Alia’s Tips: How to Make Palmiers or Elephant Ears Cookies!

Ingredients :

• Puff Pastry Sheet
• White sugar
• Ground cinnamon (or another sweet spice of your choice such as cardamom or vanilla sugar)

Directions :

1- First you need Puff Pastry – you can find it in the frozen section of your supermarket. I always leave a pack or 2 in my freezer just in case I need to make a quick snack.
2- Roll out the puff pastry. If you bought frozen puff pastry you have to thaw it before using it but it should still be cold otherwise it will become sticky.
3- Using a sharp knife, cut the sides of the puff pastry to get an even rectangle.
4- Sprinkle sugar all over the puff pastry. You can also dust cinnamon or another spice of your choice like cardamom or vanilla sugar.
5- Roll the bottom side of the puff pastry towards the center, then roll the upper side. Roll again both sides until they meet in the center.
6- To make an egg wash, just mix 1 egg yolk with some water. Brush the top of the pastry with the egg wash.  Fold lengthwise one side of the pastry on the other and press with the palm of your hand.
7- Chill the pastry roll in the freezer for 15 minutes.
8- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
9- Once the pastry roll has firmed up, use a sharp knife and cut slices about 1/3 inch in thickness.
10- Roll each slice in sugar, place it on a baking pan, split the ends, and gently flatten the cookie with your thumb.
11- Make sure to keep some space between the cookies as they are going to expand when baking.
12- Bake the cookies in the oven.
13- Watch the cookies as the ones at the back of the oven cook faster. When the bottom side becomes golden brown, flip the cookies to the other side. Each side will take around 7 minutes to cook.
14- Once the cookies become golden brown on both sides, place them on a grid and let them cool down to room temperature before serving.
15- You can store the cookies for a few days in an airtight container – but I doubt there would be any left to store!
Bonne Appétit!