Sonker

Edwards-Franklin House in Mt.
Airy, North Carolina—home to the
annual Sonker Festival.

The baked fruit desserts that we love have wonderful names: cobblers, grunts, buckles, crumbles, slumps, brown Bettys, and, in just one small corner of North Carolina, you'll find the sonker. It's a serious tradition in Surry County, in the northwestern part of the state—so much so that for nearly 4 decades, on the first Saturday in October, the Surry County Historical Society takes the time to honor this delicious local treat.

The Sonker Festival is celebrated in the town of Mt. Airy, at a restored 18th-century plantation home called the Edwards-Franklin House, and features bluegrass music and lots and lots of sonkers. There are no hard-and-fast rules for making sonkers, so you'll find quite a range of styles: Some are made with biscuit dough, some with pie pastry, and they can be filled with peaches, wild blackberries, plums, or even sweet potatoes—a local favorite. Despite their differences, however, almost all sonkers are made on a grand scale, usually in a lasagna or roasting pan.

For more information about the festival, go to the Surry County Historical Society's website or to the festival's Facebook page. And bonus: Mount Airy, which is the birthplace of the actor Andy Griffith, is more than likely the inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry.

Apple-Plum Sonker

Makes 8 servings
In North Carolina, sonker is often served topped with "dip," which is a dessert sauce of sweetened milk thickened with cornstarch.

Pie pastry for 21/2 nine-inch crusts (store-bought* or your favorite recipe)
11/2 pounds Golden Delicious apples (3 or 4), peeled and thinly sliced
11/2 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

*If you use pre-rolled store-bought pie pastry, piece it together to make a rectangle. Use the scraps for the lattice.

1. Divide the pie pastry into 2 pieces—one consisting of about four-fifths of the dough, and the other about one-fifth (for the lattice top). Flatten into disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cut up the apples and plums and place them in a large bowl. Toss with the lemon juice to keep the apples from browning.
3. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the larger piece of dough into a 12 x 16-inch rectangle. Line the bottom and sides a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish 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.
5. In a small bowl, blend the brown 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 dish, sprinkling with the sugar-flour mixture as you go. Dot with the butter.
6. Arrange the lattice strips diagonally in an open basket weave pattern 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.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the fruit is hot and bubbling and the crust is browned.

Sweet Potato–Plum Sonker: Use 11/4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, halved, and very thinly sliced instead of apples. Use dark brown instead of light brown sugar and increase it to 1 cup. Increase the cinnamon to 11/2 teaspoons and add 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Increase the butter to 4 tablespoons. Sprinkle the top of the sonker with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Bake for 10 minutes at 450°F, then reduce to 350°F and bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Serve with sweetened yogurt or sour cream.

[This article first appeared in the September/October 2007 issue of Hallmark Magazine.]