Escaping to the cool(er) mountains to hunt for these little gems makes the heat of the summer worth it. That, and jumping into a cool river at the end of a scorching day.
But, huckleberries. They’re like nothing else, and there are only so many ways to get them, since they’ve defied domestication and aren’t commercially produced. You can pick them yourself at whatever super-secret location you might know, o r you can pay someone who picked enough extra to part with a portion of the haul. Either way, they’re a precious commodity.
Once you’ve procured these rare, wild treasures, you have decisions to make about how to consume them. Eating while picking is tradition (we all do this, right?), but what to do with the ones that make it home?
That’s what we want to know from you: What treats do you make with Idaho’s state fruit? Email your recipes to me at mstone@inland360.com by Aug. 1 so we can share them in a future edition of Inland 360.
Make sure to include your name, city of residence and a phone number (the number won’t be published, but we need it in case we have questions). We’ll need a list of ingredients, measurements and instructions. A photo of the finished product would be wonderful, if you have one.
We’re sharing this recipe for huckleberry bars from Nancy Barker, mother of Lewiston Tribune Outdoors Editor Eric Barker, to get things started. My good friend Sadie Karoly (who happens to be married to Eric) made these last summer, and I still think about them.
Mom’s Huckleberry Bars
Bake time: 35 minutes
- ½ cup margarine
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (Karoly suggests roasting the nuts.)
- 2 cups huckleberries
Optional streusel topping:
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar (light or dark), packed
- Dash salt
- 4 tablespoons butter or about 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Melt margarine. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar — cool slightly. Mix in eggs.
Combine dry ingredients. Blend into egg mixture.
Add nuts (toasted, if desired). Stir in huckleberries. (Batter is very stiff.)
Spread in a 9-inch-by-13-inch pan. Crumble streusel topping over top, if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
