Pumpkin Ricotta Crepes

Sometimes, I have flashes of inspiration. Sometimes, I also have a container of canned pumpkin and a container of ricotta that simultaneously need using up before they expire in my fridge. What to do? Pumpkin-ricotta...something. Pasta? Already done that. Erm. Dessert? Yes. Yes indeedy.

My French-Canadian heritage came to the rescue with the idea for crepes with a sweet pumpkin-ricotta filling. Now we're talking.

There does not seem to be a recipe out there for pumpkin-ricotta crepes, so I made my own. Rest assured, they are scrumptious. I'm a veteran crepe-maker by now. I can whittle down the recipe to a single serving, too, so I don't spend ages making a full batch and getting hungrier as I watch the stovetop. But I'll scale up the measurements a little for those of you who plan on sharing.

Pumpkin-Ricotta Crepes

serves 4-6, depending on how many crepes you can eat

Ingredients for the Crepes:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 shakes cinnamon

4 shakes cinnamon sugar

1.5 tablespoons butter, melted

1 egg

1/2 cup milk (or more as needed)

Ingredients for the filling:

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup ricotta (I used part-skim)

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

4 shakes cinnamon

Pumpkin butter (optional)

Directions:

To make the crepes, mix the flour, salt, and cinnamon, then add the egg, melted butter, and milk, and stir to combine. Add additional milk if necessary until batter reaches desired consistency. Batter should be thin and even with no lumps.

Heat a nonstick pan on low heat with a little butter, oil, or cooking spray applied in a thin even coat over the surface of the pan. For each crepe, pour a little batter into pan and tilt to coat the bottom of the pan. Flip to cook both sides-- crepe may just start to curl up on the edges when ready to be flipped. As each crepe is ready, remove to a large plate.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Mix the pumpkin, ricotta, sugar, and cinnamon together until well-combined. Taste filling, if desired, to adjust sugar or cinnamon as necessary.

When crepes are done, first spread one side of each crepe with pumpkin butter, if desired. Then, place a generous dollop of filling along the center of the crepe. Roll crepe gently, enjoy, and have a fork at the ready to catch up any filling that oozes out onto your plate as you eat.