Petite Palmiers

Palmiers, also known as Elephant Ears, can be sweet or savory. Although they may look fancy and quite elegant (especially as an appetizer), they are very easy to make. That is, with a little help from store bought frozen puff pastry. This recipe for sweet petite palmiers is made from granulated sugar, cinnamon, and a tad of kosher salt. I've substituted vanilla sugar when not using cinnamon since the cinnamon has a tendency to mask the the vanilla. The recipe is for 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry. Just double everything if using both sheets.

You can also make a more decadent and buttery version by melting 1/2 stick of unsalted butter and brushing on the pastry sheet prior to sprinkling of sugar. Then brushing on the cut sides of the palmiers before baking.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

A pinch of kosher salt

1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted (recommended: Pepperidge Farm)

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

I measure out the sugar and cinnamon into a small bowl. I add the pinch of kosher salt and mix well. Adjust cinnamon to taste.

Pour 1/2 of the sugar mixture on a flat surface, like a wooden board or marble, that is larger than the pastry sheet. Unfold the sheet of puff pastry onto the sugar. Here's where you want to brush on the melted butter with a pastry brush. Pour remaining 1/2 of the sugar mixture on top, spreading it evenly on the puff pastry. Try to get even covering of sugar. With a rolling pin, gently roll the pastry sheet to press the sugar into the puff pastry.

Fold the left and right sides toward the center.

Fold them again so the edges of the two folds meet exactly at the middle of the dough. The picture below shows the right edge folded in.

Then fold 1 half over the other half as though closing a book. This is what the ends will look like. (Note: there are several ways to fold palmiers, this just happens to be the one I used for this version.)


Slice the dough into 1/4" to 3/8" slices and place the slices, cut side up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat/Exopat. Brush on melted butter (optional). If you want extra caramelizing on the outside, you can dip the cut sides into more sugar before laying out on the baking sheets.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes until caramelized and golden on the bottom. Turn with a spatula and bake another 3 to 5 minutes, until the other side is also caramelized. Be careful at this stage because once the sugar starts caramelizing, it can go from yummy to burnt rather quickly. I like mine to be on the lighter side since I find the puff pastry to be more delicate. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

Yield: ~20 cookies

These can be kept in an airtight container for up to 4 days but they are the best the first day. What to do with the second sheet? How about some savory palmiers? Stayed tuned!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. Now go and eat well.