Palmiers(Puff Pastry Cookies)

Posted by Kejia:

Loads of sugar on a piece on flaky goodness - puff pastry cookies originate from France, and they're absolutely delicious. They usually come in the shape of elephant ears/heart shapes(just google "Palmiers"). I added a little twist to them by adding a dash of cinnamon. That is completely optional though, I did that only because I love(~~~) cinnamon sugar. With or without cinnamon, they taste super great, with a delicate crisp texture and light flaky layers of the pastry. Golden brown after the caramelization of the sugar, they look wonderful and will definitely taste great. 

They were a little difficult because I made the puff pastry from scratch(trust me, not an easy feat). I've included a great puff pastry recipe here from 'BAKE' by Alison Thompson(it's a cookbook), but if you want, you can also grab some pre-made puff pastry from the grocer. That would really make it much easier. Do give it a try! 

Recipe from Alison Thompson's cookbook "BAKE"

Puff Pastry Ingredients: 

3 cups plain flour, sifted

2 cups unsalted butter, very cold, diced

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

225ml ice-cold water

Puff Pastry Procedure:

1. Combine the sifted flour with the butter and salt in the bowl of an electic mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is in small pieces and the mixture has started to become grainy. Gradually add the water and mix until combined; there should still be pieces of butter visible. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a rectangle 8in x 16in. Fold the short ends of the dough over the middle to make three layers, then give it a quarter turn and rol out again to the same size as before. Fold into thrids again, then wrap in plastic wrap and refriegerate for 30 minutes. 

3. Roll out the pastry and fold as before, then repeat once more. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before use.

Palmier Ingredients:

1 quantity Puff Pastry

2 cups superfine sugar, for dusting and coating

Palmier Procedure:

1. Divide the pastry into two equal pieces. On a work surface that has been dusted with sugar, roll out each piece of pastry to a rectangle 8in x 12in. Trim the edges to make even rectangles.

2. Take one piece of pastry and roll each long side over about 2in the middle, then roll each long side in again. Repeat with the second piece of pastry. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours before using. (For me, this made small palmiers. If you want larger palmiers, just roll each short side instead of the long side of the dough. If this looks confusing, don't worry, you'll get the hang of it after a while!) 

3. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line two baking sheets with parchment baking paper.

4. Cut the pastry logs into 1cm slices. Dip both cut sides of each slice in the sugar. Place the palmiers cut side up on the prepared baking sheets.

5. Bake the palmiers for 12-15 minutes until golden. (This depends on size. The colour of the palmiers should tell you when they are done.)

This recipe is a fail-proof recipe. At first I thought I failed because my dough was too wet, but I kneaded in more flour after a serious anger fit and it started to work out. Alison Thompson is a baking genius and every recipe I have tried from her cookbook has yet to fail. If this is your first time making puff pastry, do give this a try because her recipes are bound to work. :-) Have fun!

Love,

Kejia