At www.yourdictionary.com a huckleberry is defined as: any of a genus of plants of the heath family, having dark blue berries with ten large seeds. The fruit of these shrubs. So, how to make the most of this fruit? That is the fun part.
Huckleberry Smoothie: 2 cups chocolate milk; 2 cups vanilla ice cream; 1/4 cup seedless huckleberry preserves. Place chocolate milk, ice cream and preserves in blender. Cover and process until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses and serve.
Huckleberry Cooler: 1 quart fresh huckleberries; 1 cup sugar; 2 cups water. Place all ingredientsin a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cool, strain and store in refrigerator. To make cooler: Fill glass with ice cubes, pour half full of huckleberry base and top off with carbonated water. Stir and serve.
Huckleberry Bread Pudding: 8 slices white bread; 1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese–softened and cut into small pieces; 1 cup fresh huckleberries; 8 eggs; 1 1/2 cups milk; 1/4 cup sugar; 1 tsp. vanilla; 1/4 cup melted butter.
Grease and 11×7 inch baking dish. Cut bread into cubes. Spread half of cubes in baking dish and top with cream cheese cubes and huckleberries. Layer remaining bread cubes on top. Beat together eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla. Pour over bread. Drizzle melted butter over all. Cover dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25-30 minutes or until top is puffed and golden and the center is sest. Serve with huckleberry or maple syrup on the side.
Huckleberry Sauce: 2 cups sugar; 2 Tbsp. cornstarch; 1 cup water; 1 cup huckleberries; 1 Tbsp. butter. In saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add berries and boil for 3 minutes or until berries have burst. Stir in butter until melted.
Huckleberry Muffins: 1 3/4 cups flour; 1/4 cup sugar; 2 tsp. baking powder; 1/2 tsp. salt; 1 egg, beaten; 3/4 cup milk; 1/3 cup oil; 1 cup huckleberries; 1/3 cup chopped walnuts Topping: 1/2 cup brown sugar; 1 tsp. cinnamon. In large bowl, stir together, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine egg, milk and oil. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Fold in berries and nuts. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin, fill cups 2/3 full and sprinkle with combined topping mixture. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Huckleberry Dumplings: Fruit Mixture: 2 cups huckleberries; 3/4 cup sugar; 2 Tbsp. lemon juice; 1 3/4 cups water. In a 3 quart kettle, combine fruit mixture ingredients; bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for 5 minutes. Dumplings: 2 cups baking mix; 2/3 cup milk; 1/2 tsp. vanilla. In a bowl, mix dumpling ingredients together until a stiff dough forms. Divide dough into 4-6 portions. Drop carefully into simmering fruit mixture. Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover and cook 10 minutes more. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon if desired.
Huckleberry/Cherry Pie: 3 cups huckleberries; 1 cup pitted Flathead or any sweet cherry; 1 Tbsp. cornstarch; 1 Tbsp. quick tapioca; 1 Tbsp. butter; 3/4 tsp. cinnamon; 2 refrigerated ready made pie crusts. In a bowl, combine huckleberries and cherries. Cover with plastic wrap and let set at room temperature overnight. In a saucepan, mix the resulting berry juices with cornstarch and tapioca and heat gently until thickened. Pour juice mixture over berries and fold gently together. Put one pie crust in pie pan and add filling to unbaked pie shell. Add lattice crust to top and bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes or until crust is nicely browned. Allow pie to cool before serving.
Huckleberry/Rhubarb Pie: 1 (11 oz.) pkg pie crust mix; 1 1/2 cups huckleberries; 4 cups diced rhubarb; 1 1/2 cups sugar; 5 Tbsp. flour; 1 egg; 1/2 cup sugar; 2 Tbsp. flour. Prepare two pie crusts according to package directions. Place bottom crust in pie pan. Mix huckleberries with 2 cups rhubarb, sugar and 5 Tbsp. flour. Spoon mixture into pie crust. Beat egg, adding sugar and 2 Tbsp. flour. Fold in remaining 2 cups rhubarb. Spoon on top of huckleberry mixture. Add top crust, crimp edges and vent. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. Add foil to edges of crust during the last 20 minutes if they get too brown.
At www.allrecipes.com I also found a recipe for Huckleberry Buckle; Huckleberry Muffins and several other recipes featuring Montana’s own huckleberry.
