Why this recipe works: To develop a better Blueberry Grunt recipe, we cooked down half of the berries until jammy to thicken the filling, and then stirred in the remaining berries before topping the mixture with the dumplings. A bit of cornstarch further tightened the filling without making it stiff. Replacing the milk in the biscuits with buttermilk added nice tang. The buttermilk also reacted with the baking soda, making the dumplings much lighter. For light and fluffy biscuits, we placed a kitchen towel under the lid during cooking to absorb condensation. We sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the cooked dumplings before serving to provide a final burst of flavor and crunch to our Blueberry Grunt recipe.

Filling:

• 8 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Topping:

• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 6 tablespoons butter - melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Last step:

• 10 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Filling:

1. In a Dutch Oven, mix together 4 cups blueberries, sugar, cinnamon, water, and lemon zest.
2. Cook on medium heat for 10-12 minutes or until mixture is thick and jamlike.
3. In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
4. Stir cornstarch/lemon mixture in with the blueberries.
5. Add remaining blueberries and cook for 1 more minute.
6. Remove pot from heat and cover.

Topping:

1. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
2. In a measuring cup, combine buttermilk, butter, and vanilla
3. Pour buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients.
4. Slowly stir together until dough forms.

Putting it all together:

1. Using either 2 spoons or an ice cream scoop, spoon golf ball sized dumplings on top of blueberry mixture. There should be about 14 dumplings.
2. Take a clean kitchen towel and cover the Dutch Oven and blueberry mixture. Then put the lid on. Make sure towel cannot catch fire - wrap ends of towel around top of lid if necessary.
3. Simmer gently on low heat for 16-22 minutes. Dumplings should double in size and a toothpick inserted in the dumplings should come out clean.
4. Mix the 10 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
5. Remove lid and sprinkle dumplings with sugar/cinnamon mix.
6. Serve immediately.

• Do not use frozen blueberries here, as they will make the filling watery. You will need a clean kitchen towel for this recipe.