Peanut Butter Fudge
For a sweet treat after dinner, try making this fudge beforehand so it’s ready when your sweet tooth is raging the most. It is easy, doesn’t require a stove and the extra calories are sure to keep you warm all night long no matter what the conditions. Try adding nuts or chocolate chips for a little crunch.
½ pound brownie mix
4 Tbs. peanut butter
2 ½ Tbs. sugar
2 ½ Tbs. powdered milk
2 ½ tsp. vanilla
water
After you mix all the dry ingredients together, add the vanilla and slowly add drops of water. Continue mixing and adding water until the mixture is the consistency of fudge. Put the mixture in a frying pan and chill.

No-Bake Cookies (makes about 20 to 24 cookies)
For a great mid-day pick-me-up, make these delicious and energy-packed cookies the night before and store them in a Tupperware in your backpack, accessible for whenever you start to feel tired. They don’t require much stove-time and only use one pan. Try adding dried cranberries for a little bit of tang.
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup butter
3 Tbs. powdered milk
4 Tbs. water
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup peanut butter
½ cup nuts
¼ cup chocolate chips
½ tsp. vanilla
Bring sugar, butter, powdered milk, and water to a boil in a frying pan. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture for at least three minutes so everything comes together, but does not burn. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the remaining ingredients, and separate into cookies. Let them sit for at least 10 minutes to set (they may not set completely in hot weather).

Spice Kit
A well-stocked and varied spice kit is essential to any backcountry expedition. Not everyone on your trip may have the same taste, so here’s a hint: go light on spices in all your dishes and let each person spice up their own bowl just the way they like it. That way, everyone’s taste buds will be happy and no one will get mad at you, the hard-working backcountry chef. Here is a list of spices that NOLS puts in their spice kits and are great to have in your spice arsenal.
Salt and Pepper, obviously
Garlic powder
Chili powder
Curry
Cinnamon
Oregano
Basil
Baking powder or Yeast
Cumin
Soy sauce
Vanilla

For more information about how to plan your backcountry kitchen, the NOLS bulk rationing system, or where to buy food in bulk, check out the world-famous NOLS Cookery, available for purchase at http://www.nols.edu.