Let me preface this with two important facts.
1. I am not Jewish. For some reason, people keep asking me if I am. It’s like I’m write for a Jewish blog or something… Weird.
2. While I’m typing this, I’m screwing up all the major vowels because I cannot feel my fingers. I burned them to a crisp making these blintzes.
Crepes? No. Blintzes!
Why Blintzes?
Because the Jewish holiday of Shavuot is merely weeks away, as a reader so kindly reminded me. (Shout out to Steve K.!)
If you are a goy (non-Jew) like me, you might have just repeated, “so why blintzes?” Let me tell you.
Shavuot is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah from God to the Jews. The holiday is celebrated 50 days after the second night of Passover. (That means it’s May 26-28th this year, for those out there who can’t remember how many days are in each month.)
Dairy foods are generally eaten during Shavuot as a remembrance of Israel being the “land of milk and honey.”
At the risk of sounding like a Wisconsinite- I am ALL about this holiday.
These are like cream cheese filled crepes. And my taste-testers gave full approval. (I literally just ran upstairs and busted in on Pulp Fiction, forcing them to try one.)
Oh heyyy, Blintzes!
Ingredients:
BATTER
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 package vanilla sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 Tbsp. oil
FILLING
- 1 pound cottage cheese
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 Tbsps. flour
- 2 Tbsps. sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 Tbsps. maple syrup
I also added a dash of cinnamon and squeeze of honey because I didn’t think they were sweet enough.
Directions:
BATTER: In a large mixer bowl combine eggs, milk, water and blend well. Gradually add flour, then both sugars, salt and oil. Beat well until there are no lumps in the batter.
Yummm
FILLING: Combine all ingredients, except raisins, in a bowl and beat well. Or all the ingredients can be combined in a blender container and blended until smooth.
TO ASSEMBLE CREPES:
1. Prepare batter and filling of your choice. Using a paper towel or basting brush, apply a thin coating of oil to a 7 inch skillet. Place skillet over medium heat until skillet is hot but not smoking.
2. Ladle approximately 1/3 cup of batter into the skillet. Tilt pan to swirl the batter so it covers the bottom of the skillet.
3. Fry on one side until small air bubbles form, and top is set. Bottom should be golden brown. When done, carefully loosen edges of crepe and slip out of skillet onto a plate..
4. Repeat the above procedure until all the batter is used. Grease the skillet as needed..
Yeah, mine were a struggle bus in staying rolled up. #alyssaproblems
5. Turn each crepe so that golden brown side is up. Place 3 tablespoons of filling on one edge in a 2 1/2 inch long by 1-inch wide mound..
6. Roll once to cover filling. Fold the sides into the center and continue rolling until completely closed..
7. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet and place each crepe seam side down in the skillet and fry 2 minutes on each side, turning once.
** I did not fry mine in oil. My fingers were already burnt enough. And I feel like my roommates would not appreciate it if I started the apartment on fire.
***Generally, people garnish blintzes with pie fillings or sour cream. However, for whatever reason, I had no idea this was a real thing. It played out totally fine though, because most of the people who tried them had no idea they were supposed to have toppings anyway. (Don’t tell your taste-testers and you can get away with it too.)
There you have it- an easy, little finnicky, and delicious traditional Jewish Shavuot recipe.
Tune in next week for a hybrid dairy dessert that will knock the socks off your Shavuot crowd. … I hope.
(Recipe adapted from Chabad.org)
