Traditional French crêpe recipe

Dinah Grossman

Quick and simple to make, traditional French crêpes make great breakfast treats filled with Nutella and bananas, jam, or fresh fruit and thick, Greek-style yogurt.

The recipe below is a slightly adapted version from The Joy of Cooking. You can try playing around with different flours in place of the all purpose (whole wheat pastry and buckwheat work well). Soy milk and egg replacer can be used in place of cow's milk and eggs to make this an option for your vegan friends.

Traditional French crêpes

• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• Butter, for coating the pan

Directions

In a medium sized bowl combine all of the ingredients (except butter) and whisk until just combined. Alternatively, place all ingredients in a blender and blend for ten seconds until combined. The batter can be cooked immediately, but it benefits from some time in the fridge--anywhere from an hour to overnight. This allows the bubbles to subside (if you used the blender) so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking, and for the flour to absorb the liquid, making the crêpes more pliable. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small pan (non-stick or not is fine) and coat with a little of the melted butter. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to coat the pan evenly. Cook for 30 seconds then flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to a plate or cutting board to cool. Repeat with the remaining batter. If not using right away the crêpes can be stored between sheets of waxed paper and frozen or refrigerated.

If using right away, spread a thin layer of Nutella and/or banana slices, jam, or the like on one half of the crêpe. Fold the other half down to form a semicircle, then fold the semicircle in thirds to form a triangle. Eat warm.