What’d You Do Last Weekend?

I'm sure you still have mint in your garden, so why not try to make your own mint chocolate chip ice cream? Cacao nibs stand-in for chocolate chips in this grown-up version.

Palmiers with Orange Flower Water

Posted by jenny on 12/06/2009

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I had a last-minute request for cookies recently – and I’d already used up the extra cookie dough logs in the freezer. I was stuck, and needed an elegant sweet with ingredients I had on hand. Granted, not everyone has puff pastry on hand!

Palmiers are puff pastry cookies that are rolled in sugar and baked. They make a butterfly-shape and keep for weeks in a tightly sealed container. One slight variation I made didn’t really show up in the finished cookie, but I think I can make it work next time. Rather than use plain or vanilla sugar, I flavored sugar with orange flower water. I’ve included the steps to make that as well, but you could use any seasoning, sweet or savory, to personalize palmiers.

Palmiers
Puff pastry, rolled 1/8” thick into a rectangle (this should be cold but pliable. Do not allow it to get too warm)
Sugar

On a lightly floured surface or on plastic wrap, place the rectangle in front of you.
Sprinkle the dough generously with sugar.
Using a rolling pin, gently press the sugar into the dough.
Starting with a long edge, begin rolling the dough towards the center of the rectangle.
Repeat this with the other long edge, with both rolls meeting in the middle (they should be equal in size).
Fold them together so you have what looks like a single long piece of dough. The cross-section will look like two spools of a cassette tape.
Note: There's an excellent cross-section at the bottom of this post.
Wrap in plastic wrap and rest in the freezer for 1 – 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Remove the dough from the freezer and slice it into disks about 3/8” thick.
Place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, about 2” apart.
Sprinkle the tops with more sugar.
Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, until browned at the edges (they may be fold in the middle). The bottoms should be crispy and caramelized.