Meet Brown Bears: The 4-Ingredient Campfire Snack That’s Better Than S’mores

While s’mores have held the title of the ultimate campfire snack for years, we think this summer, it’s time to introduce a new favorite to the flames. 

Say hello to Brown Bears, the irresistibly buttery, cinnamon-swirled treats that put a whole new twist (pun intended) on campfire cooking. They’re as fun to make as they are to eat, and best of all, they only require four ingredients.

What Are Brown Bears?

Brown Bears are a sweet and spiced version of classic campfire biscuits, combining the warm, comforting flavors of cinnamon and sugar with the fun of campfire cooking. Essentially, they’re the sweetest kind of bear to encounter on a camping trip.

In the great outdoors, the open flame becomes your oven and a stick becomes your serving vessel. Your crew will love crafting their cinnamon-sugar swirls and slowly roasting them to fluffy, golden-brown perfection.

We love that these treats are easy to make for all ages, inexpensive, and guaranteed to entertain. Whether you make them for a lazy breakfast or a dessert under the stars, these cinnamon sticks will please every person by the fire.

How to Make Brown Bears 

Start by combining cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and preparing a bowl of melted butter. To save time and space in your camping supplies, bring the cinnamon sugar pre-mixed or use store-bought cinnamon sugar.

Pop open a can of refrigerated biscuit dough and roll each piece of dough into a rope about 4 or 5 inches long. Then, wrap the dough around a clean, sturdy stick or a long skewer (to avoid burning your hand). 

Hold the dough-wrapped sticks over the campfire, slowly turning to ensure even cooking. Roast the dough until it’s golden brown and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Once the biscuits are perfectly roasted, carefully dip them into the melted butter and then roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until fully coated. Then you can enjoy your warm, buttery, cinnamon-sugar-coated biscuits straight from the stick. 

To take these treats to the next level, you can experiment with wrapping chocolate or chocolate-peanut butter pieces inside the biscuit dough layers. Or, you can use the biscuit-on-a-stick concept to create something entirely new, like Allrecipes community member Wendi Hartl. They write, “Instead of making them for breakfast, we made them with dinner and instead of putting the butter/cinnamon/sugar, we put butter and garlic! We called them garlic bears!”

If you want to make these homestyle treats indoors, just swap the oven for a campfire. Simply bake them at the temperature and time suggested on the biscuit can, flipping them halfway through.

So next time you gather around the fire, skip the graham crackers and chocolate and try these unexpected treats instead—you might just discover your new favorite summer tradition.