It's Dewberry Season!

by Mindy Obenhaus

Yes, it's dewberry season here in Texas. 

I'm sorry. What's that?

What are dewberries?

Dewberries are, well, berries, that grow wild here in Texas. They're akin to black berries, though smaller and a bit more tart. They start out white on their thorny vines, then turn a robust red before ripening to a deep purple. You can see a couple of ripe berries in this lower pic.

We had some gorgeous weather this past weekend--mid to upper 70s, lots of sunshine--so we decided to venture into the woods to pick some dewberries. And our quest paid off.

We yielded about five quarts, but there are still plenty of red berries out there, so we're expecting our haul to increase in another week or so.

By now you're probably wondering what you do with dewberries. Same thing you would do with blackberries, raspberries or blueberries. Pies, cobblers, crisps, jams, jellies...

On this day, I decided to go for a cobbler. I mean, the first picks of the season have to be a cobbler.

This is similar to my peach cobbler recipe. You can find that recipe here.. And even a little bit like the Chocolate Cobbler recipe Missy shared on Friday. You can find that recipe here. You'll see in a minute what ties these recipes together.

Okay, so here's what you'll need for Dewberry Cobbler.

• 1 stick of butter (8tablespoons)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups dewberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter in square baking pan and place in oven until melted. 

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Add egg, milk and vanilla and stir to combine.

(I recommend doing this after the butter is melted).

Pour/spoon batter over melted butter and do not stir.

Top with dewberries.

Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Serve alone or with whipped topping or ice cream.

I love doing cobbler this way. So easy, so delicious. And this recipe brought out the delightful taste of these springtime berries.

You know, one thing I really appreciate about living in the country is that I don't have to battle traffic. There are no three-car pileups, however, we do have this.

Yeah, that was more than a break-tap. That was a bring-it-on-down-to-20, 25-if-you're-lucky.

So one of the things I like best about picking wild berries is that it reminds me of the times I used to pick wild blueberries with my grandparents in Michigan. We'd park alongside the road, Grandpa would hand each of us a coffee can (the metal variety) and off we'd go. Then our efforts would be rewarded with Grandma's blueberry pie and jam.

Now it's your turn. Have you ever gone wild berry picking? What's your favorite berry to pick? And then once you bring your haul home, what are some of your favorite ways to use those berries?

Three-time Carol Award nominee, Mindy Obenhaus, lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com