Russian Crepes "Blyny" on Milk

Blyny "Crepes" are universally famous. Often they are associated with pancakes in England and North America. Both recipes include basic ingredients such as milk, flour and oil. Unlike their cousins - pancakes, in general, crepes are much thinner and wider in diameter. Their shape and size are perfect to wrap various fillings. Such fillings can be sweet or salty. In Russia, people prefer both.

On Maslenitsa - famous Russian holiday to celebrate the end of winter, people fry Blyny almost in every house. According to the old Maslenitsa tradition, the golden disk will scare away winter and melt all the snow. People had been celebrating Maslenitsa long before the Christianity came to the Russian land. That is why many events during the Maslenitsa week seem very different: on Saturday men used to hold serious fist fights on snow; on Sunday, Forgiveness day, friends, relatives and men who fought on Saturday:) could visit each other and ask for forgiveness if they did something wrong during the year:)

I fry my Blyny not only on Maslenitsa but whenever I want to please my guests and myself:-) I don't know why but they always make me happy. The process of making them is a little bit time consuming but very fun. This time I had my friend Carmen visiting me from Wisconsin. So, while making Blyny, we had an interesting conversation:). Moreover, Carmen introduced me to a new filling - European cookie spread. OMG a hot buttery crepe with spread Tahini and European cookie with a cup of black tea - life worth experience! So, here is the recipe of Blyny on milk:

Ingredients

1 cup of milk

1 large egg

1/2 of teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1/2 cup of white flour (can be easily substituted by whole wheat flour)

1 tea spoon of vanilla

1 table spoon of olive oil (can be substituted by vegetable one)

A pinch of salt

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine milk, egg, brown sugar, vanilla, flour and oil. Whisk well until all the ingredients are well incorporated. The batter should be smooth.

2. Heat a slightly oiled frying pan on medium heat. With a ladle, poor the butter on a frying pan and tilt it so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

3. Cook the blyn on one side for 2 minutes or until golden brown. With a spatula, flip it on the other side for another 2 minutes. When the blyn is done, lay it one a plate and butter it.

4. Lay each blyn on top of each other.

* Kefir or water can be used instead of milk. The kefir blyn is lacy and a little bit sour.

* If your first blyn doesn't look well, this is normal practice. There is an old Russian quote "The first blyn is usually a lump":) Don't worry and continue the practice!

* If you don't want to use too much oil on a pan, pour some oil on a small plate, cut an onion in half and use one half to grease the surface lightly. (Another grandma technique;-)

* The fillings can be various: salted salmon, caviar, jam, sugar, fruits, cream and etc. All comes from your imagination!

Bon Appetit!