Easy Blackberry Dumplings are warm, soft dumplings cooked in a sweet blackberry sauce that bring back memories of traditional blackberry picking during early southern Louisiana summers.
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Picking wild blackberries was always worthwhile when Mama promised a pot of her blackberry dumplings, our favorite summer dessert. The bait got us out of the door with a bucket in hand.
Walking along the canal levees hunting for the red and black berry thickets was a game in itself. The best berries were always climbing the fences that outlined the rice fields. All was well until the berries got a little harder to reach and the sun a little hotter to stand. Then, there was always the chance of walking upon a snake or a bug that would sting. The worst was falling into those brambles where the best blackberries were hanging. Ouch! We always came away with at least a few scratches.
Such fond childhood memories!
It was nothing to bring home a couple of gallons at a time. We would dip our harvest in cool water and drain it as soon as we returned home. While Mama cooked the berries, we'd spoon some sugar over a bowl of fresh ones to sample.
The cooked pot of tender pillows of dough in the sweetened berry juice was so good. We always ate them straight from the hot pot, and I can't remember having any leftovers.
For another berry dessert, try this Easy Blueberry Pot Pie recipe. It's made with fresh or frozen berries and topped with a flaky sweet dough pastry with a hint of nutmeg.
This Fresh Strawberry Pie Glaze also features flavorful, sliced strawberries glazed with a shiny sugar-based syrup. So good!
Now, back to making these blackberry dumplings.
Ingredients
- Blackberries - fresh or frozen berries can be used in this blackberry dumpling recipe.
- Granulated sugar - to sweeten the sometimes tart berries.
- Water - for the sauce.
- Lemon juice - juice of ½ lemon to neutralize the tart berries.
- All-purpose flour - for the dumplings.
- Baking powder - to leaven and plump the fluffy dumplings.
- Ground nutmeg - that old-fashioned extra-flavor added to the dumplings.
- Granulated sugar - to sweeten the dumplings.
- Shortening - a fat to tenderize the dumplings.
- Milk - to enrich and moisten the dumpling batter.
- Egg - a whole egg holds the fat and water together, making a smooth batter.
- Vanilla extract- to flavor the dumplings with a sweet flavor from the vanilla bean and bring out the other ingredients flavors.
Instructions
During a visit from Louisiana to my home in Arkansas, my mama made a pot of that blackberry stew.
While preparing some crabmeat au gratin (something I must share later), she walked me through an old recipe for blackberry dumplings. It's in a favorite, worn-out St. Peter's Catholic School cookbook. You know, the kind where everyone gathers their best recipes as a fund-raiser for their children's school? Those dumplings, similar to a blackberry cobbler, were a nostalgic dessert enjoyed at that night's supper table.
Later, I started experimenting with that recipe. There was nothing wrong with the original, but I wanted to lighten the sweetness and add some special flavor to the dough. Nutmeg.
Here's how to make them:
The first step is to mix fresh or frozen blackberries with water, sugar, and a little lemon juice in a large pot. The citrus juice gives the blackberries a refreshing taste and neutralizes their bitterness. Cook over medium-high heat until the blackberries make a heavy syrup.
While the blackberry mixture cooks, combine the dumpling ingredients—flour, baking powder, sugar, nutmeg, shortening, milk, egg, and vanilla—in a medium bowl. Blend the flour mixture together with an electric mixer.
After the berries are cooked, reduce the heat source to medium. While the berries are still simmering, drop the dough into the blackberry mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls.
Cover and cook for a few minutes. Then, turn each sweet dumpling over, helping them to cook through and coat them with the flavorful juice.
Don't let the lack of blackberry bushes in your backyard stop you from preparing this easy dessert. Fresh or frozen blackberries from your grocer work just as well. In approximately 20-30 minutes, you can serve these warm blackberry dumplings either by themselves or topped with ice cream.
It's so worth the effort, especially if you pick your own berries, with scratches and all!
HINT: The nutmeg is not in the original recipe my mama shared with me, but it lends the taste of those delicious old-fashioned, homemade tarts. These sweet tarts are a classic Cajun pastry filled with fruit that are an unforgettable part of my childhood. The blackberry tarts are my favorite.
Substitutions
- Mix blackberries with other berries or replace them altogether with others like blueberries and/or strawberries.
- Use real butter in place of shortening for a buttery taste.
Variations
- Simply omit the dumplings for a very berry dessert sauce to spoon over cakes, ice cream, or to serve alone.
- You can use the blackberry sauce without the dumplings for a blackberry pie filling; top it with a solid round pie dough crust or make a lattice top with the crust.
Storage
After the dumplings are completely cooled, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
This dessert dish may be frozen for up to 3 months; defrost and reheated before serving.
Top Tip
Take a teaspoonful of the flour mixture and, with another teaspoon, push the dough from the spoon to drop into the simmering blackberry sauce to cook the dumplings.
FAQ
Fluffy dumplings cooked in a warm blackberry sauce served hot or cold.
To make blackberry dumplings, simmer fresh blackberries with sugar and water until they form a sauce, then add biscuit dough into the sauce to cook into fluffy dumplings.
Eat blackberry dumplings with a spoon to get every drop of rich berry sauce by themselves or with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
These fruit dumplings are delicious cold or hot, but warm is the best!
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these dessert dishes:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Blackberry Dumplings Recipe:
Recipe
Blackberry Dumplings, The Prize Of The Hunt
A warm, soft dumpling cooked in sweet blackberry sauce brings back memories of traditional blackberry picking during early southern Louisiana summers.
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 4 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or juice of ½ lemon
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons shortening
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Bring berries, sugar, water, and lemon juice to a boil in a large skillet using high heat.
- Cook for 10 minutes lowering heat just a little, stirring occasionally.
- Put the remaining ingredients into a bowl and mix them together using an electric mixer; the dough will be somewhat stiff.
- Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into cooked berries.
- Cover and cook dumplings for 5 minutes.
- Turn dumplings over and cook covered another few minutes or until dumplings are cooked through.
- Serve warm by itself or with a scoop of ice cream.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: sweets, desserts
- Cuisine: Cajun
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ cup
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Have a nice day!
"Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand."
Mother Teresa
camille carpenter
This was our favorite dessert growing up. Worth every scratch and chigger bite!
Louisiana Woman
Happy to know others enjoyed it too!
Lisa
Thank you so much for this recipe. My grandmother used to make it for us when we were kids.
Cheryl
From Louisiana and remember my grandmother making this as well as pap (white custard that went on top). Can’t find that recipe anywhere-do you by chance have a recipe?
Louisiana Woman
Cheryl, I just found this one at Real Cajun Recipe’s website https://www.realcajunrecipes.com/recipe/pap-an-old-fashioned-stovetop-custard/amp/
I hope this helps you out. Have a great day!
Nancy
Anything blackberry is my husband’s favorite. This blackberry dumpling recipe did not fail. It is very easy to make, all ingredients in pantry and came together very quickly.
Louisiana Woman
Thanks, Nanacy! I'm so glad you like how easy it is to prepare and the convenience of having the ingredients in your pantry.