Cheese Blintzes

One of the many many items on my 'I want to try to make' list is a cheese blintz. These are crepes filled with a cottage cheese mixture that are browned in a skillet. This New Year's brunch was the perfect time to try them out.

I made a basic crepe batter and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight. When making crepes it is always best to let the batter rest for at least one hour to over night in the fridge.

Using a 7 inch small skillet preheated over medium high heat, I carefully poured a small amount of batter and swirled it around to get a very thin crepe. Since I have hard anodized, non stick surfaces on my pots, I did not use any oil or non stick spray. If you do not have non stick pans, then you need one of those when making crepes so they don't stick. After a minute or two, the crepes are ready to flip. A quick cook on the second side and the crepe is done. Continue until all the batter is gone.

For the filling, I placed about 2 cups of small curd cottage cheese in a strainer for a few hours, pressing out additional liquid on occasion. It doesn't need quite that long, but I was busy with other brunch preparations. Then I added one egg yolk, some sugar and a tablespoon of lemon. Place some filling on a crepe then fold by folding up the bottom half, the two sides, then the top.

The blintzes are finished off by browning both sides in butter in a saucepan heated to medium high. I dusted with confectioners' sugar and served with various preserves.

I tried the blintzes with orange marmalade, strawberry preserves and apple raisin preserves and I really enjoyed all three. I am generally not a cottage cheese person, but found these to be very good. My husband ate one without any topping and felt the cottage cheese might be a bit strong for some people. When he tried it with the strawberry preserves, he admitted he liked them much better.

Another recipe for the 'tried and true' folder, hopefully to be made again in the near future.