Eat Alberta First Recipe: Prairie Berry Squares
Photo: Jeremy Fokkens
MAKES 24 SQUARES
This is an old Mennonite recipe shared by my friend Ingrid Friesen. We rented cabins side by side for a decade out in BC’s Okanagan. Naturally, over the years, we started cooking the evening meal for our families together. Ingrid could make this recipe blindfolded. And ever since she introduced us to it, it’s been a keeper in my repertoire of quick and easy go-to recipes.
Ingredients
2 cups + 1 Tablespoon flour, divided
1½ cups sugar, divided
Salt
1 cup butter, softened, plus a bit more for the baking pan
2 cups fresh or frozen berries (saskatoons, haskaps, sea buckthorn, blueberries, huckleberries, or a combo, enough to cover the crust in a single layer)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 eggs, beaten
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter the baking pan.
Use a pastry blender or your hands to mix 2 cups of the flour, ½ cup of the sugar, a pinch of salt, and the softened butter in a bowl until the butter is completely distributed. Spread this mixture evenly in the baking pan and press it down to form a crust.
Cover the crust with the berries.
Sprinkle the berries with the coconut.
Mix the remaining 1 cup of sugar and 1 Tablespoon of flour with the eggs and melted butter, and pour it over the coconut layer.
Place on the middle rack in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Cool in the pan, cut into squares, and enjoy as a quick and easy dessert any time you need one.