pretty palmiers

Cookies, to me, are one of those food stuffs that really separate the baking pros from the baking schmoes, er, beginners.  I mean, anyone can bake a batch of cookies.  The grocery store offers everything from slice-and-bake to powdered cookie mixes, and I think we all know that person who buys the bakery-made cookies, puts them on a pretty plate, and calls them their own.  But good, nay, great cookies are not nearly so easy to come by and are often quite difficult to pull together.  But I have found a cookie that is both homemade and delicious, and pretty darn impressive looking taboot.  Enter the Palmier.

I’m not sure when I had my first Palmier — could’ve been ten years ago, could’ve been five.  But when I saw this recipe for Palmiers  on Joy the Baker’s blog a few days ago, the memory of those flaky, sugary cookies came rushing back.

Some folks call these elephant ears, which I don’t think sounds nearly as nice as Palmiers.  But no matter what you call them, they’re a snap to make and are endlessly (and dangerously) delicious.

Palmiers (adapted from Joy the Baker)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 package (two sheets) of thawed (directions on the package) puff pastry

A pan lined with parchment paper, a silicone mat, or greased and floured

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Measure out one cup of granulated sugar (it doesn’t have to be exact) and sprinkle about one quarter of the sugar onto a clean work surface.  Unfold the thawed puff pastry onto the sugared surface and sprinkle the top of the pastry with another quarter cup of sugar.

The Puff Pastry unfolds out of the package to just about the length and width you’re looking for.  Roll the pastry out with your rolling pin until the puff pastry is roughly 8(to10)x12-inches in size.  Now start rolling the dough.  Roll up the left vertical side towards the center seam.  Roll the right vertical side towards the center, too.

Gently press together.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour, or until cold and firm.  Now repeat the steps above with the second Puff Pastry sheet.

After one hour, remove dough from the fridge and cut in 1/2-inch slices.  Place on a lined baking sheet.  Bake in a 400 degrees oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.  You may want to rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking.  Keep a close eye on the cookies after about 11 minutes — they can burn quickly.

If you’re using just a greased and floured baking pan instead of a parchment or silicone lined pan, remove the cookies from the pan immediately after they come out of the oven.  If you’ve lined you baking sheet, you’re fine to let the cookies cool on the sheet.