Sonker and dip
Instructions:
- Pastry:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour;
- 3⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt;
- 1 cup lard or vegetable shortening, chilled;
- 1 large egg;
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar;
- 4 to 6 tablespoons ice water;
- Instant flour or additional all-purpose flour, for rolling;
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted;
- 2 tablespoons sugar.
- Filling:
- 1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour;
- 1 cup sugar;
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon;
- 1⁄2 cup water;
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted;
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract;
- 8 cups capped and sliced strawberries.
- Dip:
- 1⁄4 cup sugar;
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch;
- 2 cups whole milk;
- 1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
- For the pastry:
- Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Use a pastry blender or your fingertips to work in the lard until the mixture resembles wet sand. Whisk together the egg and vinegar in a small bowl and pour over the flour mixture. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of ice water over the flour and stir with a fork until the pastry comes together in large clumps. If the dough is too dry for all of the flour to mix in, sprinkle in more water 1 tablespoon at a time. Pour the pastry onto a large piece of plastic wrap and gently gather and knead into a ball. Divide in half. Flatten each piece into a disk about 1⁄2-inch thick, wrap well, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes. This gives the pastry time to rest so the flour can continue to absorb the liquid and the pastry will be easier to handle.
- For the filling:
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whisk in the water, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the strawberries, mix well, and set aside.
- To assemble: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Press one of the disks of pastry evenly over the bottom of a 9 × 13-inch baking pan. Bake until the pastry is dry but not browned, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, use a floured rolling pin to roll the other disk of pastry to a 9 × 13-inch rectangle. If you are making a lattice crust, use a pastry wheel or pizza cutter to cut the pastry into 1-inch-wide strips. Otherwise, cut the pastry into freeform pieces of any shape or into rounds with a biscuit cutter.
- Remove the pan from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 375°F. Spread the strawberry filling over the bottom crust. Arrange the strips of pastry over the filling, crisscrossing them into a lattice design if you wish. Otherwise, arrange the pieces evenly over the filling. Leave a little space between some of the pieces so the juicy filling can bubble up through them. Brush the pastry with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake until the pastry is browned and the filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes. Let the sonker sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Meanwhile, make the dip.
- For the dip: Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Serve the sonker warm or at room temperature, topped with warm dip.
- What else works? You can replace the strawberries with raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, ground cherries, thinly sliced peaches, or thinly sliced cooked sweet potatoes.