By CAILIN BRINEY for the Flathead Beacon
The calendar may say spring has arrived, but summer is still months away. Among my favorite things about summer in Montana are those lovely, scrumptious berries called huckleberries!
When it’s time to forage for those sweet berries, I consistently find myself traversing up hillsides I normally wouldn’t be able to climb, ignoring the threat of bears and other wildlife. It’s amazing the lengths we will go to keep our huckleberry spots a secret so we can stockpile jugs full when they are at the peak of ripeness.
I love huckleberries, so I enter baking competitions and, just last year, I took home my first blue ribbon at Huckleberry Days in Whitefish.
Any way you prepare huckleberries is heavenly, and one of my favorite things to make are huckleberry cheesecake flapjacks! Since I am a born and raised New Yorker, what better way to mix my New York roots with Montana than combining cheesecake and huckleberries?
These flapjacks make an amazing meal, not just for breakfast, but also for lunch, dinner, or a late night snack. Be aware, this recipe is not the most figure-flattering item you could eat, but the first bite will erase any thoughts of calories from your mind.
If you don’t have any huckleberries left over in your freezer from last summer, you can substitute any berry to your liking to tie you over until huckleberry season arrives in a few short months.
Yield: 12 pancakes, 3/4 cup topping
Topping:
- 1 package (3oz.) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup whipped topping
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and whipped topping until smooth.
Chill until serving.
Huckleberry Cheesecake Flapjacks | Courtesy photo
Flapjacks:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup fresh or frozen huckleberries
- 3/4 cups maple syrup, warmed
- Additional huckleberries (optional)
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cracker crumbs, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Combine eggs, buttermilk and butter; add to dry ingredients just until moistened.
Fold in huckleberries.
Pour batter by 1/4 cupful onto a greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top.
Cook until the second side is golden brown.
Spread topping over pancakes.
Stack desired amount of pancakes and top with warm syrup.
Sprinkle with additional huckleberries if desired.