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For years I have loved the “Arepas” that my mom has made, the same recipe that was used by her grandma when she was a child, but the Costarican “Arepa” appears to be forgotten even by it’s own people and a search on the Internet for this recipe returns pages after pages of “Arepas” from southern American countries. I’ll have to talk a little about it so that the Costarican “Arepa” doesn’t disappear.

For those of you who don’t know what an “Arepa” is let me explain to you in words what this is. An arepa is basically a sweet pancake, well at least that’s how I picture it in my head. The ingredients aren’t that different from each other but instead of putting maple syrup on them and eating them with a fork you grab them with your hands and eat them while drinking a nice hot cup of coffee.

The recipe was given to me by my mother:

Arepas Ticas

• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup of regular milk
• 1/2 cup of water
• 3 ounces of melted butter, cooled
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 cups of flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• A pinch of salt

Those are the ingredients that you will need. This recipe makes 20 regular sized arepas. Now on to the process of actually making them.

Instructions

In a bowl place the eggs and the sugar, mix well until the sugar is dissolved. Add the melted butter at a room temperature. Add the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift the baking powder, salt and flour and then make sure that there are no lumps. Whilst adding the dry ingredients to the mix of eggs, butter, sugar and vanilla, add the milk and water to the mix, alternating the dry ingredients with the wet ones, this will prevent the mix from hardening or getting too soggy while the ingredients are being added. The mix should be whisked until it turns into a soft batter.

In order to cook them, on a frying pan or a skillet at Mid-High or at 400°F, place a standard sized portion and cook on one side until golden brown and then turn and repeat. Once they are cooked place them on a plate.

Serve along with a hot cup of coffee and enjoy the Costarican arepa.

-LM