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Blintzes are delicate Russian crêpes filled with sweet farmers cheese and cream, a venerable Eastern European dessert that combines simple pantry ingredients into an elegant treat.
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Blend all of the ingredients together in a blender (or food processor) until smooth, about 4 seconds. Transfer the batter to a covered container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
While the batter is resting, mix all of the filling ingredients together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Stir the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the reserved cherry juice and wine. Add the cinnamon stick and cook over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture simmers and thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick. Stir in the cherries and a drop of almond extract and return to a brief simmer; cover to keep warm and set aside.
Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom and sides of a 6- to 8-inch nonstick skillet (or crêpe pan) very lightly with melted butter. Gently stir the batter to recombine. When the butter stops sizzling, remove the pan from the heat, tilt the pan slightly and pour 2 1/2 tablespoons of the batter (you can fill a 1/4 cup measuring cup a little past the halfway mark) into the pan. As you pour the batter, rotate the pan to swirl the batter evenly over the face of the pan before returning it to the heat.
Cook the crêpe until the first side is spotty golden brown, 30 to 60 seconds. Use a thin spatula to flip the crêpe and continue to cook until the second side is just set, but not brown, about 15 seconds longer. Transfer the crêpe to a parchment paper–lined plate and let cool (you can stack the crêpes on top of each other). Repeat with the remaining batter, brushing the pan with butter as needed.
Working with 1 crêpe at a time, spoon 1 generous tablespoon of the cheese filling over the browned side and fold following the illustrations below. Repeat with the remaining crêpes and filling.
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add half of the blintzes and cook until the first side is golden brown, about 1 minute. Gently flip the blintzes over and continue to cook until the second side is golden brown, about 1 minute longer. Transfer the browned blintzes to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and unbrowned blintzes.
Reheat the cherry sauce over medium heat if necessary. Dust the warm blintzes with confectioners’ sugar, spoon some of the cherry sauce over the top, and serve, passing the remaining sauce separately.
Store cooled filled blintzes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; reheat in a 300°F oven until warmed through, or pan-fry briefly in butter.
Yes. Cook the crêpes up to 2 days ahead and stack with parchment between layers in an airtight container. Reheat gently in a low oven or pan before serving with filling.
Blintzes are thicker, more custardy Russian crêpes cooked on one side only, while French crêpes are thinner and cooked on both sides. Blintzes are traditionally filled and folded or rolled.
Yes, but drain ricotta well first to remove excess whey. Pot cheese or quark are closer matches to the original texture and tang.
Cook until the bottom is light golden and the top is set but still slightly moist. The edges should pull away easily from the pan.
No—cook them on one side only until golden and set. This is traditional and keeps them tender.
