My mom is French Canadian and one of her special dishes that she would make for me as a kid was her breakfast crepes. So when I went to visit her recently in Florida one of the first things I had her make for me (well, I guess my kids too….) were her crepes. These crepes are a little different from your typical crepes and not exactly like pancakes either. They are thicker than regular crepes, thinner than pancakes, and have a crispy “lacey” edge unlike both crepes and pancakes. A yummy treat for any breakfast!
Unfortunately, my mom didn’t really have a recipe. It’s one of those things that she watched her mom and grandma make, and I’ve watched her make. No one ever writes it down! So I quickly tried to measure things as she was going along. Yes I know I was in the way, sorry Mom. It’s more about the consistency of the batter than the actual amount of ingredients. Add the milk slowly to the batter until a very thin batter forms. It should be much thinner than a regular pancake batter. When I looked at other recipes for French Canadian Crepes on the internet of course hundreds of variations came up. This would just be my family’s version.
My family has always made these crepes with a cast iron pan and Crisco shortening. My mom swears by Crisco shortening and I have to agree although you are welcome to substitute anything you’d like such as your favorite oil or butter. The crepes just don’t get their fancy “lacey” and crispy edges without the shortening but probably just as delicious! I’ve posted several other breakfast (or even brunch or “brinner”) recipes recently. So if you’re looking for others, try my Mexican Sausage & Cornbread Strata, Mini Caramel Streusel Cakes, or my decadent Overnight Ice Cream French Toast.
Although “experts” would tell you to mix the dry ingredients in separate bowls, we just mix everything quick all together.
Add the milk slowly while whisking until the batter is quite thin (ignore my daughter’s head in the picture…).
As I mentioned, my mom swears by Crisco shortening and her cast iron pan but substitute as you’d like.
Pour the batter into pan and swirl the pan around so that the batter spreads.
Cook about 1-2 minutes per side or until the edges start to get crispy. See those “lacey” crispy edges? That’s the best part!
My kids trying to get their hands on the crepes (ummm, I mean helping Grandma).
We like to have the crepes with maple syrup, but fruit sauces, powdered sugar, honey, etc. would all be good.
I’m just a poor blogger and all I ask for is a little love to keep me going. 
So please don’t forget to ENTER my current giveaways for some great prizes! If you like this recipe, please follow me on FACEBOOK or TWITTER. You can also sign-up to receive my recipes and posts by EMAIL or RSS. Thanks for visiting Snappy Gourmet!
| French Canadian Breakfast Crepes |
|
Print
|
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- Shortening for best results (or use butter or oil if necessary)
- Maple syrup for serving
- In a large mixing bowl combine flour and salt. Whisk in eggs and milk just until thin batter forms.
- Place about 2 tablespoons of shortening in large skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium heat. When shortening is hot, pour some batter into middle of pan then swirl pan around so that a large crepe forms.
- Cook crepes about 1-2 minutes per side or when crepe starts to get crispy around edges and bubbles. Continue until all batter has been used. Serve with maple syrup.
SNAPPY SUBSTITUTIONS: We typically serve this with warm maple syrup but you could serve with a fruit sauce, powdered sugar, honey, etc.
(For more recipes visit Snappy Gourmet at http://www.snappygourmet.com to sign up for an email/RSS subscription or visit Snappy Gourmet on Facebook or Twitter)
We love crepes filled with strawberries and whipped cream and dusted with powder sugar. Oh my gosh so good!
sounds yummy!!!
Lisa-they sound DELICIOUS!!!! Your mom is adorable–I love the shot of her and the kids
John and I will be making this THIS weekend. They look awesome. Hope you guys had a great time in florida!
Thanks Danielle! Have a great weekend!
My Mom was born and raised in Quebec. These are the same crepes we were served growing up.
I thought she used to use water in the batter instead of milk…
Betty, I’m sure there are a million version of the crepes so it’s quite possible she used water instead of milk. We always used milk growing up. Hope you enjoy!
My Grandmother (also from Quebec) use to make these for us all the time… I can’t wait to make them for my family. ( Nobody wrote the recipe in my family either!) I also think Mamie may have used water instead of milk… she said something about they were cheaper to make that way when she was growing up. I’ll, try it both ways…
Thanks so much for sharing!
Sharon
Lisa,
Tell your mom I just printed out our grandmother’s crepes recipe. Many thanks!
Dave
OMG such great memories this post brings back. My grandmother was from Paspébiac and she used to make these pancakes for us when we were growing up in Maine. I’ve never made them myself and my grandmother is long passed away as has my mother.
Thank you so much from bringing a smile to my face today.
Thanks so much Maureen! You’ll have to try making them now.
Unfortunately, my crepes never taste as good as my mom’s. 
I randomly happened on this recipe, and I’m so glad I did! I’m French Canadian, but my family moved to California when I was 7. I had completely forgotten about these crepes, and this post brought back some amazing memories. I used to put a line of brown sugar down the middle and wrap the pancake around it, like a taquito. I’m so, so happy I came across this recipe – I didn’t remember what I was missing, but I do now, so thank you! Man, this makes me nostalgic…
Thanks Marie! So sweet of you! We usually use maple syrup but will have to try the brown sugar! Sound delicious!