French Crêpes Recipe

My love affair with crêpes began when I was a kid. Thanks to my French-Canadian lineage, my family’s favorite breakfast stack were delicate crêpes, not buttermilk pancakes. I’d shuffle down the stairs in my pajamas to find my dad swirling whisper-thin batter around a skillet. 

This is all to say I have a soft spot for crêpes, not just because of how delicious they are, but also because they’re the first thing I ever learned to cook — and among the first breakfast dishes I taught my own kids to make. Mastering the swirling of the batter helped me learn how to maneuver a pan, and by watching carefully for signs that the crêpe was ready to flip, I learned to pay attention to the heat of the burner. (I also learned patience, because as anyone who has made crêpes or pancakes knows, the first one is usually a dud.)

To this day, weekend mornings start with plates filled with crispy bacon, soft scrambled eggs, and delicate crêpes. Learn how to make my family’s crêpes in your kitchen.

• Crêpes are light, lacy, and perfect for serving with sweet or savory fillings (I’m partial to sweet crêpes, myself).
• Crêpes use many of the same ingredients as pancakes, but come together easily in the blender and skip the extra steps that pancakes often require. 
• While you can purchase a crêpe pan specifically for these lacy pancakes, the nonstick pan you already own works just as well.

• Milk: Use whole or 2% milk for the best crêpes, although it’ll be fine if all you have on hand is skim milk.
• Eggs: Other crêpe recipes are distinctly eggy in flavor, but this recipe has just the right ratio of egg to milk — 1 1/2 cups milk for every 2 large eggs.
• All-purpose flour: Add 1 cup all-purpose flour to give the crêpes structure, binding the liquid ingredients together into a flexible pancake.
• Unsalted butter: Melt butter in the microwave or on the stovetop so that it incorporates seamlessly into the batter.
• Flavorings: Add a touch of vanilla extract and granulated sugar to the batter if making sweet crêpes. You could even try adding lemon zest or almond extract.

1. Make the batter. Use a blender to combine milk, eggs, flour, salt, and butter into a thin batter. If you don’t have a blender, whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl. 
2. Let the batter rest. Set the batter aside for at least 10 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate for up to 24 hours to allow the flour to hydrate and give the bubbles created from blending time to settle. Because you can make the batter the night before, you’re already one step ahead for breakfast.
3. Make the crêpes. This part takes some trial and error, but is easy once you get the hang of it. The key is to immediately swirl the pan so the batter forms a thin, even layer covering the entire bottom of the skillet before it sets. Let the batter cook until it appears dry and starts to pull away from the sides. Flip and cook until lightly browned and moves freely in the pan. 

Crêpes can be served with sweet or savory fillings. Here are some filling ideas for each.

• Sweet crêpes: Good-quality butter, sugar (powdered, granulated, brown, or maple sugar), store-bought or homemade Nutella, sliced strawberries
• Savory crêpes: Soft herb cheese spread, such as Boursin or Alouette, chopped fresh herbs, sliced ham, sautéed mushrooms

In the unlikely event of leftovers, refrigerate crêpes in an airtight container or gallon-size zip-top bag for up to two days. You can also make these thin pancakes in advance and freeze them. Place a sheet of parchment paper between each crêpe, transfer the stack to a large freezer bag, and freeze for up to three months.

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