Summer is here and most of us want to spend time outdoors. I, like you, am looking for ideas that will captivate both the young and old. I enjoy finding new activities that bring family, friends and food together in an environment of relaxation and fun.

School's out and some of the grandkids have since had great fun making Campfire Cannoli in the fire pit in our backyard. It should be no surprise that the old folks had a grand time as well.

Campfire Cannoli is just a new twist on hobo campfire breadsticks. As we started to experiment, we soon realized that the filling possibilities are endless. We let the fire die down a bit, so we had mostly red hot coals and not a lot of flame. Then we set up a little buffet of fillings. I seriously thought we had just about every kind of filling we could think of. But because young minds have endless ideas, we soon realized that the possibilities for filling campfire cannoli are endless. We will share some of the great ideas we came up with as we roasted, tasted and enjoyed our experiments. We would love to have you share your ideas too.

I'm telling you what ... we had so much fun!

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Here is what you need:

1. Each person needs a dowel about 3 feet long. The diameter is up to you but it should be at least 1/2" thick. The thicker the dowel the bigger the cannoli and of course more filling fits into a larger diameter. Place the end of the dowel into a bucket of water and let set for at least 30 minutes. This keeps the wood from burning.
2. Breadstick dough can be homemade or refrigerator breadstick dough from the dairy section. Store-bought breadstick dough provides 12 small Cannoli, but if you are going big, use 2 strips per Cannoli. Follow the instructions below if you make your own dough.

Dough Recipe for Campfire Cannoli:

1 tablespoon dry instant yeast	4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups warm water	1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons powdered milk	1 teaspoon salt

Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Add powdered milk, sugar. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time until mixture forms a ball. Let rise for 15 to 20 minutes. Pinch off 2 inch balls of dough and roll into a snake shape. This recipe makes approximately 48 2" balls. Help on downloading recipes

Set Up:
Prepare your fillings. These are just a few ideas. Experiment, it's half the fun! Use zip lock bags with a small cut in one corner to insert soft fillings.

• Pie fillings (fruits or puddings)
• Pizza fillings
• Cream cheese and tiny fruit slices
• Peanut butter and jelly (stirred up together)
• Mini marshmallows and chocolate pieces
• Cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar to sprinkle on the outside of the Cannoli.
• Chocolate for drizzling

Basic Instructions:

1. Make sure the dough is in a strip. If you are using homemade dough, shape into 2" balls and roll into a snake shape. Flatten as you roll the dough around the dowel.
2. Starting at the tip of the dowel, pinch one end of the strip of dough onto the end tip of the stick. Wrap the dough strip around the stick like a coil. Keep the dough close together so there are no gaps. Pinch the end of the last wrap onto the last wrap itself.
3. Cook over hot campfire coals, not high flames, slowly rotating so the dough browns but does not burn. (A little adult supervision is a good idea.)
4. When the dough is nicely browned, remove from heat and pull off from the dowel.
5. Now have fun with the fillings of your choice.