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January 30, 2010

Everyday Crêpes

i made crepes today

I made crêpes once and it was a disaster.  Total FAIL.  I didn’t let the batter rest long enough.

Damn you impatient girl!

For the past few evenings I’ve been scouring my old Jan/Feb issues of Everyday Food magazine to get some new recipe ideas.
I kept seeing recipes for crêpes!

Were they just recycling the recipe, or is this a really good time of year to make crêpes?

They looked incredibly simple to make.  I whipped up the batter right before we went to bed last night so I wouldn’t be tempted to use it immediately and have another failed attempt at crêpe making.

How did it go?

I stumbled through 3 crêpes before I finally got a rhythm down. I let the edges dry too much which made them really hard and crackly.  By the 4th crêpe, I had it down.

it took me awhile to get a rhythm

The batter evenly coated the pan and I knew the right time to flip.

I haven’t mastered the most perfect crêpe…but I am on to something.  Next time they will be even better!

The point is–

Practice makes perfect.

And with a simple recipe like this, you are going to ace this crêpe thing in no time.

This morning I served ours with some powdered sugar, butter (on the inside) and some raspberry preserves.

done!

As you can see, they were well received.

Everyday Food Crêpes

(recipe from Everyday Food)

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups reduced-fat (2 percent) milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon melted unsalted butter, plus more for skillet

1.  In a bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center. Add milk, eggs, and 1 tablespoon butter; whisk to combine. Cover, and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 1 day).

2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees; place a baking sheet in oven. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium high. Lightly coat skillet with butter. Pour 1/3 cup batter into skillet, and quickly swirl skillet so batter evenly coats bottom. Cook crêpe until edges are dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Loosen with a wide spatula, and using both hands, grip edges with fingertips and quickly turn over. Cook 1 minute more. Slide onto sheet to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter (you should have 12 crêpes).

  • Dave -nibbleanibble

    What a concoction. Maybe add in some fruits to complete the piece?

  • Lindsey

    I learned to make crepes as a kid, and when I did, my dad taught me that the first crepe always goes in the trash. It’s just so tricky to the get the pan temp exactly right. So I think you did great, and as you said, practice makes perfect, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy many sweet and savory crepes in the future.

  • Ashley

    They’re worth the effort but once you get going, you’ll be able to make ’em blind-folded. Raspberry and powdered sugar, yum! You’re ready for savory crepes next!

  • maija

    Good job! I have been seeing crepe recipes everywhere lately, so it must just be that time of year or a sign from the food gods to get over my fear. I’m always afraid they will be a disaster, esp sticking to the pan. We have a few pretty new nonstick pans, so I really should try it before they get dinged up. You’ve given me confidence – they’re kinda just like a super thin pancake, right? It sounds like the batter resting step is a key stage, too.

  • Monica

    Like Lindsey said, the first 2-3 are always the TRIAL crepes, until you get the right temperature and the right vive going. They look great and I bet they tasted yummy, which at the end of the day that is what counts.

  • wootowl

    Yummy! Remember the crepe place on campus??? Makes me wish that either crepes were vegan, or that I wasn’t. Yp. The raspberries make me drool all the more. Yer crepes are prettie too.

  • Tracy

    savory crepes are next! I am thinking about making a buckwheat crepe batter with mushroom filling- which is my fave savory!

    dave- i planned on making them with bananas, but they weren’t ripe enough!

    i was super shocked that my skillet worked and nothing stuck! I only used a very small pat of butter and it was fine. I guess you really don’t need an actual crepe pan to make them.

    woot- i don’t! although muttface used to make them a lot- that’s my only UofO crepe experience 🙁

    maija- thin pancake- kinda eggy but not too eggy.

  • wootowl

    We are so going next time you visit. Don’t tell Mike. They make HUGE crepes and fold tasty innurds into them like cheese and spinach and garlic, or cheese and bananas, or… oh we’ll just go. Shhh.

  • Joline

    Tracy,
    If you want a GREAT crepe recipe I would highly recommend that you try the one in Mad Hungry. I made them last week and they were amazing and pretty fool-proof! My grandma made pancakes when i was little but they were really crepes, she used to coat them in butter fresh out of the frying pan and then sprinkle sugar on them and roll them up. Crazy enough the crepes in Mad Hungry tasted JUST like my grandma’s “pancakes”. Very delish! I hate to admit that ate quite a few.

  • Tracy

    oh geez- i SHOULD! i am going to go look up that recipe now. I have no idea how I missed that!

  • Christine

    I learned to make crepes in High School French class. . . and if I remember correctly it had some connection to Mardi Gras. The idea being that eating eggs and dairy was forbidden during Lent (I don’t think this is the case anymore), and crepes are an easy way to use up those ingredients during the “Fat Tuesday” feasting.

    My guess that’s why Jan/Feb seems to be the traditional crepe season.

  • laura

    I don’t know about January being a good time to make them BUT my son is making them in Technical school, cooking class so I’d say January is a good time to make them-maybe because there’s no fresh fruit to speak of?

  • Tracy

    laura- Your son is making them? That is totally awesome! Will he make you some?

    christine- oooh!! thank you for that! Perhaps that’s the reason!

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  • organic girl

    I started making crepes in girl guides(scouts) our leader was English so we had them in the morning after a campout with lemon, butter and sugar. I invested in a french crepe pan many years ago and it was the best investment ever. My children now have grown up with the crepes and love them. They are street food in France, and after spending our summers in France the girls now love them with Nutella as well.

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