A New French Favorite: Palmiers

A Sweet or Savory Treat

I finally got around to clearing out our fridge and freezer during day 453 of staying home. It was such a happy chance because I stumbled upon a few sheets of leftover puff pastry (one of my favorite puff pastry recipes is in this polo post). With no idea what to do with these leftover sheets, I turned to one of my favorites, Ina Garten, and stumbled upon her recipe for palmiers (“palm-ears”), which I used as the inspiration for this one.

One of the things I’ve taken up while we’ve been working from home and staying at home is challenging myself in the kitchen. That means tackling the recipes I’ve been too intimidated to try. And, this one certainly fell into that category. That is, until I realized how simple it was to make.

The best thing about palmiers is they can be either sweet or savory. The sky’s the limit as far as fillings go. I went with savory as I was making them as a mini happy hour treat for two.

Here’s my disclaimer: the puff pastry sheet I used wasn’t stored properly in the freezer, so it dried out quite a bit hence why my photographed ones didn’t turn out as pretty as they could have.

Here’s what I used:

Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets (usually in rolls in the freezer section)

Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

Herbed goat cheese

Olive oil

Toasted walnut pieces

Minced and sauteed garlic (one or two cloves depending on how much you love it)

Sprinkle of dried: oregano, garlic powder, and basil (crush them as you add them so their oils release)

Salt and pepper to taste

Flour to sprinkle on countertop or pastry board

Directions:

These take no time at all to bake (another plus). You’ll want to preheat the oven first to 450 degrees F.

Sprinkle your countertop, pastry board, or cutting board with flour to prevent the puff pastry sheets from sticking. Roll them out a bit to remove any creases in the sheets.

Next, it’s time to top your palmiers. Brush on a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Then, add your walnuts, sauteed garlic, herbs, and sun-dried tomatoes across the sheet. Pinch off pieces of the goat cheese and add those, too. Finally, add a bit of salt and pepper.

Now, you’re going to fold your puff pastry (and its contents). Take the right side and the left side and meet them in the middle so they go halfway. Then, fold the whole thing (the two halves) in half.

Take a very sharp knife and cut 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch slices. Voila! They look pretty, don’t they?

Place them onto a greased, non-stick baking sheet and bake them for 6 minutes. Take them out and flip them delicately with a spatula, then bake them for another 3-5 minutes. Check on them during this process to make sure they’re baked well enough, but not too well.

Enjoy!