In your slow cooker, combine blueberries, sugar, water, and almond extract. Stir everything together.
Set the slow cooker to high, cover, and let the mixture cook for 2-3 hours until it’s bubbly and fragrant.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt for the dumplings.
Cut the cold butter and shortening into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture is crumbly.
Gently stir in the milk until just combined. The dough will be soft but not sticky.
Drop spoonfuls of the dumpling dough onto the hot blueberry mixture in the slow cooker—don’t spread it out.
Cover and cook on high for another 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the dumplings comes out clean.
Serve the warm blueberry grunt with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.
