Some fruits bring back warm memories of my younger days. Huckleberries are one of those fruits. I haven’t seen a huckleberry in decades, but they are a fruit of memories.
My father loved to pick huckleberries – or, as we often called them, wild blueberries. Dad worked hard all week farming, but found picking huckleberries relaxing and would often go to the mountains on sunny Sunday summer afternoons to pick them. He’d bring home buckets of the most lush berries. The huckleberries were smaller than store-bought blueberries and bursting with taste. We ate the fresh huckleberries by the handful, and made many wonderful baked goods. A favorite was huckleberry muffins.
So. when I recently came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Blueberry or Huckleberry Muffins, I had to give it a try for memory sake – even though I used blueberries instead of huckleberries.
The recipe was a winner. The muffins were easy to make and delightful.
Here is the original recipe:
One teaspoon salt seemed like a lot of salt for this recipe, so I reduced the salt to 1/2 teaspoon. I also used butter instead of shortening.
And, here is the recipe update for modern cooks.
2 cups all-purpose flour 3 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon sugar 3/4 cup milk 2 eggs 1 tablespoon butter, melted 1 cup blueberries or huckleberries additional flour, if desired If desired, first coat the blueberries/huckleberries with flour. (Some assert that berries are less likely to sink to the bottom of the batter if coated in flour). To coat: In a separate bowl, toss the berries in flour to coat. Set aside Preheat oven to 400° F. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Add milk, eggs, and shortening; stir until combined. Then gently stir the blueberries or huckleberries into the batter. Grease muffin tins (or use paper liners), and then fill each muffin cup approximately 2/3 full with batter. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until lightly browned. http://www.ahundredyearsago.comBlueberry or Huckleberry Muffins
A Hundred Years Ago 
Great memory. No idea when I last saw a huckleberry.
Living in suburbia, I never seem to be in the right places at the right time to find them.
I am pleased to learn what a huckleberry is. They sound delicious.
They’re tasty.
Sheryl, is what you call a huckleberry as tiny as the exquisite wild blueberries that grow in Maine and farther north? If so, I much prefer them for muffins and pie than the “regular” blueberries cultivated in the Mid-Atlantic and elsewhere. For years I bought canned Wyman’s wild blueberries from Maine (the only canned fruit I’ve ever bought), but I don’t find them here any longer. The great thing about those northern fields is that in the fall, after blooming, the plants turn a beautiful shade of red.
I found frozen Wyman’s wild blueberries in the local Kroger. I had a recipe that recommended them as the best blueberries (even though I had never heard of them) and bought a bag. They are delicious, and I use them in pancakes and smoothies. Now, I think I shall be forced to make wild blueberry muffins today. 🙂
You definitely should try making muffins using wild blueberries. Smaller berries work really well when making muffins.
I’m no expert on this, but I think they are the same. The berries that I call huckleberries are small. Similarly to you, I really prefer smaller berries when making muffins. It’s too bad that canned wild blueberries from Maine are apparently no longer available. I can remember buying them years ago, and they were very nice.
Going to pick huckleberries is one of my favorite memories. We all went as a family, wearing belts with our sand buckets attached to them so we could pick with two hands. There are still huckleberries growing in the Pennsylvania mountains. I have a berry or two when I visit.
What a lovely memory! I like how your family attached the buckets to belts so you could pick with both hands. It’s wonderful that you’ve had a chance to eat a few huckleberries when visiting PA. If I get back there at the right time of year, I’m going to have to look for them.
I haven’t had Huckleberries in years either. Now I want to find some!
I hope that you are able to find some.
I don’t know if they even grow in the Midwest. When I was a kid growing up near Seattle they were all over the place.
What lovely memories!
It’s fascinating how the littlest things can bring back good memories.
Never tasted huckleberries, but had tasted enough wild berries to know that they have superior taste. It’s a shame that too many of the berries we get now are not as good.
I often think that small berries tend to be more flavorful that the very large ones that are often sold in supermarkets.
I’ve never eaten a huckleberry. The muffins sound good, though. It’s similar to the recipe I’ve used for 40 years.
They’re tasty.
Yum. I had some a couple years ago when we went geocaching in Oregon. When I buy (and pick) blueberries, I always save out the little ones for using in pancakes as they are better and don’t cause the pancakes to be doughy… Now I’m thinking we’ll have to go pick and get some more small ones to make muffins.
I also select small blueberries when making pancakes. The pancakes definitely turn out better when small ones are used.
When we lived in Oregon a retired factory furniture worker across the street took my husband into the woods near Mt. Hood to his “special” huckleberry patch. He had paint cans with wire handles he had made for his annual treks and gave one to Charlie. Mr. Holtzfus was quite elderly and needed Charlie’s help driving that time, his last visit to the patches. He wanted to make sure that the next generation knew where to find the berries.
What a wonderful heart-warming memory! Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome.
Huckleberries are amazing. (I didn’t realize they were another word for wild blueberries!) I need to try this recipe sometime.
I think that you’d like this recipe.
Nice to know where Huckleberry Hound got his name! It certainly is a good time to remember and make food from our childhood. July should be sour cherry season, and I am wondering if it was a bust year or if I am just sheltering-in-place so much I am missing things that aren’t so common, even in good times.
I have two sour cherry trees in my yard. There were relatively few cherries on the trees this year – though they were tasty. That said, this is totally anecdotal – I have no clue how the cherries did in other locations. I’m missing some foods this year while enjoying others. I’m raising more vegetables this year than I’ve raised in years.
Your childhood huckleberries sound just wonderful. This is a recipe I shall be baking for sure as hubs and daughter love muffins.xxx
I think that you’ll like them. They’re yummy.
I’m not so sure I have ever had a huckleberry!
Hopefully you’ll have the opportunity to try a few someday. They are tasty.
Until I read this, I didn’t know huckleberries were a real thing. I’d only ever heard the word in the title of Huckleberry Finn, and thought it was a strange sounding name at that. I guess they’re not a Canadian thing.
I’ve learned something new!
It’s fascinating how fruits and vegetables (and their names) vary from place to place.
Got a little backet of blueberries, so …
you should give the recipe a try. 🙂
I just made a batch and they are not sugary sweet but rather you really taste the berries. It was difficult to get the berries to mix into the dough but I kind of patted them in. I love historical recipes and collecting old and antique cookbooks. This recipe makes me want to look through my cookbooks to see what else I can find that is super old and easy to make. Thank you for sharing it!
Thanks for taking a few moments to write a note about your experiences with this recipe. It really helps others who might want to try to recipe. Like you, I love old recipes and cookbooks. I’m often surprised how few ingredients many old recipes call for. I think that back then people often cooked 3 days a week, 365 days a year, and they wanted fairly easy recipes.