Summer Blueberry Slump

Slumps, buckles, cobblers, and crisps, oh my! When summer fruits are plentiful, these simple desserts are one of our favorite parts of the season. (Though they’re delicious in spring, winter, or fall with apples and pears, just the same). As American as apple pie, these desserts have more similarities than they have differences. A crumble and a crisp are really just two names for the same thing, and a slump is sometimes known as a grunt. What they all share is the same technique: chopped and sweetened fruit topped with a crumble or batter.
Our family loves to go blueberry picking in the summer and once our fingers have turned purple and we can’t possibly eat any more of those sweet little berries raw, we turn them into this easy and delicious Blueberry Slump. A slump hails from New England and is a great simple dessert that you don’t even have to turn your oven on for. In the heat of summer, we just love a quick treat that won’t heat up our kitchen too!
A slump is cooked entirely on the stovetop. You throw fruit, sugar, lemon juice, and a few seasonings into a pot and bring it up to a splendid simmer before topping it with dumpling dough and covering it until the dumplings are steamed and cooked through. As the tender and sweet dumplings cook, they ‘slump’ down into the fruit, which is where the dessert gets its name. We just can’t get enough of this Blueberry Slump. It’s a rustic dessert, so it’s perfect alongside a cookout or BBQ and topping it with some whipped cream or ice cream is just divine. It’s so easy and so delicious, there’s no reason it shouldn’t make an appearance on your table sometime soon!

 

35 minutes to prepare serves 8

INGREDIENTS

Filling:
4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Topping:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, garnish

PREPARATION

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, then stir in milk until a shaggy dough forms. Don’t over mix.
Cut in butter until mixture is fully incorporated.
In a large saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat, stir together blueberries with sugar, water, lemon juice and zest, cinnamon and nutmeg, and bring to a boil.
Stir in vanilla extract and cook for another 1-2 minutes, then break off pieces of dumpling dough and drop them (carefully) onto blueberry mixture.
Repeat until dough covers most of blueberries, then cover the reduce heat to low. Cook for 27 minutes, or until biscuits are cooked through. (Make sure to not uncover biscuits as they’re cooking, as this will allow steam to escape and they won’t rise or cook properly.)
Uncover and serve hot with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.