Blintzes Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S CHEESE BLINTZES

Steps:

• Place 3 eggs, flour, milk, water, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in a blender. Blend until completely smooth, 1 or 2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. Let batter sit at room temperature 30 minutes.
• Whisk together ricotta cheese, cream cheese, lemon zest, egg, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix together thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate.
• Heat a 10-inch, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray or brush lightly with vegetable oil. Pour in about 1/4 cup batter. Immediately swirl batter around to coat bottom of pan. Cook until surface looks dry, about 1 minute. Flip crepe over to briefly cook other side, about 30 seconds. Remove to a plate. Repeat with the rest of batter. Stack crepes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly butter a baking dish.
• Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of filling onto the crepe, about an inch from edge nearest you. Fold edge over filling and flatten slightly. Fold in both sides, then roll up crepe into a small filled rectangle, ending with the seam on the bottom, creating a blintz.
• Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Cook the blintzes until golden brown on both sides, turning gently, about 2 minutes. Transfer to buttered baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven to firm up the filling, about 12 minutes. Cool blintzes 10 minutes before serving. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar.

CHEESE BLINTZES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a medium bowl, beat together 4 eggs, water, milk, salt, and flour until well-mixed. Don't over-beat. It's okay if small particles of flour remain as they will be absorbed during the resting period.
• Let the batter rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
• Heat a small skillet (about 7 inches in diameter) and add a pat of butter.
• Whisk the batter until smooth.
• Pour about 1/4 cup batter into the pan and swirl it around, pouring off excess. Make sure not to let it brown.
• Flip and cook the other side for a few seconds.
• Then, turn the blintz out onto a towel.
• Repeat with remaining batter and pats of butter, staggering the crepes one on top of each other.
• In a large bowl, mix together cheese, melted butter, 1 egg yolk, vanilla, and sugar until well-incorporated.
• To assemble, place one blintz on a work surface and place 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling in a line close to the edge nearest to you.
• Fold envelope-style.
• Roll up, and continue with remaining blintzes and filling.
• Fry the filled blintzes in butter until golden brown.
• Serve with optional sour cream and/or fresh or canned fruit toppings. Enjoy!

BLINTZES

Steps:

• With a whisk, beat eggs and milk together and add the salt. Gradually, a tablespoonful at a time, whisk in flour and beat until smooth. Heat a 6inch skillet and butter it lightly. Pour in enough batter to make a thin pancake. (If batter is too thick, add water to thin) Pour out excess back into the batter and don't worry if a "tab" forms on the side of the pan.
• Cook the blintz on one side only until the top blisters and it looks dry around the edges. Turn the blintz upside down onto a clean towel. Rebutter the skillet if need be, every 2 or 3 blintzes, and proceed until all the batter has been used up.
• Make assorted fillings, roll up and fry, or bake or freeze for another day.

BLUEBERRY BLINTZES

Steps:

• Combine the milk, water, eggs, flour, salt and sugar in a blender. Blend on medium speed for 15 seconds, until the batter is smooth and lump-free. Scrape down the sides of the blender and pour in 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Blend it again for a second just to incorporate. Refrigerate the batter for 1 hour to let it rest. If the crepes are made immediately, they have a tendency to be rubbery; when you let the batter rest, the crepes have a better texture and a softer bite.
• Put an 8-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat and brush with a little melted butter for added assurance. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and swirl it around so it covers the bottom evenly; pour back any excess. Cook for 30 to 45 seconds, until the crepe batter sets. Lightly bang the edge of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the crepe; then flip it and cook another 30 seconds. The art of flipping a crepe in the air takes practice, so make sure no one is looking when you get the first one going. If this intimidates you, use a heatproof rubber spatula to loosen and flip the crepe. The crepes should be pliable, not crisp, and lightly brown. Slide them onto a platter and continue making the crepes until all the batter is used. Cover the stack of crepes with a towel to keep them from drying out. This makes 10 crepes.
• Assembly: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Forming the blintzes is kind of like making burritos. Spoon 1/4 cup of the Cheese Filling along the lower third of the crepe. Fold the bottom edge away from you to just cover the filling; then fold the 2 sides in to the center. Roll the crepe away from you a couple of times to make a package, ending with the seam side down. Put an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Brush with melted butter. Pan-fry the blintzes for 2 minutes per side until crisp and golden.
• Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes so the egg in the filling cooks slightly and the cheese sets. Using a spatula, transfer the blintzes to serving plates. Spoon the Blueberry Sauce on top, dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve right away.
• Serve with chopped banana and remaining Blueberry Sauce. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
• In a food processor, combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, and egg and blend until smooth. Chill the filling to firm it up a bit so it doesn't squirt out of the blintzes.
• Combine the butter, blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a small pot over medium-high heat. Bring up to a low boil and stir gently until the berries break down and release their natural juices. The consistency should remain a bit chunky. It will thicken up when it cools down slightly.

BLUEBERRY BLINTZES

Steps:

• Make the crepe batter: Whisk together milk, 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and the eggs in a medium bowl. Whisk in flour and salt; set aside.
• Make the sauce: Stir blueberries, sugar, butter, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring mixture to a low boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring often, until berries begin to break down and release their juices, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
• Make the filling: Puree cottage cheese, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla seeds in a food processor. Transfer to a medium bowl; stir in blueberries. Set aside.
• Make the crepes: Stir together remaining 3 tablespoons melted butter and the oil in a small bowl; reserve 1/4 cup for cooking blintzes. Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly brush pan using remaining butter-oil mixture. Pour a scant 1/4 cup batter into pan; swirl to form an even layer. Cook until bottom is lightly browned, about 1 1/2 minutes. Using a heatproof spatula, flip crepe; cook 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining butter-oil mixture and batter.
• Transfer a crepe to a clean work surface. Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons filling onto crepe 1 inch from bottom and sides. Fold bottom over filling. Fold in sides, and roll up. Set aside, seam down. Repeat with remaining crepes and filling.
• Heat the reserved 1/4 cup butter-oil mixture in clean pan over medium heat. Working in batches of three, fry blintzes, turning once, until golden and crisp, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes per side. Place two blintzes on each plate. Spoon warm sauce over top, and dust with confectioners' sugar.

FRUIT-TOPPED BLINTZES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add flour, cornstarch and salt; stir until smooth. Stir in milk. , Heat a lightly greased 8-in. nonstick skillet; pour 1/3 cup batter into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Keep in a warm oven, covered with foil. Repeat with remaining batter. , For filling, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Place about 2 tablespoons in the center of each blintz; overlap sides and ends on top of filling. Place folded side down. Serve with pureed berries; garnish with whipped cream and fresh berries if desired.

MEAT-FILLED BLINTZES

Steps:

• Blintz: Beat eggs and milk together.
• Add flour, sugar, salt.
• Add water and melted butter or oil.
• Heat skillet or crepe pan medium/high heat. If needed, grease pan for each blintz.
• Pour about 1/3 cup batter and tilt pan to cover bottom.
• Blintz is done when bottom starts browning and top no longer looks wet. No need to flip.
• Filling: Fry onion.
• Add meat, cook well. If you like, add two tablespoons flour for consistency.
• Add salt, pepper, or other seasonings.
• Use 2-3 tablespoons filling for each blintz. Fold in 2 sides and roll up.
• (I usually skip this next step) Bake in 400 oven 8-10 minutes or til brown.
• Serve with sour cream!