Nalesniki with Cheese and Pineapple (налесники)

1. Put ½ cup lukewarm water, 1 cup milk, 4 large eggs, 4 Tbsp melted unsalted butter, 1 cup all-purpose flour , 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 pinch of salt in a blender and blend until well combined.
2. Melt a dot of butter in 2 non-stick skillets over medium heat. (2 skillets make the process go faster).
3. Pour about 2 to 3 Tbsp of batter into the skillet. I use a 1-ounce measuring cup.
4. As you are pouring into the skillet, swirl the batter to evenly coat the bottom. If you get any small gaps, you can fill them with a few drops of batter.
5. Once the bottom is lightly golden, flip the crepe using a sharp edged spatula to easily get under the crepe.
6. Let the other side get lightly golden and plop the crepe out onto a cutting board.
7. Repeat with all of the batter, using a dot of butter each time if needed. Don’t stack hot crepes on top of each other. Once they are just luke-warm or room temp, they can be stacked.

How to make Cheese & pineapple filling and complete Blinchiki:

1. In a colander, rinse the cottage cheese with cold water and DRAIN WELL. I just let it sit in the colander for 15 minutes and shake it out.
2. Mash the cream cheese, cottage cheese and sugar with a potato masher until well combined and creamy. Cottage cheese will still be a little lumpy.
3. Stir in the well-drained bits of pinneaple.
4. Using a spatula, spread 2 generous tablespoons of cheese filling on each crepe.
5. Roll the crepe (nalesniki) into a log and cut in half.
6. Refrigerate crepes that aren’t being served. It keeps in the fridge for almost one week.

To Serve:

1. Melt about 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet and sauté the rolled cheese crepes on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. They don’t take long to sauté. Be careful not to burn them.

Serve with sour cream or jam on the side.