Palmiers

Submitted by hepcat1

"I can't believe that I can make Palmiers!! I used to get one of these every Sunday morning with my coffee at our local bakery, but we've since moved and I haven't found them since. Puff pastry makes it so easy! You can make these and freeze them before baking also. Just slice them, place them on a baking sheet, and pop in a freezer bag once frozen. This comes from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa."

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 3
• Yields: 40 cookies
• Serves: 20

ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1⁄8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted

directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Combine the sugar and kosher salt.
3. Pour 1 cup of the sugar/salt mixture on a flat surface. Unfold each sheet of puff pastry onto the sugar and pour 1/2 cup of the sugar mixture on top, spreading it evenly on the puff pastry. (This is not about sprinkling, it's about an even covering of sugar.) With a rolling pin, roll the dough until it's 13x13 inches square and the sugar is pressed into the puff pastry on top and bottom. Fold the sides of the square toward the center so the go halfway to the middle. Fold them again so the two folds meet exactly at the middle of the dough. Then fold the one half over the other half as though closing a book. You will have six layers.
4. Slice the dough into 1/2 inch slices and place the slices, cut side up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Place the second sheet of pastry on the sugared board, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar mixture, and continue as above. (There will be quite a bit of sugar left over on the board.) Slice and arrange on baking sheets lined with parchment.
5. Bake the cookies for 6 minutes until caramelized and brown on the bottom, then turn with a spatula and bake another 3-5 minutes, until caramelized on the other side. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

Reviews

[jsgenz]

I made the recipe as written, but the puff pastry failed to puff. The outer edges of the palmiers were browned, but the centers were still not cooked.

 

[Cristina Barry]

If you are looking for something sweet that is VERY EASY, QUICK, elegant and versatile ..you must try this recipe. I have served these with coffee, tea and hot chocolate. I have also dipped them in chocolate and served them with vanilla ice cream. I add 1 tsp of cinnamon to the sugar mix. Also, once I fold the dough, I throw it into the freezer for 10 minutes, so when I do cut the palmiers they keep a uniform look. I STRONGLY recommend that you use SILPAT sheets over parchment paper because the melted sugar can get messy. Keep an eye on them once you put them in the oven, they can burn very easily. Next time, I plan on mixing brown sugar with the white sugar. Thank you loads for the posting.

 

[KWB5015]

I remember seeing IG doing these on her show...then forgot...then remembered. They taste awesome. The tricky parts: They did unfold a bit during cooking. A long oven pre-heat seems in order. The timing on my first batch was no where close to 6 minutes. Keep an eye on them and move them about--sometimes I just opted to smear the cookies around in the caramelizing sugar that wound up pooling between the cookies instead of just letting the sugar ON them caramelize. That is, the cookie was baked, if pale, so I achieved the golden brown color sliding the cookies across the caramelized liquid sugar on the parchment paper. Parchment paper is a must. Thanks!