SURRY COUNTY, N.C. — True foodies will travel for unique, delicious food. That’s the whole reason for the Surry County Sonker Trail.   

If you’re not from Surry County, you probably have not heard of “sonker,” much less tried the dessert. 

It’s a cobbler-like dish that dates back generations. 

Marshella Correa, a local, explained the history of the dish.

“What I have learned is that a lot of Scottish settled here and that it is a Scottish term,” Correa said. “Anybody and everybody around here is (sic) going to have a recipe for a sonker.  It just depends on what your grandmother made.” 

Now tourists can travel the county and try all those different recipes. 

Bakeries and restaurants make different versions of the dessert. Some create a cobbler-style sonker, like Samantha Coleman at Anchored Sweet Treats and Savory Eats. 

“We do more of a batter-thickened, batter-type topping, but that one there put it in the oven until it’s nice and brown and ooey-gooey delicious,” she said.   

And then there’s the version at Miss Angel’s Heavenly Pies on Main Street in Mount Airy.

“We say bonkers for zonkers because we are crazy anyway,” Angel Shure said. “We take the zonker when it comes out and we’ll glaze it.”

That glaze is mixed with locally-made moonshine.

The Sonker Trail goes to five places countywide that offer this authentic Southern delicacy. Click here to learn more.

Latest Posts