Lazy Strawberry Sonker (ATK)

• servings: 6

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled (6½ cups), or 2 pounds (7 cups) frozen whole strawberries

1 cup (7 ounces) sugar

Salt

¼ cup water

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup whole milk

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and hot

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper: Combine strawberries, ¼ cup sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in bowl. Whisk water and cornstarch together in second bowl; add to strawberry mixture and toss until strawberries are evenly coated.

2. Transfer strawberry mixture to 8-inch square baking dish and place dish on prepared sheet. Bake until filling is bubbling around sides of dish, 35 to 40 minutes (1 hour if using frozen strawberries), stirring and scraping bottom of dish with rubber spatula halfway through baking.

3. Remove sheet from oven and stir filling, scraping bottom of dish with rubber spatula. Whisk flour, baking powder, remaining ¾ cup sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt together in bowl. Whisk in milk, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth. Starting in corner of dish, pour batter evenly over filling.

4. Bake until surface is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out with no crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking. Let sonker cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Serve.

Notes

If you're using frozen strawberries in this recipe, there's no need to let them thaw. In steps 2 and 3, be sure to stir the strawberry filling as directed, scraping the bottom of the dish to incorporate the cornstarch so that it evenly and thoroughly thickens the mixture. In step 3, add the butter to the batter while it is still hot so it remains pourable, and be sure to mix the batter only right before pouring it over the filling. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

LAZY BLUEBERRY SONKER Substitute 2 pounds (6½ cups) fresh or frozen blueberries for strawberries.

LAZY PEACH SONKER Substitute 2½ pounds peaches, peeled, halved, pitted, and cut into ½-inch-thick wedges or 2 pounds frozen sliced peaches (break up any slices that are frozen together) for strawberries.

THE AMERICAN TABLE

Mount Airy, North Carolina, isn't just the home of the fruit sonker: It's also the hometown of Andy Griffith and the inspiration for the characters featured in The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D., the long-running 1960s sitcoms. Besides a museum dedicated to Griffith, Mount Airy is also home to the Snappy Lunch Diner, where the town's favorite son ate fried pork chop sandwiches as a child. Over the years, more-familiar fruit pies have nudged sonker off the menu at many local restaurants, so the very best time to sink a spoon into the stuff is at the annual Mount Airy Sonker Festival, an autumn gathering hosted by the Surry County Historical Society. There's bluegrass music and flat-foot dancing all afternoon, but the centerpiece, of course, is sonker, offered up in a slew of styles based on heirloom family recipes.

Using frozen berries makes our Lazy Blueberry Sonker a year round dessert.

Our Lazy Peach Sonker can be prepared with fresh or frozen fruit.