Flaky, buttery palmiers spiced with ground cinnamon and cloves! All you need is some store-bought puff pastry, some sugar, and your spices—that’s it! Much easier than you’d think, friends.
Let’s bake!
Some Materials You’ll Need:
- Rolling Pin
- Pastry Cutter/Knife
- Small Bowl
- Whisk + Spatula
- Large Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
How to Handle Puff Pastry
Puff pastry is defined by its layers and flakiness. While using store-bought puff pastry allows a little more room for error, there are still a few things to keep in mind when handling it!
- Do your best to let it thaw on the counter naturally instead of rushing it in the microwave. Yes, your box probably has instructions on how to do so, but I’ve found it’s always a bit too warm and difficult to handle. If you can, plan ahead and give your puff pastry a good 40 minutes or so to thaw gradually at room temperature.
- When rolling and handling puff pastry, you want to make sure it stays cold throughout the process. This not only makes it easier to work with, but will give you a much flakier end result. It’s the cold butter pressed inside that creates those layers. The cold butter releases steam during the bake, causing all the layers of pastry to puff up (hence the name).
Palmiers are made with such few ingredients, puff pastry being the star, so it only makes sense to give yourself the best chance at a successful bake (and a tastier one at that) by handling it correctly!
How to Roll, Cut, and Assemble Palmiers
The process and instructions for assembling palmiers can feel daunting (and overly confusing) at first. Trust me, that’s how I felt at first too! After you’ve done it once, however, you’ll find it’s much easier than expected. Just read the process through first and take things step by step—you got this!
Rolling out the Puff Pastry with the Sugar
- Start by sprinkling your work surface with some of your spiced sugar mixture, roughly smoothing into an even layer. Lay your puff pastry on top. Then sprinkle the top of the pastry with more sugar, again smoothing into an even layer.
- Begin rolling out your puff pastry into a larger, thinner rectangle. The thinner you roll it out, the smaller and crispier your palmiers will be. So if you want larger pieces, don’t roll it out as thin (just know you may have to bake them longer).
- The sugar gets pressed into the pastry as you roll, but excess sugar will drop off and move round as you go. Save all of this excess sugar and put it back with the rest to save for dipping.
- Once you’ve rolled out the pastry, trim any edges that aren’t straight—you want clean lines.
Folding the Dough
Working outside-in, fold the long sides of your puff pastry inwards about halfway to the center.
Then fold both sides again until the folds meet exactly at the middle.
Finally, fold one half over the other like you’re closing a book.
I’ve included this little GIF to help guide you through the process! You may have to unfold and readjust in you don’t get it just right the first time.
Cutting the Dough
- Cut into 1/2 inch strips, dipping each piece into the remaining sugar mixture.
- Place on your baking sheets a few inches apart, slightly spreading where the folds meet on each piece to make little “V” shapes.
Baking the Palmiers
The biggest thing to look out for when baking your palmiers is that they don’t burn. Watch them during that first bake before you flip them and make sure to rotate your baking sheets (ensures even baking, as the top and bottom of your oven are slightly different temperatures).
Start watching them at 8 minutes to be safe. Just lift the bottom of a couple to see where they’re at and give them a couple minutes more if needed. I like mine to be a bit more on the dark brown, ALMOST burnt (as you can see, lol) side of things, so it’s up to you really!
One you’ve flipped them, you should only need about 5 minutes more until they’re nice and golden. Let me them cool for about 5-10 minutes on the sheets before transferring to a separate rack to cool completely.
Tag me @joshisbaking over on Instagram if you make these flaky little palmiers! I hope I broke down the process enough to get you through in one piece. Message me over on Instagram or comment below if you run into any issues.
Happy baking, friends!
Here are some other recipes using store-bought puff pastry!
- Chocolate Caramel Apple Tart
- Strawberry Pastries with Fromage Blanc and Balsamic Vinegar
- Apple Cinnamon Pastries with Maple Glaze
Check out my most recent recipes:
- Cinnamon Sugar Pie Bites with a Cream Cheese Frosting Dip
- Chocolate Cardamom Pocket Pies
- Strawberry Shortbread with a Lemon Glaze
Palmiers with Cinnamon and Clove
- Prep Time: 30 Min.
- Chill Time: 30 Min.
- Cook Time: 15 Min.
- Total Time: 1 Hr. 15 Min.
- Yield: 25–30 Cookies 1x
Description
Flaky, buttery palmiers made with puff pastry, spiced with ground cinnamon and cloves.
Ingredients
- One sheet store-bought frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 cup granulated sugar (105g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Want to make more cookies? Use another sheet of puff pastry! No need to double the sugar or spices, as there will be plenty. I would suggest taking one sheet all the way through the process (up until the bake), before handling the other (leave it in the fridge until needed).
Instructions
- Prep two large baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together your sugar and spices until evenly combined. Set aside. Thaw your sheet of puff pastry as per the instructions listed on the box (if not done so already).
- Sprinkle a 1/4 cup of your sugar mixture into a generally even layer on your work surface, lay your puff pastry on top, and then sprinkle the other 1/4 cup of your sugar overtop of the puff pastry, roughly smoothing out into an even layer with your hand. Roll out the puff pastry into a larger, thinner rectangle (mine was ~14×16 inches, about 1/4 inch thick). Trim the sides so you have flat edges along each side.
- The sugar will get pressed into the puff pastry as your roll. I’ll give it a few good rolls, flip the puff pastry over, and then a few more rolls on the other side. Save the excess sugar and add it back to the bowl to use again.
- Working from the outside-in, fold the long sides of your puff pastry inwards about halfway to the center. Then fold both sides again until the folds meet exactly at the middle (you may have to unfold and readjust to get it just right). Finally, fold one half over the other like you’re closing a book.
- See my GIF in the blog above to see how the folding should look—feel free to sprinkle more sugar overtop each fold as you go!
- If your puff pastry is feeling a bit sticky or loose, wrap it plastic and place in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm back up before cutting. On a cutting board, slightly trim the ends so they’re nice and straight, then beginning cutting your pastry into ~1/2 inch strips.
- Dip each strip into the remaining sugar mixture and then place them onto your prepared baking sheets, spaced a few inches apart, gently spreading apart where the folds meet on each piece to make little “V” shapes. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 400°F in this time.
- Bake both sheets on the upper and lower thirds of your oven for 8-10 minutes, take both sheets out and carefully flip each piece over, and then bake for an additional 5-6 minutes on the other sides until nice and golden (keep an eye on them during that first baking period and make sure to rotate your pans from top to bottom so they don’t burn). Let cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a separate rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Two Biggest TIPS:
- Keep the pastry cold throughout the process! This makes it both easier to work with and results in a flakier end result. So if it ever starts to feel super loose, sticky, or difficult to handle—throw it in the fridge for a good 20 minutes to firm back up.
- Watch your bake times and make sure to rotate your pans if baking two sheets at a time!
- Want to make more cookies? Use another sheet of puff pastry! No need to double the sugar or spices, as there will be plenty. I would suggest taking one sheet all the way through the process (up until the bake), before handling the other (leave it in the fridge until needed).
- If you’re doubling this recipe and baking both sheets of puff pastry, you’ll most likely need two rounds of baking depending on how many pieces you can fit on each tray. Bake two sheets at a time and let your baking sheets cool down a bit before baking with them again.
Looking for something else to bake?
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