Huckleberries

One of my favorite things about growing up in Montana is the annual huckleberry crop. I once mentioned huckleberries to someone and they were surprised that huckleberries were real. These tiny berries are real and they are really hard to get. They grow in the wild in the Northwest U.S.

Not only are they hard to get, but they are dangerous to get sometimes. They are quite popular with wild bears. Once these berries are ripe, the bears love to get their paws on them.

My Aunt Janice has lovingly sent a jar of preserves and some pancake mix with syrup all made with these tiny, tasty and tart creations. Her daughter, Angela, is scheduled to come to my house next weekend to enjoy these with me. Angela and I have both lived away from Montana for quite some time and know that anything huckleberry is a treasured thing from home.

To learn more about huckleberries, try these websites:

Huckleberry Hounds

Huckleberries and Bears

And while I'm at it, I'll share a tasty recipe you can use with huckleberry preserves OR fresh huckleberries. I use preserves since I'm too far from the source to have fresh.

Marsha's Huckleberry Coffee Cake
 (I don't know who Marsha is. I found this recipe years ago & can't find the source now.)

1/4 c. stick margarine, softened
1/2 an 8oz pkg cream cheese (or a 4 oz pkg)
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
2 cups fresh or frozen huckleberries **when using preserves, use about 1/4 cup and do not mix it in well. Just mix it enough to make swirls of it in there.

Topping:  2 T. cinnamon sugar
          
Beat margarine and cream cheese at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 1 c. sugar, beat well.  Add egg, beat well.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt, stir into margarine mixture.  Stir in vanilla.  Fold in berries.  Pour batter into a 9" round cake pan coated with cooking spray (or a pie plate works too).  Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over batter.

Bake at 350 for one hour.  Yield:  10 servings. ***I only bake it for 45 minutes so it's a little more moist

 Enjoy!