Joy the Baker

How to Make Palmiers

by 96 Comments

Palmiers

I’ve now typed about seven different introductions to this post, only to completely delete them all.

I’m trying my best to avoid words like unemployment, recession, war and ceasefire.  Ugh…  the world seems to be in the thick of it right now, and here we are just trying to work it out for ourselves everyday.

I don’t have epic solutions to offer you, but I do have a band-aid:  lots of love and loads of sugar.

How will that do you?

Let’s make Palmiers.  Let’s make Elephant Ears.  And you know what?  Let’s use store bought puff pastry, because we’re going to need these cookies toute suite!

Palmiers

Palmiers

There’s a trick to buying store bought puff pastry.  You have to search for the quality stuff.  Most grocery stores carry a frozen puff pastry that is loaded with all sorts of mystery fat.  Look at the ingredients list before you buy.

Dufour is a puff pastry made with only butter.  It’s the good stuff.  It’s the only way to go with store bought puff pastry.  No… they didn’t pay me to say that, although I sorta wish they would.  Don’t know where to find Dufour?  You could have it shipped to you!

Palmiers are unbelievably easy once you’ve got your hands on some good puff pastry.  All you’ll need is:

Print this Recipe!

lots of granulated sugar ( I started with about a cup of granulated sugar)

one package of all butter puff pastry.

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

Here’s a step by step extravaganza.

Palmiers

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Measure out one cup of granulated sugar (it doesn’t have to be exact) and sprinkle about half 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 the remaining sugar.

Palmiers

The Dufour Puff Pastry unfolds out of the package just about the length and width you’re looking for.  You’ll just need to roll it to thin it a bit, extending it about 1/2 to 1-inch on all sides.

Palmiers

Palmiers

Palmiers

What’s that?  You have a little rip on the seam of your puff pastry!? Me too.  Maybe just try to patch that up a bit.  But really?  It’s not that big a deal.  Don’t sweat it!

Palmiers

Your puff pastry should be roughly 8(to10)x12-inches in size.  Now start rolling.  Roll up the left vertical side towards the center seam.  Roll the right vertical side towards the center too.

Palmiers

Gently press together, like so.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour, or until cold and firm.

Palmiers

Remove dough from the fridge and slice in 1/2-inch slices.  Place on lined baking sheet.  Bake in 400 degree F oven for 10 to 15 minutes of 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 might burn quickly.

Palmiers

If 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.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Debby

    Just one little comment for the writer. PLEASE I am begging you, change the term “toot sweet” to “toute suite”. That is the correct term and will be less likely to have you drawn and quartered by the french pattiserries. They have less sense of humor on the subject than your average great white shark.

    Reply

  5. Kevin

    This year I’m making sweet mince palimers. But I’m having a little difficulty with the actual baking and would appreciate some advice.

    The recipies I’ve read say to stand them upright, however when I do this after about five minutes the pastry falls over on its side causing a spill out. Can’t figure out how to combat this.

    Because I’m using puff pastry I can’t use the other palmiers for support so how on earth can I keep them upright – any ideas. One of the possible reasons they are falling over is that I have a fan assisted oven and I’m wondering if the fan is actually blowing them over

    Any ideas as to what might be wrong and what I can possibly do to overcome the difficulty

    Kevin

    Reply

  7. Gina

    My dad passed away 12 years ago but if there is one thing I will always remember him by it is definitely his love for palmier, also knows as “varkore” (pigs ears) in our family.

    Reply

  8. Sarah

    Hi Joy,

    I’m making these along with your whole wheat chocolate brown sugar cookies & salty sesame/dark chocolate cookies for a shower I’m throwing – so excited to tackle all of these recipes! One quick question – I can’t seem to figure out from the picture if you are rolling the long sides towards the center or the shorter sides? Does vertical mean like a building, the longer sides? Also about how many palmiers come from each package of pastry?

    Thanks!!
    Sarah

    Reply

  10. Elif

    Your recipe, Photos and instructions were very helpful. Since it looked very easy, I made some adding; before the sprinkle the remaining sugar on the top of the pastry , I add some cinnamon and mandarin orange zest .They came out lovely . Thank you for sharing this recipe.

    Reply

  12. Amelia

    Joy, your recipe and instructions were great. Mine turned out exactly as yours did and I kept a close eye on them when they were in the oven, so gorgeous. They’re surprisingly easy to make, I think I’ll make this often,

    Reply

  13. Heather Holmes

    My grandma used to make the most fantastic palmiers. She told me that she used a special glaze on them, and she told me that when i was old enough (16) that she would tell me the “secret Holmes family glaze”. But just a few months ago, she died. And i just remebered the secret glaze after looking at your recipe (which looks fantastic by the way!), so i was wondering if you knew a glaze for these (maybe something with honey?) Thank You!

    Reply

    • Susan

      My nana used to brush her elephant ears with a glaze before baking. I think it was brown sugar, a little molasses, ginger and a teaspoon or two of water. Half way thru baking you have to flip them carefully and brush them again. I would definitely use silpat mats. You could probably used corn syrup instead of molasses and swap out the ginger for cinnamon or whatever flavor evokes the Holmes family spirit! Happy Holidays!

      Reply

  16. Nora

    Those Palmiers look amazing ! (Y)

    I tried them with demerara brown sugar bit they didn’t get so beautifully golden like yours. I will try them again using regular granulated sugar like you did. I also filled them with some finely chopped pecans and added my Arabic touch with some rosewater.

    My friend and I just started blogging to posting our humbled experiences on our recently evolved passion, baking <3. We get inspired from wonderful other blogs such as yours. I will share my Palmiers experience on the blog soon. Hope you could find some time to look at it and tell us your thoughts. :)

    Reply

  18. Shirley M

    thanks so much for this! i just tried this for my family and they loved it. i won’t have to buy it anymore at the local bakery. i will be making more tomorrow for valentine’s day.

    Reply

  19. Julie

    I just tried these for Parisian Thanksgiving (wine, cheese, pastries, gluttony), and they were so simple!! I stuck my puff roll in the freezer for about 15 minutes and they cut just fine, I baked for 8 minutes, turned, baked 4 more minutes. Amazing. Thank you for this. I also brushed them egg wash right before they went into the oven, for funsies.

    Reply

  24. Jane

    Love puff pastry! Saw a recipe recently which was a savory palmier using cheddar and bits of ham. Have you ever tried anything like that?
    Thanks!

    Reply

  32. Lisa

    Thank you, Joy!! You know, whenever I am having a craptastic day, I visit your site (and often when I’m not as well). You always make the day seem a bit brighter and easier to manage! Thank you for being here, blogging and sharing.

    Reply

  40. Deanna

    We used to live in Mozambique and these were mine and my daughters favorite dessert, they don’t have good chocolate or sweets over there, but Palmiers helped in curbing the craving for sweets. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    Reply

  42. martina

    Hi
    I’ve just found out your blog…great stuff! I’ve always loved “the butterflies” (like I call them in Italy) and now I’m not there I miss it very much!You want always one more…and at the end you have to lick your fingertips, like a real child!Sweet moments
    cheers Martina

    Reply

  43. Melissa

    These are one of my favorite cookies! The crumbley puff pastry, the carmelized sugar, they are crunchy bits of heaven! On a side note, where would one find the lovely purple ring? Fun jewelry is also a favorite of mine.

    Reply

  45. Jayme

    ooh I have puff pastry awaiting it’s fate in the freezer right now! I’m definitely going to try these out, maybe with some cinnamon and sugar.

    I too love your purple ring! :)

    Reply

  54. Linda

    Du Four rocks…but if you have a Trade Joe’s near you, they also have a very nice all butter puff pastry which is less expensive than Pepperidge Farm…I highly recommend it. It is a beautiful thing!

    Reply

  57. Katie

    I just found your blog today and absolutely LOVE what I’ve seen/read so far.

    I always buy elephant ears from a bakery near our summer home, but they are closed during the winter months. Making these elephant ears might get me through till spring when the bakery opens again!

    Reply

  58. Judith

    Thanks for this tutorial, Joy! I’ve heard of Dufour but unfortunately am at a point where even Pepperidge Farm is super expensive for me. I’ll put it on the “when I’m rich” wishlist, though!

    Reply

  60. Mrs. L

    Oh my, these look good! And I’ve heard about the Dufour puff pastry before but haven’t seen it locally. I’ll have to check into buying it online.

    Reply

  62. Erin

    oh my….oh my something more to make. and, it isn’t difficult. probably will have to search high and low for a good puff pastry but, i will go to the fresh market first and then UKROPS… if they don’t have, i will order it. like most things around these parts i spend a lot of time ordering on line…lol. have been doing it now for 7 years since moving to central virginia(was actually thinking of doing a post regarding).

    anyway…will be doing these and the paprika biscuits…yummy stuff.

    thanks as always for bringing such wonderful recipes to us to try. and as always, i am most appreciative and enjoy your blog so very much :)

    erin

    Reply

  63. Meg

    Mmm, thanks! I’ve never bought puff pastry before, but I’ve always wanted to! I’m glad now to know more about store bought puff pastry, I know I would have been totally dumb and just bought the cheapest.

    Have you ever tried making chips from puff pastry? It’s amazing.

    Reply

  64. Lindsey

    I love it. I know a lot of people baulk at using store bought items in recipes (“You used CAKE MIX?! Blacklisted!), but sometimes its nice to make something simple and tasty. Rolling things around in sugar? I can totally do that.

    Reply

  66. Shannalee

    I think it’s really fun that you wear awesome jewelry while you’re baking. My rings always slide around on my fingers! And FYI elephant ears were always the best part of every childhood fair. Yum.

    Reply

  67. Elle

    Pastry band-aids are the best kind. These look so fun to make. (And eat, obviously.) And at the moment, I’m in favor of anything that involves so few ingredients.

    Reply

  68. Culinarywannabe

    Sugar – I think you should propose that to Mr. President. Everyone gets free donuts and cookies! These palmiers are so elegant. The step-by-step pictures are really helpful – Thanks!

    Reply

  70. Brindi

    Recently, I used puff pastry for the first time. I didn’t even look at brands. It may be that my grocery store only sells that one kind. I will have to shop around. Thanks for the beautiful pictures.

    Reply

  71. joythebaker

    James- You’re right… maybe we should call these Star Wars cookies.

    RecipeGirl- Perfect with tea!

    Jenn Jones- They’re best served at room temperature and eaten the day they’re made. Good question!

    Erin- Thanks! I love my big purple ring too!

    Reply

  73. Erin

    I was JUST looking at my Google Reader and thought to myself “I wish there was a Joy the Baker update…” and VOILA! Ask and ye shall receive! Thanks for reading my mind, and I love the purple ring!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  3. […] Spread the filling over but not too much as the most of it will leak out. Roll it up (check out the step by step instructions!), wrap in foil and put in a fridge for a half an hour. Then slice it up and put on a large oven […]

    Reply

  5. […] this was where i made reference to when i made mine.  i used ground cinnamon in addition to the sugar, and i brushed on some egg wash (beat an egg and dilute a little bit with water) in an attempt to get a more golden brown appearance. […]

    Reply

  13. […] I’ve taught you how to make Palmiers.  Have you made them yet?  It’s amazing how easy they are.  The only trick is to get the right store-bought puff pastry.  Make sure to buy an all butter puff pastry like Dufour.  Puff pastries that aren’t made with all butter are liable to have all sorts of mystery fat in them.  Ick.   […]

    Reply

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