North Carolina Sonker

Blackberry-Apple Sonker
Cooks Note: If you use pre-rolled store-bought pie pastry, piece it together to make a rectangle. Use the scraps to make the lattice.
Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes (plus chilling).
Hands-on time: 45 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:
Pie pastry for 2-1/2 nine-inch crusts (store-bought or your favorite recipe)
1-1/2 pounds Golden Delicious apples (3 or 4), peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
5 cups blackberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

1. Make the pie pastry and divide it into two pieces--one about four-fifths of the dough and the other about one-fifth (for the lattice top). Flatten into discs, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cut up the apples and place them in a large bowl. Toss them gently with the lemon juice to keep them from browning. Add the blackberries and gently toss.
3. Preheat the oven to 450°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the larger piece of dough into a 12 x 16-inch rectangle. Line a 9 x 13-inch glass baking pan with the dough. Roll the remaining piece of dough into a rectangle about 10 inches long. Cut it into 1/2-inch-wide strips to use as a lattice top.
4. In a small bowl, blend the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Sprinkle a light layer of the sugar-flour mixture over the bottom of the crust. Layer the fruit into the baking pan, sprinkling with the sugar-flour mixture as you go. Dot with the butter. Arrange the lattice strips in an open basket-weave pattern diagonally across the sonker, trimming the dough strips to fit where necessary. Fold in the side pieces of dough to cover the ends of the lattice strips.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the fruit is hot and bubbling and the crust is browned.
Makes 12 servings
Each serving has: 374 calories, 17 g fat (7.8 g saturated), 3 g protein, 54 g carbohydrates (4.3 g fiber), 18 mg cholesterol, 202 mg sodium.


Biscuit-Topped Sonker
Total time: 1 hour 25 minutes.
Hands-on time: 45 minutes.
INGREDIENTS:

1-1/2 pounds Golden Delicious apples (3 or 4), peeled and thinly sliced
1-1/2 pounds black plums (5 to 7), thinly sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

BISCUITS
3-1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut into tablespoons
1-1/2 cups milk

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish.
2. Make the biscuits: In a food processor, blend the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and pulse to cut it in. Add the milk all at once and pulse just until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently and quickly, 8 to10 times. Roll out 1/4 inch thick. Cut with a 1-1/2-inch biscuit cutter. Reroll the scraps and cut out more biscuits.
3. Make the sonker: Cut up the fruit and place it in a large bowl. Toss with the lemon juice to keep the apples from browning. In a small bowl, blend the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon.
4. Line the sides (NOT the bottom) of the baking dish with biscuits. Layer the fruit into the baking dish, sprinkling with the sugar-flour mixture as you go. Dot with the butter. Top with the remaining biscuits.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the fruit is hot and bubbling and the biscuits are cooked through and golden on top.
Makes 12 servings
Each serving has: 388 calories, 16 g fat (9.6 g saturated), 6 g protein, 58 g carbohydrates (2.5 g fiber), 41 mg cholesterol, 458 mg sodium. Good source of: thiamin, riboflavin, selenium.



Sweet Potato–Plum Sonker
A sonker is a baked fruit dessert from North Carolina. It's often made with sweet potatoes, as here, and can be either a dessert or a side dish with meat or poultry (think of candied sweet potatoes). For dessert, though, serve it topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Cooks Note: If you use pre-rolled store-bought pie pastry, piece it together to make a rectangle. Use the scraps to make the lattice.
Total time: 2 hours (plus chilling).
Hands-on time: 45 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:
Pie pastry for 2-1/2 nine-inch crusts (store-bought or your favorite recipe)
1-1/4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise and very thinly sliced
1-3/4 pounds black plums (6 to 8), thinly sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1. Make the pie pastry and divide it into two pieces--one about four-fifths of the dough and the other about one-fifth (for the lattice top). Flatten into discs, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cut up the sweet potatoes and plums, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice and toss lightly.
3. Preheat the oven to 450°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the larger piece of dough into a 12 x 16-inch rectangle. Line a 9 x 13-inch glass baking pan with the dough. Roll the remaining piece of dough into a rectangle about 10 inches long. Cut it into 1/2-inch-wide strips to use as a lattice top.
4. In a small bowl, blend the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle a light layer of the sugar-flour mixture over the bottom of the crust. Layer the sweet potato mixture into the baking dish, sprinkling with the sugar-flour mixture as you go. Dot with the butter. Arrange the lattice strips in an open basket-weave pattern diagonally across the sonker, trimming the dough strips to fit where necessary. Fold in the side pieces of dough to cover the ends of the lattice strips. Sprinkle the top of the sonker with the granulated sugar.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are cooked through and the crust is browned.
Makes 12 servings
Each serving has: 414 calories, 18 g fat (8.5 g saturated), 3 g protein, 61 g carbohydrates (2 g fiber), 20 mg cholesterol, 218 mg sodium. Good source of: beta-carotene.


And from readers like you,* these interesting spins on our original:

Apple, Peach & Raspberry Sonker
I used peaches instead of plums. I also added a lot more cinnamon, but that’s because I love the taste of it! I thought the peaches and cinnamon together were great with the apples—tart and sweet.I also added raspberries. —Susan Stovall, Morrisville, North Carolina

Mini-Sonker with Dried Plums
I used a 7 x 11-inch baking dish and only two piecrusts. I used Granny Smith instead of Golden Delicious apples and 10 dried plums, halved, rather than 5 fresh plums. I spread half the apples on the bottom, put the dried plums in the middle and finished with a top layer of apple. I sprinkled the brown sugar mixture over each layer. —Barbara D. Thompson, Mechanicsville, Virginia