Cheese Blintzes
Cheese Blintzes are made with thin and tender crepes filled with sweet and creamy farmer’s cheese. They are such a treat and can be enjoyed for breakfast or as a dessert.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 15 blintzes 1x
- Category: Sweets
- Cuisine: Russian
Ingredients
Crepe batter:
- 2 cups milk
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 Tablespoons oil (avocado, light olive oil, sunflower, grape seed, etc.)
- 1 Tablespoon sugar, optional
Cheese filling:
- 22.5 oz – 24 oz farmer’s cheese (store-bought farmer’s cheese is sold in 7.5 oz packages, so you’ll need 3 packages total, but you can also use an even 24 oz if you buy in a bigger package or make your own.)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy cream or sour cream, optional
Cherry sauce:
- 12–16 oz fresh or frozen cherries
- 1/2 cup water
- 2–3 Tablespoons of sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup dry red wine, optional
Instructions
Crepes:
- Place all the ingredients for the crepe batter in a blender and combine, or whisk all the ingredients together until smooth.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight. If you refrigerate for a long period of time, you may need to add a few Tablespoons of additional water, since the flour will thicken more the longer it stands.
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Brush with a little bit of butter, using a paper towel to distribute an even amount over the skillet.
- When the butter stops sizzling, pour in some crepe batter (a little bit less than 1/4 cup for a 10 inch skillet) and tilt the skillet, distributing the batter evenly over the surface.
- Flip the crepe over when the edges are slightly dry, about 1 min on the first side and 30 seconds on the second side.
- Repeat with all the batter, putting the crepes on a round dinner plate and covering with aluminum foil while you’re cooking the next crepe, to prevent the crepes from drying around the edges. You should have 13-15 crepes.
Cheese Blintzes:
- Combine all the filling ingredients together in a bowl. Mix until smooth.
- Spread the filling over the surface of each crepe and roll each one up tightly. You can trim the edges if you’d like.
- You can also place the filling in the center of the crepe towards the bottom, then fold the sides over, and then roll up from the bottom to create a blintz, that looks kind of like a square shaped burrito.
- Melt 1/2 a Tablespoon butter in a nonstick skillet. When the foaming subsides, add the blintzes.
- Cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2-4 min.
- Serve with the cherry sauce, freshly whipped cream, sour cream, whipped cream, jam or fresh berries.
Cherry sauce:
- Whisk all the ingredients except the cherries in a small saucepan. Add the cherries.
- Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 min, until cherries are cooked through and the sauce thickens.
Notes
Storing, Freezing, Reheating Cheese Blintzes:
Store cheese blintzes in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to one week.
To freeze, wrap each of the blintzes (uncooked) individually in plastic wrap, then place the wrapped blintzes in a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Wrapping them individually will keep them really fresh, prevent freezer burn and keep them from drying out. It is also nice to be able to take out just as many as you need without thawing the whole batch, since they won’t be stuck together.
You can thaw the blintzes either in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for a few hours and then heat in a skillet or oven. You can also cook them right out of the freezer without thawing, it will just take a lot longer and you need to cook them very slowly over low heat, covered, until they are warmed through all the way to the center.