How To Make Crepes.
…without a crepe pan!
I don’t own a crepe pan. If I stuff one more appliance, utensil, pot or pan into my kitchen it will spontaneously combust.
It will also qualify me to be on Hoarders.
Up until New Year’s Eve, I had never eaten a crepe. I know, I know – what kind of foodie am I?
Then Barb made those fantastic, addicting ice cream crepes, and I’m not sure if I should hug her or hate her for introducing me to crepes. After all, we did eat then entire pan of ice cream crepes that she helped me make the next day. And by we, I really mean I.
And on New Year’s Eve, my husband had 6 of her crepes for dessert. I definitely have a partner in crime.
Since I had never made crepes before, I was struck with fear that they would turn out terribly. I can’t make pancakes. I can’t make omelets. For some reason, I felt like both of those things were prerequisites to making crepes.
Oh, and the big one – I HAVE ZERO PATIENCE. What is patience? I don’t even know what that word means. And no, I don’t want to learn. I’d rather sit in my pool of ignorance and throw tantrums mid-cook.
Thank goodness Barb was there to take me down a notch.
My husband was thankful, too.
Anyway …
These crepes are fabulous. I’ve mentioned Barb’s husband, Jack, before and told you what an amazing chef he was. He also headed up the US Olympic chef team for many years – if that doesn’t scream ‘incredible food’, what does?
So, one bright, sunny morning in early January, Barb taught me how to make crepes. Yes – there are a few discrepancies in that sentence, because ‘bright,’ ‘sunny,’ and ‘January’ aren’t exactly the proper words to describe Pittsburgh.
Oh, well. I thought you needed a visual.
Since I do not own a crepe pan, I used a large skillet. This ensured that the edges would not be rounded or flipped over. Barb taught me that. Thanks, Barb.
Heat the skillet on medium heat. The first crepe is almost always a ‘test’ crepe. Once you get going, the remaining crepes will turn out beautifully.
Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out the batter and pour it into the skillet. This way, all of our crepes will be around the same size.
Pour it into the pan like so:
Now comes the fun part. Or, if you are Type A like myself, the anxiety-inducing part that causes slight panic attacks.
Pick up the pan and swirl that baby around:
Until it looks like this:
Then, allow it to cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. You will definitely be able to tell when it is finished. You have 2 options: 1.) Let it cook fully on one side and remove it from the pan, or 2.) Flip it once which gives the other side a golden-brown color. Either way works perfectly fine.
To remove the crepe from the pan, lightly slide a spatula under one side. It may feel like it will break, but it won’t!
They come out looking pretty, like so:
Place a piece of wax paper on top of each crepe while finishing up with the remaining batter. This ensures that the crepes won’t stick together and rip apart.
Then, do naughty, mouth-watering, waist-fattening thing to it, like this:
You are most likely going to see many more crepe recipes pop up, due to my wild obsession with them.
Until then, try out this incredible recipe from Barb. They truly are the best crepes ever. Thanks, Barb! :)
Crepes
makes 12-14 crepes
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 eggs
Sift dry ingredients together. Mis wet ingredients (except melted butter), making sure eggs are beat throroughly. Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir until all lumps are gone. Stir in melted butter.
Heat a skillet on medium heat. Melt butter, add olive oil, or use an oil spray to coat the pan. Add batter with a 1/4 cup measuring cup to the hot skillet. Let cook for about 30-60 seconds.
Remove and store inbetween wax paper while cooking the remaining crepes.
74 Comments on “How To Make Crepes.”
Girl, I LOVE crepes. But the last time I made them, they became scrambled batter. I blamed it on not having a proper crepe pan. Obviously, it was my skills. I’m gonna have to try this out!
I love crepes too! We have them for breakfast, but I’m loving the ice cream idea for dessert!
Fun post!! Crepes were one of the first foodie items I learned as an introduction to stove top cooking in my moms kitchen when I was a child. She used crepes for many an Italian dish.. manicotti for every Christmas celebration. Sunday brunch for other delectable fare. But I never tire of eating them or reading about them! :)
am anxiously awaiting the bacon crepes.
Now I know what to make my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day….note to self: Find a boyfriend.
I’m so impressed at your crepe making skills! It would definitely be anxiety-inducing for me too ;)
My mom bought a “crepe maker” which is not really a pan, but a convex skillet…it looks so weird, but apparently makes killer crepes.
mmmm a crepe pan was seriously the first thing I had for my kitchen when i moved into my first apartment LOL love them!!
ohhhh crepes! yum… sounds like a perfect lead up to V -day!
This is the way my mom and all my friends make crepes, back in Ukraine we never had crepe pans and we always ate the best crepes I ever had. Now a days there are to many equipment out there that is totally not needed.
You are like my fairygodmother right now :) A recipe AND showing me hwo to do it sans gadgets. I can’t wait to make these on Sunday!! I’ll obviously let you know how it goes and give you FULL credit.
Your crepes look wonderful.
Oh you TOTALLY don’t need a crepe pan! I love making crepes! It’s my husband’s favorite breakfast!
omigosh – this looks heavenly. I was in France last year, and crepes were one of the best parts of the trip – I’m gonna have to try this out for sure!
Crepes was one of the first things we learned to cook. Yours looks so tasty! Your tip about putting the wax paper inbetween is going to make it much easier the next time we make them. Thank you.
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These look great… Thanks for the recipe! I have never made my own crepes, but I do love them. I’ll have to give them a try.
I love crepes. I actually just posted a blog post on crepes too. http://thesilverliningssaga.blogspot.com/2010/02/crepes-roll-up-with-peanut-butter-and.html
Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be making it a lot because it’s so easy and quick, and it satisfies your craving.
I think any non-stick skillet would work, though I typically use my 12” skillet.
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I tried to make your recipe this morning but for some reason the crepes came out way to thick hmmm did I do something wrong I love crepes.
Did you use a very small pan? That is the only reason they may come out thick.
You know what yes the pan I used was like medium maybe that is why
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Yay the recipe! So, I thought I’d share something while on the crepe wave length. If I can get my stomach to shut up after looking at far too many recipes on this blog….While in Can Cun last year, the resort we stayed at had a crepe restaurant. They made the most amazing dishes with crepes. When I read the menu I thought how disgusting it sounded to have chicken in a crepe because crepes are for dessert, right? SOOOOO so so so wrong. I ordered a chicken crepe with a white sauce that was so unreal I have yet to find a place that makes such a thing. My heart stops every time I hear of a crepe place around town. You must try something like this and let me know what you come up with. Savory crepes… mmmm