Put the finishing touches on your campground meals with one of these easy-to-make recipes.
By Janet Groene, F47166
September 2011
While you’re outdoors enjoying a cookout, it’s always nice to have a little something sweet to finish off the meal. But who wants to spend the better part of the day inside the motorhome baking? In these situations, it’s great to have a slow cooker that can be used inside the motorhome or plugged in outside. The best part of using a slow cooker is that the ingredients can be placed in the cooker hours ahead and forgotten until it’s time for coffee and sweets.
Slow cookers cook low and slow and create moist heat, which means you won’t get a crusty top to your dessert as you would when it’s baked in a conventional oven. Toppings such as whipped cream and ice cream save the day. These recipes are moist and deliciously sticky, best served with a spoon.
Baking inserts are available for some slow cooker brands. You also can use a baking pan or clean tin can(s). Fill the insert no more than two-thirds of the way full. Some of these recipes are baked in the slow cooker itself and some in a pan placed inside the clean, dry cooker.
Peachy Pear Rice Pudding
1 quart half-and-half
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar
1 15-ounce can diced pears, drained
1 15-ounce can diced peaches, drained
1 2-serving packet of ready-to-serve rice, or 2 cups prepared rice
Grease the inside of the slow cooker. Whisk together the half-and-half, cornstarch, eggs, vanilla flavoring, nutmeg, and sugar. Drain the fruit and save the juices to make fruit punch. Mix the fruit and rice in the cooker; cover with the egg mixture; and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours. The pudding should set, as for custard. Serve hot, warm, or cold, plain or with whipped topping or light cream. This recipe makes six servings.
Applesauce Spice Cake
1 stick butter, melted
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 10-ounce jar applesauce
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup raisins
Find a baking dish or pan that will fit inside your slow cooker. Grease the baking pan. The cooker itself should be clean, or any grease will bake on. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, water, and applesauce. Dump the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon into a resealable plastic bag to mix, and then fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture until everything is evenly moistened. Fold in the raisins. Turn the batter into the baking pan, filling it no more than two-thirds of the way, and cover the dish loosely with nonstick foil. Do not add water to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 3½ to 4 hours. Spoon the cake onto serving plates and top with ice cream, whipped topping, vanilla sauce, or light cream. This recipe makes six to eight servings.
Fruit Soup
1 8-ounce package dried apricots, snipped
1 16-ounce package pitted prunes, snipped
½ cup raisins
1 20-ounce can pineapple tidbits, with juice
1 cup water
½ cup Triple Sec
Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook for 2 to 4 hours on low. Taste and add sugar if needed. Spoon soup into sauce dishes and serve with cream.
Hot, Buttered Rum
How about a mug of dessert to sip slowly around the campfire?
2 quarts apple cider
3/4 cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Butter (no substitutes)
Rum
Mix the cider, brown sugar, salt, and spices in a slow cooker and stir well. Cook on low, stirring once or twice, for 2 to 3 hours. Put a pat of butter and a shot of rum in each mug and fill with the hot cider mixture.
Cherry Pudding
2 cans pitted sour pie cherries
2 cups liquid (cherry juice and water)
½ cup quick-cooking tapioca
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
½ stick butter
Macaroon crumbs
Whipped topping (optional)
Drain the cherries and add enough water to the saved cherry juice to make 2 cups liquid. Put the cherries, cherry juice liquid, tapioca, sugar, and almond extract in a slow cooker and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours, stirring after the first hour. To serve, stir in the butter until it melts; spoon the pudding into sauce dishes; and sprinkle with crumbs made from coconut macaroons. Top with whipped cream if you like. This recipe makes six servings.
Chunky Chocolate Cake
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup vanilla yogurt (8-ounce carton)
2 eggs
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup each chocolate and butterscotch chips
Marshmallow ice cream sauce
Find a baking pan that will fit in your slow cooker. A 1-pound coffee can isn’t big enough for this recipe. The cooker must be clean. Grease the baking pan. Whisk together the butter, sugar, yogurt, and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a resealable plastic bag and dump into the wet mixture, combining thoroughly. Fold in the chocolate and butterscotch chips; put the batter in the pan; and cook on high for 3½ to 4 hours or until the cake is set. (Do not add water to the slow cooker.) Spoon the cake onto plates and drizzle with marshmallow ice cream sauce.
Fruit Cobbler
Unlike cobblers that have a crisp, baked-on topping, this one forms a custard-like cocoon for the fruit.
Butter
3 cups fresh or canned fruit, drained
3/4 cup biscuit mix
2/3 cup milk
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Use the butter to grease the inside of a slow cooker and add the fruit. Whisk together the biscuit mix, milk, brown sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Pour the biscuit batter into the slow cooker and mix with the fruit. Cook for 6 hours on low. Serve with cream, whipped topping, or ice cream. This recipe makes six servings.
Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding
Have you noticed how many fancy restaurants offer bread pudding as a dessert? It can be gussied up with brandy or rum, fancy sauces, or by using stale cinnamon rolls or challah bread instead of ordinary bread. It remains a favorite comfort food.
Butter
1 cup raisins
2 quarts diced stale bread or rolls
4 eggs
2 cups milk
½ cup sugar
1/4 cup liquid margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Generously grease the sides and bottom of the slow cooker with butter, add the raisins and diced bread, and mix well. Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, margarine, vanilla flavoring, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour the wet mixture over the bread and raisins and let stand for 30 minutes. Cook on low for three hours or until set, as for custard.
Cook’s note: If you use cinnamon bread or rolls, omit or reduce the cinnamon.
Variations: Add a cup of well-drained crushed pineapple or chopped, peeled apples.
Peanut Butter Pudding Cake
½ cup sugar
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons liquid margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
½ cup peanut butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
2 cups boiling water
Grease the slow cooker generously. In a bowl, mix the ½-cup sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder. Whisk in the milk, margarine, vanilla flavoring, and peanut butter. Pour into the slow cooker. Mix the cocoa and the cup of sugar together, and gradually stir into the boiling water. Carefully pour this mixture over the batter in the slow cooker, but do not stir it in. Cook the cake on high for 2½ hours or until it is set. (A toothpick put into the center should come out clean.) Spoon the cake into serving dishes and serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. This recipe makes six servings.
Fruit Crisp
2/3 cup uncooked oatmeal (one-minute or old-fashioned, not instant)
1/3 cup biscuit mix
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups peeled and diced fresh fruit, or canned fruit, drained
1 stick butter
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
Grease the slow cooker well. In a large bowl, mix the oats, biscuit mix, ½-cup sugar, and cinnamon. Fold in the fruit. Place in the slow cooker and cook on low for 3½ hours. In a small, nonstick skillet, melt the butter and stir in the bread crumbs, sugar, and nuts until the combination is toasted. Spoon the fruit mixture into serving dishes and sprinkle with the crispy crumb mixture. Serve as is or add cream, whipped topping, or a drizzle of your favorite ice cream topping.
Pumpkin Pineapple Pudding
Butter
2 15-ounce cans pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/3 cups evaporated milk or light cream
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 stick butter, melted
3 eggs
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 15-ounce can crushed pineapple in its own juice
Use butter to generously grease the inside of the slow cooker. In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, the juice from the pineapple, milk or cream, brown sugar, butter, eggs, and spice. Fold in the pineapple. Turn it all into the slow cooker and cook for 7 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Spoon the pudding onto serving plates and top with whipped cream.
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