Sweet & Savory: Cardamom Palmiers

Sweet & Savory is a new monthly blog series where we explore adventures in baking, cooking, and the rapidly evolving food landscape. This month’s blog is written by Category Manager, Stevie Wallace.

We’ve hit the windy rainy season, where nothing quite satisfies like a warm beverage under a blanket by the window with your dog curled up on your feet, listening to the rain hit the panes while you make your way through your latest book (me!) Or, maybe this sort of setup isn’t quite your vibe: you’re the one who straps on your wellies, grabs every tool and bucket you own, and you head out into the elements to turn your flower beds, trim the trees, and get your bulbs planted for the year (lookin’ at you, ma.) Regardless, we can all agree that there isn’t quite anything like a quick, warm treat after either activity to get the warmth in your bones.

So, let’s talk something spicy. Something crispy, flakey, a little sweet. Caramelized and incredibly warming, tantalizing, and an absolute crowd pleaser – the cardamom palmier.

Lovingly named after the palm tree (and additionally known as elephant ears, French hearts, shoe-soles, and pastry glasses), palmiers are a flat pastry cookie reminiscent of a croissant. Served either sweet or savory, they pair perfect with all the warm bevvies. Plus, their little crispy layers and golden hues will impress everyone at the party.

These take maybe 15 minutes to put together, another 15 minutes to bake, and another 15 minutes to cool. Less than an hour start to finish? Sign me right up. And the best part: there’s just four ingredients and no mixer is required – score.  

Cardamom Palmiers

Adapted from Jesse Szewczyk, Cookies

Tools:

• 3 baking sheets (if you’ve only 1, wait 15 minutes in-between batches to let the sheet cool)

• Parchment paper*

• Rolling pin

• Wire rack

*do not skip the parchment paper: your cookies will stick to the pan ne’er to come off ever. ALSO: do not grease your pan, the palmiers will not crisp and will stay a sad, soggy disappointment.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup / 200 sugar

• 2 tsp ground cardamom

• ½ tsp kosher salt

• 1 package (2 sheets, or roughly 490gm) frozen puff pastry, thawed

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F, setting the racks at the top and bottom thirds. Line your cookie sheets with parchment.

2. In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cardamom, & salt.

3. Unfold one puff pastry sheet onto a clean work surface. Sprinkle ¼ cup over one side, very lightly using the rolling pin to help press as much into the dough as possible. Flip over, and repeat.

4. Score a very faint line down the center of the dough. Fold each side of the dough half way towards the center, then fold them again until they meet at the scored line. Brush the top of the folds with a little water, then fold together, squeezing slightly to help them adhere. You should have an almost rectangle of six layers.

5. Cut the roll of dough into 12 equal slices, about ½ an inch thick. Using the excess sugar on the work surface, coat the sides of the cookies heavily and place them 8 at a time* onto the cookie sheets. Bake for 13-15 minutes, flipping the cookies half way.**

6. Let the palmiers cool completely on the sheet. If you’re using a wire rack, let them cool for 15 minutes on the sheet and move them to the rack for the remainder.

*8 cookies per sheet is heavily suggested as it can be irksome to try and flip the palmiers while they’re baking – their melting sugar is quite hot and can give you a nasty burn if you’re not careful, so the extra space is worth it.

**I recommend using a rubber spatula for this, that way you’ll get the whole cookie flipped without breaking it. They will slide around, so (again) be careful about the proximity of your fingers to that hot hot sugar.