Russian pancakes (blinchiky)

I had tried and tried to make "blinchiky" the way friends give me the recipe (just throwing the ingredients into a bowl and not really measuring any of them) but I could not get them to turn out. I ended up spending way too much time making a mess of batter in a skillet. Frustrating! I just knew it didn't take that long to make these thin little 'pancakes' and set out to find a recipe. I ended up trying this crepe recipe which turned out wonderfully! They were thin, easy to cook and flip in the skillet and tasted great. So, I use this recipe below to make 'blinchiky'. This recipe is way more fool-proof than guessing at the ingredients each time. 

1 1/2 cups milk

 2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 large egg yolks 

2 tsp. sugar 

1 TBSP salt 

5 TBSP butter, melted plus more for pan

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 

1. Whisk together milk, vanilla, yolks, sugar, salt, and butter until well combined. Slowly whisk mixture into flour until smooth. Transfer to an airtight container; refrigerate at least two hours or overnight. 

2. Once the batter has set and you are ready to fry them, lightly coat a 6 -1/2 to 7-inch crepe pan or non-stick skillet with butter. Place over medium heat until just starting to smoke. Remove from heat; pour 2 to 3 tbsps of batter quickly into center of pan. quickly tilt pan and swirl in all directions so batter covers bottom in a thin layer. Return pan to heat; cook until center is dry, about 1 minute. Jerk pan sharply back and forth to loosen blinchik. 

3. Lift edge of blinchik; when underside is golden brown, flip with your fingers or two spatulas. Cook until top is brown in spots, about 30 seconds more. Slide onto plate. 

4. Coat pan with butter again and repeat with remaining batter. layering blinchiky on a plate. To keep warm, cover with an inverted oven-proof dish and place in a 200 degree C oven.

Russian people love to eat blinhiky with different fillings, including everything from 'varenya' (fruit jams) to chicken and mushrooms. So, choose your filling or just scarf them down by the handfuls like my teenage boys do! :) However you like to eat them, enjoy! I would love to hear what are some of your favorite filings!