Homemade Crepe, “Goldbread” and Apple Griddle Cakes can be found in Mom’s Recipe Box. (Shown are ingredients for crepe.)

“Crepe, Goldbread and Apple Griddle Cakes”

No Bennett Family recipe series would be complete without my mother’s “Crepe” and “Goldbread” – a type of French Toast – or my father’s  “Griddle Cakes”.

Although one would assume crepe would be a breakfast item, for us it was more often a Sunday night “supper”. On the heels of holiday dinners, Mom’s Homemade Crepe was a near certainty the Sunday evening afterwards. Cooked up in her heavy, black, iron skillet, Mom made the crepes one by one as each of us sat at the dining room table with our mouths watering waiting to enjoy this treat. Mom always topped her crepes with molasses, a taste I grew up to enjoy, but as a child I liked sugar on mine.

Preparing “Goldbread” or French Toast. Mom always used white bread for Goldbread; I opted to make French Toast  using split top wheat, omitting sugar from the batter and instead topping it with maple syrup. –  JB

When Dad made “griddle cakes“, as he called pancakes, it was typically on a weekend morning and most often Sunday mornings. My recollection is of him making buttermilk griddle cakes but I could not find his buttermilk recipe among my mother’s collection. What I did come across was a recipe for “Apple Griddle Cakes”.

Now that we have maple producers in the family, it is nice to be able to crown such dishes with Comte’s New Hampshire Pure Maple Syrup. – Jackie

Homemade Crepe

INGREDIENTS & PREPARATION

1 cup all-purpose flour; one egg and water, Crisco shortening to grease skillet. Combine flour, egg and water in large, low rimmed bowl – this is a simple but tricky recipe when it comes to adding water – add it a little at a time, using enough to make the batter creamy but not too thin. Pour enough batter to cover the full area, into a hot skillet with already melted Crisco shortening. This will make probably two large crepes, so when serving a group prepare to mix multiple, consecutive batters.

Crepes cook up quickly under medium to high heat and need to be watched steadily. When solid and ever so slightly browned on one side, flip it and cook the other side the same way – maybe a 5 minute process.

Serve piping hot and top with molasses ( preferred, Grandma’s Original Molasses), maple syrup or sugar.

“Goldbread” or French Toast

INGREDIENTS & PREPARATION

Goldbread – loaf of bread (my mother used white bread of medium thickness); 1 egg ; 2 large scoops white sugar; about one third cup milk. Combine the ingredients mixing well in a low rimmed large bowl. Dip a slice of bread in the batter – soak – turn – and soak again. Place battered bread into a hot skillet greased with melted Crisco shortening – grill until golden.

As with the crepe, Goldbread cooks up quickly and should be watched steadily. Grill on each side about 1 and a half to 2 minutes. Serve hot with a glass of milk to drink.

French Toast – Loaf of desired bread; 3 eggs; 1 cup milk; one half tsp. vainlla extract; one fourth tsp. cinnamon. Combine in a low rimmed large bowl, then dip and soak bread in batter. Grill on both sides in a hot skillet greased with melted Crisco or butter.

Serve hot sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar and topped with maple syrup.

Apple Griddle Cakes

INGREDIENTS & PREPARATION

Sliced apples; Sift together 1 and one fourth cup sifted flour, 2 and a half tsp. baking powder, 3 tbs. sugar and three fourth tsp salt. Combine 1 egg beaten, three fourths cup milk, 3 tbs. melted shortening.

Add liquids to dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Cover each apple slice with batter. Pick up with large spoon and drop onto hot, greased griddle. Spread each cake lightly with back of spoon.

Cook on one side until full of bubbles, and cooked on the edges. Turn and cook on the other side.

Stack on warm plate, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar. (Large, thin griddle cakes may be made and spread with applesauce or jelly and rolled like a jelly roll).

Delicious served with a glass of milk. Recipe makes about eleven, 4 inch cakes.

Look for Mom’s Recipe Box weekly on Fridays as family members add to and celebrate my mother’s collection of recipes, the Cecelia G. Bennett Collection. – JB