Grammy's Nalesniki (Polish Crepes)

Nalesniki (nah-lesh-NEE-kee) are thin crepe-like pancakes filled with various fruit or sweet fillings. When filled with a cottage cheese filling, they are often called blintzes.Don't be crushed if you can't get your Nalesniki to look picture perfect. This is easy to learn, takes a little practice to master...but remember, it looks worse in your belly! ;)
With a little flick of the wrist, you will have a delicious Polish Breakfast!

I grew up in a french/polish household - french on my side, polish on my step family's side. Since there are so many crepe recipes on here already, I decided to share my family's polish version! Fillings vary widely based on where in the world you live - we eat them with jam, cinnamon sugar or nutella. My daughter likes to smear chunky peanut butter on hers!

Ingredients:

    * 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
    * 1/2 cup milk
    * 1/4 cup lukewarm water
    * 2 large eggs
    * 2 tablespoons butter, melted (for the pan)
    * 1 tablespoon sugar
    * 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
    * 1/4 tsp salt


Tools:

    *6-8 inch pan
    *silicone spatula or wood crepe paddle
    *Blender
    *1/4c dry measuring cup or 1 oz ladle


Directions:

1. In a blender, combine all the ingredients (not the butter) and blend until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes for best results - you can skip this step, but your Nalesniki will have a raw flour taste to it! It will also have lumps, which will cause holes. I DON'T LIKE TO SKIP THIS STEP. You could strain out the lumps, but that is wasteful.  :)

2. Heat a six- to eight-inch non-stick pan over medium heat. For pouring batter into the pan, I use either a 1-oz ladle, or a 1/4C measuring cup. Use a nonstick pan, and very little melted butter. My secret is to warm the pan ahead of time, then lower the flame to medium and pour on the batter!

3. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan. Swirl your pan (this is the "flick of the wrist" part!) until you have a thin layer of batter on the bottom of the pan. Cook until it starts to pull away a little from the sides of the pan. You can use your spatula to gently lift an edge to check for doneness.Turn and cook the other side until done, and is a nice slightly light brown.

4. slide your finished masterpiece onto a plate! These delicious Nalesniki will keep for up to a month in the freezer or can be served immediately.

5.  To serve, slather your choice of filling (I recommend 1/8 cup of filling, but my kids MAY have a differing opinion!) from this point, you can either roll them up or fold into quarters. I like to serve with fresh orange juice and fruit salad. Heck, the fruit salad tastes great IN the Nalesniki! :D  Sometimes we will drizzle a little melted chocolate over the top and fill with fresh sliced strawberries. The possibilities are endless!