What are crumpets? Funny you should ask. I have been checking into them and here is what I found out.

Crumpets have been around for quite a while. At least several centuries, though they have evolved over time to become the crumpet of today's jolly old England. The English know their crumpets, we here in the states are not so familiar with them. We do have what is called an English muffin, though. It is very similar to crumpets. Both are cooked the same way, and from the same kind of batter. The main difference is in the amount of liquid in the batter. For our 'English muffins' there is less liquid which makes a firmer more solid and thicker item. The crumpet has more liquid so it is thinner, as a batter and as a finished product.

Both crumpets and English muffins are made using a metal ring on a hot griddle. The ring holds the batter from spreading too much while cooking the first side and creates a more uniform product. If you have English muffin rings or egg rings by all means use them. The crumpets will turn out much better than the ones in my pictures. I thought I still had my egg rings but they were simply not to be found. So I made do without and they are not as pretty or as evenly cooked. But tasty none the less.

They take a while to cook so the temperature of the griddle is important. If too hot, the outside is a beautiful brown but the inside is still just wet flour. Too cool and they never brown. I had my stove burner set to medium low and did just fine. You may, as I did, have a few of the first ones turn out pretty bad, but once you get the idea it is quite simple.

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and using an electric mixer blend for 2 to 3 minutes till you have a smooth thick batter. It should be like a very thick pancake batter. Cover with plastic wrap and allow batter to rise for 1 hour. Start heating a griddle, I like my nonstick but if you want to use a metal surfaced griddle, butter or oil it well. Give the batter a good stir and ladle it into the buttered rings on a hot griddle. A little less than a quarter cup of batter should do. When the batter is showing lots of popped bubbles which have left holes, remove the rings and flip to cook the other side. Brown on the other side and flip a couple more times to give them time on the heat to cook thoroughly. Then simply spread the 'holey' side with lots of butter and enjoy. If you like jam just spread that on top as the butter will melt down into the holes. These are great cooled then refrigerated or frozen to be heated in a toaster later.