First of all, my new purple plastic wear arrived! It’s so bright and beautiful and makes my photos pop. I stumbled upon it at Design*Sponge’s mini trends, which linked me to Moss. I love it!

Now for my delicate and heavenly ricotta cheese blintzes. I stayed at the Borgata in Atlantic City once with a couple friends. Not only did I learn how to gamble, but I also discovered the lovely cheese blintz at brunch. It was light and sweet and perfect. I set my sights on learning how to make it, and here is my first try.

I found a recipe for something similar at Baking & Books, and then I altered it because I didn’t have farmer’s cheese and I wanted to add a refreshing wintery touch. I substituted the farmer’s cheese with cottage cheese and added orange zest for a citrus kick. It was my first time making crepes, and I’ll admit I need more practice. But all in all, everything turned out tasty.

I didn’t try to scale down this recipe, but I found out you can store crepes for several days in the refrigerator and freeze them for up to two months. I will try more variations in the future as scaled down recipes to share with you.

Tip: If you want to add orange, lemon, or lime flavor to a recipe that doesn’t call for it, only use the zest, not the juice. You will most likely water down the recipe if you use juice. Zest is strong in flavor, so it makes a perfect flavor additive.

Recipe: Ricotta and orange cheese blintzes

Crepes
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
Butter for coating pan

Blend all ingredients in a blender or with a whisk for 10 seconds. Place batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Heat a 10″ non-stick skillet to medium-medium high. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute and flip. Cook for 10 to 20 seconds and remove to a large cutting board. Lay flat to cool. Continue with the remaining batter. Stack and store leftovers in plastic bags in the fridge for several days or in the freezer for up to two months.

Filling
1/3 cup cottage cheese
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup cream cheese
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp orange zest (optional)
3 Tbsp melted butter

Combine all ingredients except the melted butter. Spoon 1 to 2 Tbsp onto the lower third of a crepe. Fold over bottom half, then top half, then each side to create a little envelope.

Brush a baking dish with half of the melted butter. Place each crepe in the dish, seam side down, and brush with remaining butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.