Dinner Crêpes

I’m always game for branching out and trying new crêpes and pancake recipes. I had made a ”flourless” blueberry pancake for myself – it wasn’t really flourless, it just had oat flour instead of wheat flour – but it was a disaster and fell apart. I also tried so-called ”healthy” pancakes (with yogurt for protein), and they were fine. Then came Candlemas and the welcome obligation to make crêpes. They had to be different from the super spinach crêpes that we’d just had. I knew my kids wouldn’t go for a spinach and feta option, so I decided to make a basic crêpe batter recipe and use up the leftover turkey bacon we had, adding fried eggs and some gruyere for those who wanted it. I don’t know the metrics on this, but screw them – it was a hit!

I ended up adding an extra ½ cup of water to the crêpe batter because it seemed a bit thick to me, but even then it didn’t make particularly thin crêpes – there wasn’t any way in heck I could fold over the edges like in the original post, but I did roll them up like wraps for the kids (and kids-at-heart). This made about 8 crêpes. You could add herbs to the batter for savory crêpes, or a bit of sugar and vanilla for sweet ones, but this plain recipe will work for either. 

2 large eggs

1 ¼ cups lactose-free whole milk 

1 cup (5 oz/140 g) all-purpose flour 

1 Tbsp. melted lactose-free butter or vegetable oil, plus more for cooking 

1 pinch kosher salt 

Combine eggs, milk, flour, melted butter or oil, and salt in a blender. Start blender on low speed and increase to high. Blend until smooth, about 10 seconds. (Alternatively, you can combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk vigorously until smooth.) 

Heat a 10-inch nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron or carbon steel skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Lightly grease with oil or butter, using a paper towel to wipe out the excess. 

Hold the pan's handle in one hand and pour in 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter (I had more), swirling and tilting pan immediately to spread batter in a thin, even layer over bottom of pan. 

Let cook until top looks dry, about 20 seconds. Using a thin metal or nylon spatula, lift one edge of crêpe. Grab that edge with the fingers of both hands and flip crêpe. Cook on second side for 10 seconds, then transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter. 

Fill crêpes as desired (such as with butter, sugar, and lemon juice; with butter and jam; with ham, cheese, and eggs; or with filling of your choice) and serve. Crêpes can also be made ahead and stored, unfilled and wrapped in plastic, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a nonstick pan to serve.