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–+ servings
A palmier propped on top of another.
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Palmiers

Light and crispy, these palmiers come together in no time with only two simple ingredients. Make them for your next afternoon tea or as a simple dessert.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 22 cookies
Calories 79kcal
Author John Kanell

Equipment

  • Baking Sheet

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Sprinkle ¼ cup sugar on your counter in about a 9-inch square. Lay the puff pastry sheet on top. Sprinkle pastry with remaining ¼ cup sugar.
  • Roll pastry into a 12-inch square. Tightly roll up one edge to the center of the pastry. Tightly roll the opposite edge until they meet in the center.
  • Freeze for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 425F while dough freezes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
  • Slice frozen log crosswise into ¼-inch thick pieces. Place on the baking sheet 2 inches apart.
  • Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until sugar starts to caramelize and bubble on the bottom. Flip cookies over and bake for another 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Video

Notes

  • Make sure the dough stays cold as you work with it. To keep the dough cold, you either have to work fast or in batches. The butter melts when puff pastry gets warm, and the pastry won’t bake into beautiful airy layers.
  • If the puff pastry dough becomes too soft, place it back into the fridge or freezer to firm it back up.
  • If you have a marble slab, use that when rolling the puff pastry to keep it cool.
  • If baking the palmiers in batches, switch out the parchment paper or wipe down the silicone mat in between. The sugar from the previous batch will burn onto your new batch.
  • Make sure there is enough space between the palmiers on the sheet pan as they will expand as they bake.
  • Use an oven thermometer if your oven is not precise. The high heat in the oven is required to create enough steam in the oven so that the puff pastries will rise as there is no yeast in the dough. If the heat is too low, you may end up with flat pastries.
  • Puff pastry can be delicate. If it has not fully thawed before you roll it out, ​​it increases the chances of cracking or breaking.
  • If using an all-butter or homemade puff pastry versus Pepperidge Farm, the cookies may caramelize faster in the oven, so keep an eye on them.
  • A parchment paper-lined baking sheet will also caramelize faster than using a silicone baking mat like a Silpat. If you do use a Silpat as I did, increase the initial bake by 2 to 4 minutes and look for a nice bubbly caramel forming around the bottom of the cookies to know when ready to flip. They should look mostly glossy when you flip them.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 79kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 28mg | Potassium: 7mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 1mg