Bite Of Minnesota: Peaches And Cream Crepes

I read somewhere that it is National Peach Month. I'm not one for insignificant holidays, but it does coincide with peach season, so I'm going with it. And since I just ordered 25 pounds of organic peaches, it's officially peach week in my house.

When I placed the order, I was at a loss of ideas for what to do with so many peaches. A few things popped into my mind: peach puree, frozen peaches for winter smoothies, and peach pie; certainly not enough to use up my peach stash so I turned to social media for a few more ideas. Peach salsa! Grilled peaches! The ideas kept coming in as I got to work making mini peach pies, peach margaritas, and pickled peaches. My kitchen quickly turned into a sticky mess as I kept popping slices into my mouth as the day went on. Just as I was about to call it a night, I decided to prep one last thing: crepe batter for Sunday breakfast.

It's been years since I last made crepes and I forgot how easy it is if you have patience and butter! My first couple of attempts turned out poorly but I eventually got the hang of it and whipped through the rest of the batter without issue. Then I rummaged through my fridge finding leftover ricotta and cream cheese to serve as a filling along with some whiskey and brown sugar for syrup. The item that pulled it all together? Peaches, of course.

Now, I went the longer, more detailed route to making this breakfast. Here's a couple tips for those of you who want to skip steps: buy pre-made crepes from the grocery store and use maple syrup instead of the brown sugar/whiskey combo with sliced fresh peaches on the top.

(credit: Crystal Grobe)

Peaches and Cream Crepes

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

For crepes:
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Additional butter for the pan

For filling:
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
2 tsp honey
1 tsp lemon zest

For topping:
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp whiskey or brandy (or orange juice for non-alcoholic version)
1 medium peach, sliced thinly

Directions

First, make the crepe batter by combining eggs, milk, water, flour, melted butter and salt. Whisk together and either use immediately or place in refrigerator overnight. Whisk again before using batter.

Whip together ricotta and cream cheese (using a fork works just fine). Add honey and lemon zest and set aside.

To make the crepes, heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat and melt a pat of butter (about 1-2 tsp) in the pan. Pour 1/4 cup of crepe batter into the pan and swirl pan to spread the batter into a thin layer. Cook 30 seconds to 1 minute and use a rubber spatula to lightly separate crepe edges from the pan. Slide spatula under crepe and flip. Cook the other side for approximately 30 seconds and transfer to a large plate. Repeat with remaining crepes, stacking each on top of the other when finished. I ended up with 8 perfect crepes and 2 questionable ones.

In a small saucepan, heat brown sugar and butter over medium low heat. Add whiskey (or orange juice) and whisk to dissolve sugars. Increase heat slightly and add peaches. Let simmer for 5 minutes before removing from heat.

To assemble crepes, spread a thin layer of ricotta mixture on half of the crepe. Fold in half over the filling, and fold in half again. Repeat with remaining crepes and filling.

To serve, place two assembled crepes on a plate and top with peach-whiskey syrup. Although this dish is sweet enough, add whipped cream and dust with powdered sugar to be extra fancy.