Cinnamon Palmiers

Post 2 of 12 in my 12 Days of Christmas Recipes Series – Cinnamon Palmiers

The first palmier cookie I ever ate was at a Chinese restaurant. Weird, huh? I’m not quite sure why palmiers seem to be a dessert buffet staple at Chinese restaurants, since the cookie is actually of French origin. I’m not complaining.

These cookies are super simple to make, and they look quite impressive for the time invested. You can try many flavor combinations or simply leave it at sugar, but today I wanted to add some cinnamon for extra holiday flair.

To make about 15 cookies, you will need:

• 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator
• 2 tbs butter, melted
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar, divided

First, combine the butter, cinnamon, and 1/4c of the sugar to make a cinnamon glaze.

Dust a clean work surface with about half of the remaining sugar. Making messes like that ^ is why baking is fun!

Place the unfolded puff pastry dough on the sugared work surface, and roll it out to be approximately 10 by 12 inches. You won’t have to roll much; the sheet I started with was originally about 9.5 x 9.5 inches.

Brush the surface of the dough with the cinnamon glaze.

Sprinkle the remaining sugar on top. Beginning with one of the 10″ ends, roll the dough to the center.

Hopefully the photo helps and doesn’t just make things more confusing. 😛

Now roll the other side of dough to the center. ^Those are pretty loose; I ended up unrolling them a bit and rerolling to tighten them up.

Push the sides together and wrap with saran wrap. Refrigerate on a baking sheet (to avoid any indentations in the dough) for 30 minutes.

Unwrap the dough. Slice into 1/2″ slices and place at least an inch apart on a rimmed baking sheet (in case excess butter drips, like mine did).

Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.

If, while baking, you notice the palmiers start to come unrolled, you may remove from the oven and roll them back up carefully using two forks as utensils. I had to do this at around the 8-minute mark, and it worked out fine.

After you remove the palmiers from the oven, place each cookie directly on a wire rack to cool (or plates lined with parchment or wax paper). Don’t worry if they seem a little floppy immediately; they will harden up as the butter/sugar cools and sets.

Unlike most other cookies, I think these are best at room temperature (and not fresh/warm from the oven). They make great gifts!

Check back soon for recipe number 3 in my 12 Days of Christmas Recipes series!

Day 1: Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cookies
Day 2: Cinnamon Palmiers