Christmas Morning Crepes

Today has been a good day. Today is Christmas Eve, but my little family of three has been pretending that today is Christmas Day. We celebrated Christmas Eve last night. My husband will be working all day tomorrow so we moved all our festivities up a day. Its our first Christmas with a child that we spent in our own home. We decided it was the perfect time to test out our own family traditions. We knew we wanted a special breakfast. I wanted cinnamon rolls and my husband wanted omelets, the things we grew up eating on Christmas morning. We decided to start our own breakfast traditions and agreed on Christmas Crepes, Christmas Cocoa, and Christmas Cereal. Crepes were a perfect choice because the batter is so easy to whip up the night before or first thing in the morning. Crepe batter needs time to sit, at least an hour, so I quickly made the batter while my daughter was playing with her stocking stuffers. Then, to give us a sugar high energy to open all our presents, we all had some hot cocoa and some of the sugary cereal Santa brings each year. While the crepe batter rested, we opened presents and while Stella played with her new toys I cooked all the crepes. Our topping options this year were black berries, whipped cream, Nutella, and bananas. It was perfect and special and a tradition I think we will continue.

I wasn’t planning on posting this today and I know its a little late, but I thought I would show you all how I make my crepes in case you are considering making them for Christmas morning. They are actually quite easy and you just mix the batter in the blender. Easy peasy. Cooking them takes a little technique,but once you get the hang of it, its very easy. I really enjoy cooking crepes, especially while listening to my daughter and husband making lego space ships together.  

Here are some great filling combos:

• fresh berries, peaches, or mangoes and whipped cream
• Nutella, whipped cream, and bananas or strawberries
• lemon juice and powdered sugar
• maple syrup or jam
• apple pie filling and whipped cream
• lemon curd, raspberries, whipped cream
• mini candy bars from stockings and whipped cream
• cherries and goat cheese
• peanut butter, bananas, and chocolate chips
• ice cream and hot fudge sauce
• sweetened ricotta with fresh fruit
• dulce de leche, whipped cream, and toasted coconut

Makes 20-25 crepes. Half for less.

Crepes:
Ingredients:

• 3 C. milk (any kind works fine)
• 2 1/4 C. flour, all purpose
• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 C. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 TBSP. butter, melted, plus more for brushing the pan
• Desired Fillings

Directions:

1. Add milk, flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt to a blender. Blend for about two minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. Don’t over mix or the crepes will be tough.

2. Add the melted butter and blend again for about 30 seconds. Put the lid on the blender cup and place in the fridge for at least one hour, but you can leave it for as long as overnight. Letting the batter rest for at least an hour lets the flour soak up all the liquid and thicken just a bit. It also allows for all the air bubbles to settle or pop. Right before use, re-blend for a few seconds.

3. Heat a non stick pan over medium-high heat. You don’t want the crepes too big, so don’t go any bigger than a 10” pan. Melt a Tablespoon or so of butter and have it on hand. Use a silicone pastry brush to coat the bottom of the pan with butter.

4. Set a little plate close by to set your drippy measuring cup on after pouring the batter. Get out a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Always measure out 1/4 cup and don’t eyeball it so all your crepes are the same size. This will get you a nice thin crepe in a 10” pan. If you use a bigger pan, use more batter.

5. Quickly pour 1/4 cup batter into the center of the pan. Don’t drizzle it, just quickly dump it into the center all at once. As soon as the batter hits the pan, lift the pan off the burner and swirl the batter around in a circular motion until the batter stops spreading. I usually do about 3 swirls around. This will help coat the bottom of the skillet evenly. Set back on the burner.

6. Immediately use a silicone spatula to release the edges of the crepe from the side of the pan and push down the stray batter that slid up the side while you were swirling. Cook the crepe for about 45 seconds.

You will know it is time to flip it when the bottom is golden and the top is dry. If you don’t want it as golden as in this picture, turn the heat down a bit or flip it sooner.

Flip the crepe in one motion with the spatula and cook for another 30 seconds or until the other side is golden too. Transfer to a plate and start the next crepe.

7. Repeat until all the batter is gone, lightly re-brushing with butter after every 4-6 crepes. If your crepes are burning or browning too quickly or if they are completely cooking before you finish swirling the batter evenly, lower the heat. I usually start at medium-high to get the pan nice and hot and after a few crepes I start lowering the heat to medium.

8. Stack all the crepes on top of each other on a large plate.If you get the hang of it and you have more than one pan of the same size, feel free to make two at a time. But only if you feel confident in your crepe making abilities.

NOTE: You can make the crepes up to a day in advance. Just cover and store in the fridge. You can also make the batter the night before. Just give it a good stir or blend for a few seconds before pouring.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

By Edible Experiments