Craving Crepes

Breakfast is the first meal of the day and it always seem to revolve around bread. Who doesn't like something tasty in the morning. A bowl of cereal is quick and convenient, but our usual pick is mostly comprised of flour and sugar. Pancakes are wonderful, but they're just a yummy pillow of bread! So today, I made a fruit smoothie combo'd with some excellent Gluten Free Crepes. This was a complete experiment from the original recipe out of my Cooking Light Complete Cookbook: A Fresh New Way to Cook (Basic Crepes, page #150). I love this tabbed version of the Cooking Light cookbook series and this is an excellent quick and easy book to use.

Printable Recipe

Basic Crepes (Gluten Free/ Dairy Free)

recipe:
1 Cup Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour
1 Tablespoon Light Agave Syrup (or 1 T. Sugar)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Cups Soy Milk (soy milk, Milk or even water works fine)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Cooking Spray

instructions:

1. Combine dry ingredients (flour, salt and sugar if you used it). Stir with a whisk.
2. Combine wet ingredients (milk/water, eggs and agave syrup). Beat the egg before adding the other wet ingredients. Stir with a whisk.
3. Add wet ingredient to the dry while stirring with a whisk to avoid getting lumps. Stir until smooth (do not beat).
4. The original recipe says to cover the batter and let it chill in the fridge for 15 minutes, I did not do this and they turned out fine.
   

• Heat an 8-inch non-stick pan over medium-high heat. I use an old non-stick, nothing special and they turn out fine.
• I use a 1/2 Cup measuring cup and fill it about half full (easier than using 1/4 Cup for sloppy purposes).
• When the pan is heated enough, pour the measured batter in the center of the pan like making pancakes.
• Immediately swirl and tilt the pan around so that your batter reaches all the edges, it's okay if it doesn't turn out perfectly round, but keep in mind you are NOT making pancakes, they need to be thin.
• Keep in mind that your first crepe of any batch will probably be crap. Use this one to figure your heat adjustment, swirling motions and batter thickness. I usually heat the pan on med-high and then cook the rest on med-low heat or adjust to what works with your stove-top. I have a gas top range so mine probably heats hotter than electric.
• Keep your crepes warm in between a folded towel or do like me and use a tortilla warmer (Styrofoam, 10-inch, lidded container you can find in most Mexican food sections at your local grocery store).

serving:
Instead of sprinkling unhealthy powdered sugar over your crepes, use agave syrup and some fresh fruit. I used some frozen blueberries (which thaw almost instantly). Crepes can also be eaten with other fillings such as sauteed mushrooms and asparagus or other veggies and meat combos. Eat them for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner by altering the ingredients and/or even removing the sugar as it isn't a necessary step. I am going to try them as a sort of burrito in place of a tortilla shell.

tips:
Blend the batter in a blender to reduce lumps.
Definitely use a spatula (the floppy, scrap-the-bowl kind) to turn these suckers. This makes the biggest difference in the entire world of flipping a crepe. Trust me on this one. The floppier the better.
Lift up around the edges delicately to get the crepe released from the pan before attempting to flip a crepe.
Definitely spray the pan between each new crepe.
Add different herbs to make savory rather than sweet crepes.
FREEZE FOR CONVENIENCE - Make extra so that you have some quick grab-and-go breakfasts. Freeze by layering each crepe individually between wax paper (freeze for up to 2 months).