Good Eats: A Recipe For Campsite Scones

A few extra ounces in your backpack can turn a bare campsite into a gourmet kitchen, contends Robin Donovan. She wrote Campfire Cuisine: Gourmet Recipes for the Great Outdoors (Quirk Books, $16, 2006), a cookbook filled with delectable dishes she made while camping, like lemony couscous salad, coconut shrimp, and jambalaya. Here's her recipe for a hot-biscuit treat:

SKILLET SCONES

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
1 egg, lightly beaten (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

At home: Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Store the mixture in a ziplock bag.

At campsite: Combine all ingredients, including the mixture you made at home, in a bowl, using your hands to form a soft, sticky dough. Break off a chunk, roll it into a ball, and flatten it to a half-inch-thick, two-and-a-half-inch-wide patty. Repeat with remaining dough. Grease a skillet with butter and place over medium-low heat. When the skillet is hot, add the patties, pressing them down a bit. Cook covered, turning the scones over after four minutes, or when the bottoms have browned. Replace the lid and cook four minutes more, or until the bottoms are golden brown and the biscuits are cooked through. Serve hot. Makes about 16 small scones.