Recipe: Palmiers

These elegant, crunchy cookies made with puff pastry are a classic for a reason. We found this simple recipe in the ICEPastry & Baking Arts curriculum. In class, the cookies are the students’ reward for all the rolling and folding required when making puff pastry, but at home, you can easily use a quality, store-bought puff pastry. If you decide to go that route, once you’ve made the puff pastry assembly is quite simple, just a series of folds and then you slice the dough into cookies. It’s a simple technique that makes beautiful cookies. Using citrus zest or spices, you can flavor the sugar for an extra special touch. For savory snacks, use Parmesan cheese instead.

Ingredients

• 1 pound puff pastry
• 12 ounces sugar

Instructions

1. Roll dough out to 3/16-inch thick to form a rectangle. Fold both long sides halfway in towards the center. Repeat folding.
2. Fold over again from center to form 6 layers. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough until firm. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Dip surface that will go against pan in sugar.
3. Place 2 inches apart on a parchment paper–lined pan. Bake at 375ºF for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.