Syrniki - Russian Cheese Pancakes

I got this recipe from my mom who made syrniki for us since…forever. They are originally made from a Quark, but I use a dry cottage cheese. The finer the cottage cheese’s grains, the better. The name syrniki comes from the word cheese in Russian. Although “cyr” - means now a hard yellow cheese, the word syrniki, originated from the old meaning of syr and gave the name to pancakes made from a soft white cheese. The dish is very common in Europe and is the North American equivalent to pancakes. They are great for breakfast or afternoon tea.

Ingredients

500 gr low fat cottage cheese or Quark (I usually use Western Creamery Pressed Cottage Cheese 0.5%)
2 eggs
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract or powder
2 tbsp. self-rising flour (and a bit of flour for rolling)
2 tbsp. sugar
Mixture of Vegetable oil and butter for frying

Directions

In a bowl, mix and knead all the ingredients with the spoon until completely blended.

With the wet spoon scoop the cheese mixture and gently roll it in flour to make a ball.

Shake off excess and form the pancake.
Make sure that all the edges covered with flour as well and the pancakes are not cracked. To prevent the cheese sticking to your hand, flour them a bit as well. 

In pan, heat a little oil and butter and fry the cheese pancakes from both sides on a low heat until golden.

Place cheese pancakes on a plate and serve with sour cream, jam or honey.