I have a recipe from my Grandma for yeast donuts. I hope to try that someday, but it might be tricky when we are camping. I am not sure the dough would keep if I made it in advance. I like your suggestions for the various types of sugar! Lots of thinking about donuts! Thank you so much for reading and your comment. And I hope you enjoy your day!
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We like to make (From scratch or ready made) biscuit on a stick. Whittle the bark off the end of a stick, put crisco or cooking oil on the end and then smear the biscuit paste on the end of the stick to about 4″ up. make sure the biscuit material has no holes in it or is too thin. Then roast over the fire till golden brown. twist the biscuit off the stick in one piece and fill with jelly, pudding or whatever you like (whipped cream?)in the hole where the stick was. Really good while still warm
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That sounds delicious! Thanks for the suggestion and for reading my post! I am looking forward to reading more of your blog posts. Enjoy your day.
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I have made biscuit donuts
Using oil is better, and I pinch them apart (donut holes?) And them roll them in confection sugar.yummy!!!!
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I will have to try using oil and rolling them in confection sugar. Sounds really good! Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day!
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Yum! Our boys would love these, thank you for sharing. We will have to try these on our next camping trip.
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Thanks. They are best when eaten fresh!
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