Crepe Family Recipe

These homemade crepes are buttery, decadent and super easy to make. With very little ingredients you too can enjoy these right at home! No need for a stand mixer or a crepe pan, just a standard non-stick skillet, a whisk and a touch of creativity!

 To be truthfully honest, I can't remember the first time I ever had a Crepe but I know it wasn't at breakfast time. This may sound odd to many but growing up, we had Crepes with dinner, usually with Glumpkies (stuffed cabbage) and Pierogies (a Ravioli type pasta with a filling). We would roll them up and dip them in a 1:1 ratio mix of sour cream and melted butter and boy are they tasty!

Now I'm not much of a breakfast sweets person. I don't care for pastries, pancakes or even doughnuts for that matter (I know I'm weird) but the only sugar I like in the morning, is in my coffee. From everything I have found though, this recipe that my family uses is no different than those used for breakfast Crepes. So feel free to use this any time of day!

To jump to it, you will need a 12'' non-stick Skillet, I prefer Teflon and not Cast Iron for these as you can not risk sticking in this process. You will also need a whisk, (either a hand whisk or electric) and a rubber spatula.  I prefer to have all of these things set up with the better and batter very close by the stove to keep things moving smoothly. 

Ingredients needed are pretty basic as well which is why I love making Crepes. Now the following recipe is a fairly large one. Were a family of 4 and it's perfect for us with leftovers if being served as a side. Depending on how precise your scoops are when pouring into the pan, you should get 10-14 Crepes. You can easily cut the recipe in half. That's another thing I like about this recipe are the straight forward measurements. No 3/4, 2/3 and so on.  

Ingredients needed are, 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of warm water, 4 eggs, half a tablespoon of sugar, 1 tsp pf salt and 2+ tablespoons of unsalted butter for the pan when cooking. 

Begin by adding all the ingredients except the butter to a large mixing bowel and whisk vigorously until you have no lumps. As I said before you don't NEED an electric mixer but it helps. If after everything is very well blended you still have lumps, just take a fork or slotted spoon and get them out the best you can. If you don't remove the bigger ones it can drastically change the taste of your finished crepe. 

Next, heat your skillet with about a half a tsp of butter at a medium heat to start, you may need to lower the temperature as you go along.

This process mostly goes by eye so don't take your eyes off of them! When the pan is hot, pour 1/4 cup of batter in the center of your pan while tilting your pan in a circular motion to evenly coat the bottom of the pan as possible. This can take some getting used to and even I will sometimes have holes in my crepes where I couldn't get the batter. Once the bottom of the pan is covered, set back on the heat and let cook until the edges begin to brown.

Once the edges have started to brown, insert the rubber spatula under the center of the crepe, carefully lifting it up and all in one motion and flipping it to the other side. Let cook for an additional 30 second or so while checking the bottom every so often to make sure it's not burning.

Slide off the pan and on to a plate. Cover the cooked crepe with a clean kitchen towel to retain heat and moisture while you finish the rest. Be sure to re oil the pan between crepes with more butter. 

Of course the amount of time and butter will depend on a lot of factors like your pan size, pan dryness, pan age, heat source and so on. Just take things nice and slow, when I first started to make my own, I burned a few! If you aren't totally confident you can always start at a medium-low temperature, It will just take more time. But that's it! Super easy just mildly time consuming. 

These also refrigerate well, I like to make these the night before when the kids go to bed, let them cool and place plastic wrap over the top. When reheating, gently lift the edges of the plastic wrap up but leaving it on and microwave in intervals of 20-30 seconds until heated thru. 

For sauces, I like to use the basic half sour cream and half melted butter, mixed together. I do this by slowly bringing a small sauce pan up to temp on low with about 3 tablespoons of butter then once melted, I turn the heat off and add 3 tablespoons of sour cream. I've heard of others adding garlic and paprika to their dipping sauce but I have yet to try it as I love the original so much. As far as breakfast fillings, you're kind of on your own for that one. I could look some up for you but I don't like to recommend things unless I have personally tried them and I am all set with those, haha. Hope you all enjoyed this recipe! I'll post below the short version for those of you who would prefer to not read my life story next time :P

1. Add all ingredients except butter to a mixing bowl and blend until most lumps are gone. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out any large lumps that refuse to blend.
2. Heat non stick pan with 1/2-1 tsp butter over medium heat. Coat entire pan as evenly as possible.
3. Once pan is hot, Pour 1/4 cup of batter on skillet while tilting the pan in a circular motion to evenly coat the pan with batter. 
4. Cook until edges begin to brown then insert a rubber spatula under the center of the crepe until over half way thru then flip to the other side. You may need to increase or decrease the heat if they cook too fast or too slow. Unless you're burning them or they aren't cooking at all. The temp is likely fine.
5. After 20 seconds or so, slowly lift the crepe to check the underside. If golden brown in spots, it's finished! Be sure to oil your pan again before pouring your next crepe.

The pouring and flipping can take some getting used to, try not to get overwhelmed. My best advise is to try making crepes with little to no distractions. Use the bathroom first, let the dogs out, give the kids a snack or better yet, wait until they're in bed. Taking your time is the only way to prefect the art of crepes.