Palmiers

Sprinkle, roll, fold and bake. Three little ingredients are transformed creating a sweet, light and crisp cookie. Ridiculously easy and unbelievably wonderful.

Created using layers of puff pastry, palmiers are thought to have been created in the early 1900s.

Puff pastry is a main component in the layers of this delicate bite. Though you can make your own you can also find it in the freezer section of your food market making this cookie a quick treat.

Rolled in sugar and just a touch of kosher salt the puff pastry dough is folded once, then folded again and once again. But you can also roll the dough giving you pinwheel shaped cookies.

And since we’re celebrating friendship and love this week, we tweaked our palmiers to look a bit like hearts after baking.

No matter how you fold, roll or shape those sugar encrusted sheets of tender dough, the result is an elegant, deliciously irresistible little cookie!

Palmiers

2 cups sugar, divided

⅛ teaspoon kosher salt

1 package puff pastry, two sheets

Thaw the puff pastry overnight in the refrigerator or about 30 minutes at room temperature. Combine the sugar and the kosher salt in a small mixing bowl, whisking to blend together. Spread ½ cup of the sugar over a large surface. Place one sheet of the thawed puff pastry dough on top of the sugar.

Cover the top of the pastry dough with another ½ cup of sugar, spreading it out as evenly as possible. Gently roll the pastry dough out, pressing the sugar into the dough, smoothing out the folds and creating a sheet of dough that’s roughly about 13” x 13”.

Fold the left side of the dough halfway in towards the middle, then the right side in to meet the edge of the left side. 

Fold each side again to create a long narrow layered roll of dough.

Sprinkle an additional 2 tablespoons of dough onto the remaining sugar on the rolling surface if needed. Place the second sheet of puff pastry dough on top of the sugar and spread a ½ cup of sugar evenly over the surface. Roll and fold in the same manner as the first sheet.

Spread the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over a sheet of parchment paper or cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into ½” thick slices.

Place on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet, leaving about 2” to 3” between each one.

Bake in a 425-degree oven for 16 to 18 minutes or until the palmiers are puffed and golden in color. If you want the sugar caramelized on both sides, flip the cookies halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool slightly then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Some notes: You’ll have excess sugar left after rolling out the dough. To make cleanup easier, stretch out sheets of plastic wrap underneath your rolling surface. Then you can just gather them up along with the sugar and toss.

To aid in creating “heart shape” cookies, chill the pastry for about 30 minutes. You can also simply roll the puff pastry and shape into rounds.

Remove the pastry dough from the refrigerator and place on the sugar covered surface. Slice the cookies and place them on the lined baking sheet. Give them a pinch at the bottom and slightly separate the center of the dough creating an opening.

Makes about 3 dozen palmiers.