My Bubby's Blintzes

When food is made with love you can taste it 

My mother’s blintzes are made with such care and love that you can taste it in every delicious bite. 

Every year for the holiday of Shavuot when it’s traditional to eat dairy foods my mother makes a big batch of these special blintzes for the family to enjoy. First, the wrappers are made which are called bletlach and in this family, we have three different fillings. Potato mixed with melted onions, savory cheese which is farmers cheese mixed with more of those onions, salt, and pepper, and sweet cheese which has cinnamon and sugar. A big dollop of the filling is placed just off center in each bletl (single of bletlach) then folded and rolled to tuck in the creamy filling. My mother learned how to make blintzes from her mother, my Bubby and I’m so happy that I got to learn how to make them too. I don’t have many memories of my Bubby as she passed away when I was 4 years old, but I get to connect to her through making her recipes and hearing stories about her life. 

Serve these blintzes with plenty of sour cream and enjoy them with people you love.

My Bubby’s blintz recipe is a true Bubby recipe so it’s a little bit of this and a pinch of that so the fillings are written somewhat in that style but my mother has found that the blintz recipe from Tyler Florence is most similar to what my grandmother did so that’s what I’ll share here so you will have the exact measurements. His original recipe makes 10 blintzes but I have written it here as doubled and it usually makes more than that because it depends on how much batter you pour in the pan and how big your pan is. The filling recipes below will make about 35-40 blintzes.

2 cups all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

2 cups milk

1/2 cup cold water

4 eggs

1/3 cup / 6 Tbsp butter, melted

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt then add the milk and water stir to combine then add the eggs and melted butter. Whisk until smooth it’s ok if it’s a little lumpy. You can also place all of the ingredients into a blender and blend for 10 seconds until smooth. 

Heat a 8” nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Add a small pat of butter to the pan and swirl to melt around the pan. Using a ladle add about 1/8 cup of batter to the pan and swirl the pan to coat the bottom completely. Cook for about 30-40 seconds then using a rubber spatula gently peel the bletl from the bottom of the pan and use your hands to flip the bletl to cook the other side for just 3 seconds. Flip out onto a piece of parchment paper and then add more batter to the pan. Add another pat of butter after every few bletl. 

For melted onions 

Slice two large onions and add to a pot with a chunk of butter, a pinch of salt, and a splash of water. Cover the pot and cook the onions over a low flame stirring occasionally until soft and melted. This takes a while but your patience will be rewarded.

Potato filling 

Peel 2 medium potatoes and cut them into chunks and boil until tender

Drain, mash, and then add one egg, salt, and pepper to taste and half of the onions. Stir to combine 

Savory cheese filling 

Mix together an 8 oz package of farmer cheese or 250 grams of tuv taam with a pinch of salt and pepper and half of the melted onions.

Sweet cheese filling 

Mix together an 8 oz package of farmer cheese or 250 grams of tuv taam with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and a few spoonfuls of sugar along with a pinch of salt. Taste adding more cinnamon or sugar if necessary and then mix in one egg.

To fill and cook the blintzes

Place a large dollop of the filling about 1 heaping tablespoon in the bottom third of
one bletl. Fold the bottom over the filling then fold in the sides. Fold over and place in an aluminum pan seam side down. 

At this point, the blintzes can be kept in the fridge or freezer. When you’re ready to eat just heat up some butter in a pan and gently cook the blintzes until they are golden brown on both sides.

 

Ginger Lemon Turmeric Muffins

When I need to relax and just chill on the couch I always make myself a big mug of coziness. Hot water mixed with a few slices of fresh ginger, a wedge of lemon, a good drizzle of honey, and if I have any on hand some fresh turmeric. I just sit back and sip away and all is good while I'm enjoying this cup of so much flavor. 

Why not take the flavors of this comfy cozy drink and turn it into a muffin?

Ginger Lemon Turmeric Muffins 

2 1/2 cups flour 

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt 

1 cup milk of your choice (I used unsweetened soy milk)

1/4 cup oil 

2 eggs 

1/2 cup honey 

1 large lemon, zested and juiced - about 3 Tbsp - 1/4 cup lemon juice + 1 Tbsp lemon zest

1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger OR 2-3 cubes frozen 

1 Tbsp grated fresh turmeric or 1 tsp turmeric powder

4 cubes of candied ginger, minced (optional)

Preheat your oven to 400°F/200°C 

Coat a standard-size muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or line it with paper liners. 

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

In a liquid measuring cup, mix together the milk, oil, and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients along with the lemon juice, zest, ginger, turmeric, and candied ginger (if using). Mix until just combined. Make sure not to overmix your batter or else your muffins will be dense and chewy. 

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 15-18 minutes. 

Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tin before popping them out and cooling them on a rack. 

Yield: 12 standard-size muffins