Cheese blintzes are an Eastern European Ashkenazi favorite, and with good reason - they are delicious! They are a bit fiddly and time consuming to make, so I save them for special occasions (and Shavuot, of course).

Crepe Ingredients

  • 8 eggs
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 1 ½ cups milk
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • Cooking oil spray
  • Oil for frying

Filling Ingredients

  • 1 lb (450 grams) farmer cheese
  • 8 oz (225 grams) cream cheese
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract OR 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk

Directions

  1. Combine all the crepe ingredients. You can whisk them together in a bowl (first the wet ingredients, then add the flour gradually) or use a blender. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, spray with a thin layer of non-stick spray and pour just enough batter in to cover the pan in a very thin layer. Cook 1-2 minutes until edges begin to pull away from the pan and darken in color. Tip the crepe out onto a piece of parchment paper. Continue until all the batter has been fried into crepes, separating them all with a layer of parchment paper so they don’t stick together.
  3. For the filling, mix all the ingredients together until there are no lumps.
  4. When you’re ready to assemble the blintzes, place a generous couple of tablespoons onto each crepe, and roll up, neatly tucking the ends in as you go. Be gentle so the crepes don’t tear. NOTE: Either side of the crepe works, but if you put the filling on the side that was already on the pan, after it's rolled the lighter side will be on the outside, and will get a chance to crisp up when you fry them before serving.
  5. Immediately before serving, fry the blintzes over medium-low heat, flipping halfway, so that both sides are golden and the filling is warmed through. Serve plain or with a berry sauce.

Yields: 15 blintzes (depending on the size of your frying pan)