Felicia's Sweet Crepes

Crepes are one of those amazingly delicious comfort foods that you really could eat any day of the week. For me it all started as far back as I can remember.

 

Crepes were our family's Christmas comfort food. Add in some maple sausage, bacon and hot chocolate and you got yourself a feast for the finest on such a special day. Combined with the magical feeling of family and Christmas, nothing gets better. Really. :)



 As of late, my grandma (Felicia as my grandpa would call her) has passed on the responsibilities to me to make the Christmas crepes for the family. You have to have the right recipe, the right pan and the right utensils plus you have to store them in the right way so they stay warm.
She taught me well.

And now I will share this with you.

I have tested other crepe recipes and settled on the fact that my grandma's are still my favorite. Maybe it's because they are the ones I grew up with. Or maybe they really are the best. Either way....they are fabulous and surely worth your time.

So here it is:

1- You need a flat griddle. I just bought a new one to claim as 'my crepe griddle'.

I bought the Nordic Ware Reversible Round Griddle (at Target for about $30) and I absolutely love it. It flips over and you can use it as a grill on your stove top because it has deep grill grooves on the opposite side of the flat griddle. Multi-taskers are the best plus it's non-stick. L-L-Love.

{You should see my grandma's. It looks like it is over a hundred years old and crossed the plains with our ancestors. Maybe it did. I claimed it as a part of my inheritance.}

2- You also need a ladle. If you want to use one of those fancy crepe trowels then go for it but it is not necessary.

The process:

You blend your ingredients in a blender. Check.

Put batter into a bowl. Check.

Use ladle to pour batter onto a hot griddle (my griddle was nonstick so I didn't even have to spray it or anything!). Check.

Use bottom of ladle to swirl the batter into a thin round crepe. Check.

Pour yourself a glass of OJ. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. (about 30 seconds)

Release edge of entire crepe using a hard plastic spatula and flip.

Tick. Tock. (about 10 seconds)

Taste test for quality assurance purposes.

Repeat above steps.

Flip onto plate and roll crepe. Check.

Store in casserole dish to keep warm.

Share.

Decorate. 

Eat.

 Enjoy.

BAM!

Thaaaaat's about it.

Yeah, I thought there were more secrets too...

The secret must be love. Awwwwww.

Crepes are actually really easy to make (no secrets about that). So give 'er a try.

And seriously, these crepes are so tasty just by themselves that you won't be able to help but perform a little quality control frequently as you are making them.

Crepes are also so fun because they are French! And who doesn't like to enjoy a little Frenchiness in their life every once in a while. I personally love France. My high school report card says I should speak French but that was a long time ago so now I will hang onto my love of French things by diving into the culture, making French foods and saying "Mais oui" for the fun of it. 

Lately I have been trying my hand at some French foods and desserts {that I will be posting about shortly} and it has been a really fun change to the normal cake pops, cookies, brownies and cakes. I am loving it! So much that maybe, just maybe, I'll have to dust off that old French book of mine and brush up on it just because I can.

Crepes are sweet and tender but most of all, they are part of a wonderful tradition that brings back warm memories. I named these crepes "Felicia's Sweet Crepes" because my grandma's name 'Felicia' comes from the Latin word for 'happy things' and these crepes have definitely created many happy memories.

Start some traditions and share some memories with your family using this recipe.

Felicia’s Sweet Crepes

6 eggs

2 cups milk

1 ½ cups flour

¼ cup sugar

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth.

Heat a round griddle until hot- stove tops will vary but mine is usually set right below medium.

Brush with butter if not using a non-stick griddle.

Dip ladle into batter and pour into the middle of the griddle. :) Adjust amount as necessary.

Quickly swirl mixture with bottom of ladle and spread batter into a very thin round crepe. If you accidentally created some bare spots while swirling just fill them with a small amount of batter.

Watch carefully lifting edge of crepe to see if it has browned to a light brown color.

Slide spatula under edge of entire crepe to release edge and then slide to the center. Flip crepe. Let this side brown for another 10 seconds or so until just starting to get brown spots. This side will not brown like the top.

When done, remove crepe to dinner plate and roll up (or wedge) and put in a covered casserole to keep warm. Place towel on top to keep heat in. Serve with anything. My personal favorite is powdered sugar.

Suggestions: powdered sugar, fruit, nutella, maple syrup, breakfast meats and/or eggs, sandwich fixings, brown sugar and butter, etc. The options are endless. May be eaten as a sweet dessert or as a savory snack.

If you are looking for a more savory taste to your crepes, I found this next recipe was good as well.

Savory Crepes

{By Erin Nesbit found on AllRecipes.com}

Yields: 8 crepes             

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 cup milk

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 pinch salt

1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

In a blender combine eggs, milk, flour, salt and oil. Process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and brush with oil. Pour 1/4 cup of crepe batter into pan, tilting to completely coat the surface of the pan. Cook 2 to 5 minutes, turning once, until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.