This is a very special and easy dessert. Momma would make this for us after we spent hours picking blackberries, making all the work worth it. —Sallie Ann Robinson
From Sallie Ann Robinson's Kitchen: Food and Family Lore from the Lowcountry by Sallie Ann Robinson. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, September 2019. Reprinted with permission.
How to Make It
Place the blackberries and sugar in a medium saucepot with 1 cup water, and bring to a boil over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until it thickens to a sauce. Reduce the heat to low and keep the blackberries warm as you make the dough.
In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, salt, sugar, and vegetable shortening with ¼ cup water. Add more water, up to ¾ cup, as needed until the dough is loose and soft enough that you can scoop it out with a spoon.
Increase the heat of the blackberry pot to medium.
Scoop 1 teaspoon dough at a time and drop it into the saucepot of blackberries. When the dough rises to the top of the blackberry sauce, use a tablespoon to turn it so the dough cooks evenly as it hardens. Drop in as many teaspoons of dough as you can at the same time, but leave a little room between them for the dough to swell. When all the dough is turned and has the consistency of a doughnut, the blackberry dumplings are ready to eat.