Our family loves to travel. However, we hate staying in hotel rooms where you cannot open any windows or make your own food. That is when the idea of camping started brewing in our heads. Could we enjoy staying outdoors? My mom was the most hesitant as she does not like to be dirty, hates bugs, and does not enjoy going to the bathroom without a toilet. Our solution?
Since we just went out this past weekend for our official first camping trip in our new camper, we thought we would share how to make campfire cookies. These are a lot easier than making a real fire, as we found out!
Starting with the Sugar Cookie:
We started with a simple recipe for the sugar cookies. We wanted something that was a bit substantial and not too gooey so it could hold our toppings. We also did not want to roll out dough because we we had a hard time with our Spring Bunny Cookies! Feel free to use any sugar cookie recipe that you love.
We do suggest sprinkling some coarse sugar on the top however, as it made it look more like the ground to us.
Decorating our Campfires:
While we let the sugar cookies cool, we started making the rest of the decorations for the campfire. We cut up our gummy bears, trying really hard not to eat them all as we went.
Next, we made a simple frosting and tinted it green with food coloring.
Each cookie got a nice layer of frosting, two logs (tootsie rolls) and a few small bits of gummy bears in the middle.
Then came the harder part! We took all of our pretzels and carefully added the marshmallows to the tops. We made groups of three for each cookie.
We were ready to start the fun part! It took some practice to get the three sticks to balance just right so they didn’t fall over, but we got it to work. We found it easier to add some frosting to one side of the pretzel before sticking it on the cookie.
With the two of us working, it did not take too long before we had a tray of campfire cookies ready to share!
If you are brave enough, you could have an adult toast the marshmallows with a lighter, but we were too nervous to try this and didn’t think it was necessary for the effect.
It is time to start camping!
How to Make Campfire Cookies
It is time to start camping! These campfire cookies are a perfect summer treat, and they are safer than making a real campfire!
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 Cup Butter, Softened
- 1 and 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 2 and 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 and 1/2 Cup. All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Raw Sugar for Top (Optional)
For Icing
- 1⁄2 Cup Butter, softened
- 4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1⁄4 Cup Whipping Cream (may need an additional 1/4 cup)
- Green Food Coloring
Decorations
- Coarsely chopped chocolate-covered almonds, peanuts or malt balls (for the dirt)
- 54 Chewy Chocolate Candies, (Tootsie Rolls)
- 10 Red, 10 Yellow, 10 Orange, 10 Pink Gummy Bears, snipped into small pieces
- 54 Mini Marshmallows
- 54 Pretzel Sticks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add in egg and vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
- Next, add in the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix until just combined. Gradually add flour and mix as you go. Make sure to scrape the side of the bowl every once in a while.
- Drop tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle raw sugar if desired on top.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes or until just set.
- Remove from oven and cool.
- In mixing bowl, combine butter, confectioners' sugar, extract and enough cream to achieve spreading consistency. Add food coloring.
- For decorating: Spread the icing on the cookies, almost to the edges. Sprinkle the chopped chocolate covered nuts almost to the edge of the green to resemble dirt. Arrange 3 chewy chocolate candies in a triangle on top to resemble logs in a campfire. Fill the space in the center of each with snipped gummy bears to resemble a campfire and embers. Poke a marshmallow on the end of each pretzel stick and stick in the icing to form a tripod that meets in the center. Let the icing harden, about 1 hour.
- If you are brave enough, right before serving, light the marshmallows on fire and blow it out when they are toasted to your liking.
Notes
Cookie Recipe Adapted from Julie's Eats and Treats
Idea from Food Network