Egg-free, Milk-free, Nut-free Crepes

By Kelley Lindberg

I got brave this morning and decided to try making egg-free, milk-free, and nut-free crepes for breakfast. So I found several egg-free recipes online that were all identical (that’s always a good sign that the recipe will work), made my substitutions to eliminate dairy products, threw out the first couple of crepes which were too oily and became sacrificial train-wrecks, and finally—Voila! I hit on the right formula.

I used all-purpose flour, so if gluten is your enemy, you can try using your favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour instead. I also used a small non-stick skillet, so I did NOT need to add oil to the skillet (when I did, trust me, it was ugly). So if you use a non-stick skillet, do not add oil to the skillet. If your skillet is NOT non-stick, you’ll have to use a little oil.

Also, the original recipe I used said to refrigerate the batter for 2 hours. Yeah, right, like I ever plan ahead enough to do that. So I didn’t. They worked just fine.

Here is my recipe. Bon appétit!

Allergy-Friendly Crepes

Crepes:

1/2 c. rice or soy milk

2/3 c. water

1/4 c. safe margarine, melted

2 T. safe vanilla extract

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. white sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 T. vegetable oil

Strawberry filling:

1 – 2 c. sliced strawberries

1 – 2 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. white sugar

Garnish:

Additional white sugar or powdered sugar to taste

Safe chocolate or other syrup (optional)

1. Heat oven to 150 degrees, then turn off. You will store the crepes in the oven on a heat-proof plate until you’ve made enough to serve everyone.

2. In a small bowl, toss sliced strawberries with lemon juice and 1 tsp. white sugar. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together rice/soy milk, water, melted margarine, and vanilla.

4. In a small bowl, mix flour, sugar, and salt.

5. Whisk flour mixture into liquid mixture until smooth. (You don’t need to use a mixer. A hand whisk is easy. It only takes a minute.)

6. Warm a small skillet over medium heat. If skillet is NOT non-stick, coat bottom of skillet with a small amount of oil.

7. Pour about 3 T of crepe batter into the skillet, and swirl it around until it spreads out thinly. You’ll have to experiment with the amount, depending on the size of skillet you use.

8. Cook until the edges are crispy and golden (about 1 minute and 15 seconds). Slide spatula around the edge to gently loosen. Then lift the edge slightly to look at it – the bottom should be turning golden. Then flip the crepe to cook the other side until lightly browned (about 1 minute more). If you try to flip them too soon, you’ll have a rubbery mess. Wait until the bottom is definitely golden/toasted-looking.

9. Slide onto the heat-proof plate and keep in warm oven while you make more.

10. Repeat with remaining batter, adding each cooked crepe to the warm plate in the oven.

11. When ready to serve, place crepe on an individual plate, spoon a few slices of strawberry onto the crepe, roll up, then sprinkle with powdered or white sugar. You can also drizzle chocolate syrup over the rolled crepe (optional).

This recipe made 10 6-inch crepes, but I had to throw away 2, so I only got 8 out of this recipe. Alter quantities to suit your family! (The original recipe I started with said it made 16 6-inch crepes. It lied.)