Classic French Palmiers

Name: Classic French Palmiers
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 22 min
Total time: 47 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 14 oz (2 sheets or 1 box) (400 g) all-butter puff pastry, thawed but still cold; if sold as 2 sheets, each about 9×10 inches (23×25 cm); 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, divided: about ½ cup (100 g) for the work surface and filling, remaining for sprinkling and rolling; ¼ tsp (1½ g) fine sea salt, mixed into the sugar; ½ tsp (2½ ml) vanilla extract, stirred into the sugar until it looks like damp sand (optional); ½ tsp (1½ g) ground cinnamon, mixed into the sugar (optional)

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Crisp, caramelized, butterfly-shaped cookies made from just puff pastry and sugar. A pinch of salt and a little vanilla keep them from tasting flat.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 22 min
Wait: 1 hr
Total: 1 hr 47 min
Makes: About 24 palmiers (12 servings of 2)

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Steps

Before you start

Thaw the frozen puff pastry in the fridge overnight, or about 40 minutes at room temperature, until pliable but still cold.
You need two large rimmed baking sheets and parchment paper. Palmiers spread, so bake in batches if your sheets are small.
Read the timing: the shaped log chills for 30 minutes, then the cookies bake in two stages with a flip halfway.
Have a timer handy. The sugar caramelizes quickly and can burn in the last few minutes.

1
Prepare sugar mix
- In a small bowl, stir together the 1 cup (200 g) sugar, salt, and cinnamon if using.
- Add the vanilla, if using, and rub it in with your fingertips until the sugar looks like damp sand.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Ready when: Sugar is evenly mixed with no wet clumps.
2
Sugar the surface
- Scatter about 3 tablespoons of the sugar mix over a clean counter in a rectangle slightly bigger than a pastry sheet.
- Unfold one pastry sheet on top.
- If using one block, roll it out to roughly 10×12 inches (25×30 cm).
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Ready when: Pastry is lying flat on a sugared surface.
Tip: Use sugar, not flour, to dust the counter. It becomes part of the caramelized coating.
3
Roll and coat
- Sprinkle about 3 tablespoons more sugar mix over the top.
- Roll the pin over the pastry firmly to press the sugar in and thin it slightly, to about 10×12 inches (25×30 cm).
- Trim the edges straight with a knife.
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Ready when: Sugar is embedded in the surface and edges are straight.
Tip: If the pastry turns soft or sticky, slide it onto a tray and chill for 10 minutes.
4
Fold into log
- With a long side facing you, fold the two long edges in so they meet at the center line.
- Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar mix.
- Fold in half again along the center, like closing a book, so you have a long strip with 4 layers.
- Press gently.
- Repeat with the second sheet and more sugar mix.
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Ready when: Each log is a neat, even strip about 2½ inches (6 cm) wide, with the folded spiral showing at both ends.
Tip: For the classic heart shape, fold each side in toward the center twice, then close like a book.
5
Chill the logs
- Wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or freeze 15 minutes) until firm enough to slice cleanly.
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Ready when: Logs feel firm when pressed.
6
Slice the palmiersOven 425°F / 220°C
- Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with racks in the upper and lower thirds.
- Unwrap the logs and cut each crosswise into ½-inch (1.25 cm) slices with a sharp knife.
- You should get about 12 per log.
- Dip each cut face in the remaining sugar mix.
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Ready when: Slices are uniform, and the cut sides are coated in sugar.
Tip: Press the sides gently apart into a V-shape so they open as they bake.
7
Arrange on trays
- Place slices cut-side up on the lined sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches (5 cm) apart, because they spread and puff.
- Chill the trays 15 minutes if the slices feel soft.
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Ready when: Slices are well spaced and firm.
8
Bake first sideOven 425°F / 220°C
- Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 8 to 9 minutes, until the pastry has puffed and the undersides are beginning to turn golden.
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Ready when: Palmiers are puffed and the sugar underneath is amber at the edges.
Tip: Don't open the oven in the first 6 minutes, or the puff may collapse.
9
Flip and finishOven 425°F / 220°C
- Remove the trays.
- Flip each palmier with a thin spatula or tongs.
- Bake 6 to 8 minutes more, watching closely, until deep golden brown and glossy with caramelized sugar.
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Ready when: Both sides are deep golden-brown and the sugar looks glossy, not dark brown.
Tip: Caramel goes from golden to burnt in under a minute. Rotate trays if browning is uneven.
10
Cool on rack
- Immediately transfer the palmiers to a wire rack with a spatula, before the caramel hardens onto the parchment.
- Cool for 15 minutes so the caramel sets and the layers turn crisp.
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Ready when: Palmiers snap crisply when you bite one.
Tip: If you are baking in batches, use a fresh sheet of parchment for the second batch.

Good to know

Tips

Keep the pastry cold at every stage. Warm dough produces flat, greasy palmiers.
Use plenty of sugar. It is what turns the cookies crisp and glossy.
Slice evenly so all palmiers finish baking together.
Use parchment, not a silicone mat, so the caramel can brown properly.

Make ahead

"Shape and wrap the logs up to 2 days ahead in the fridge, or freeze for up to 2 months. Slice from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time per side."

Storage & reheating

"Room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Refrigeration makes them soft, so avoid it. Freeze baked palmiers for up to 1 month. Re-crisp on a baking sheet at 350°F (175°C) for 5 minutes, then cool."

Substitutions

granulated sugar → light brown sugar. Gives a deeper, toffee flavor, and may brown slightly faster, so watch closely.
all-butter puff pastry → homemade rough puff pastry. Use about 400 g, rolled to the same size and kept cold.
ground cinnamon → finely grated orange zest. Use 1 teaspoon, rubbed into the sugar for a bright citrus flavor.
vanilla extract → vanilla bean paste. Use ½ teaspoon in the same way.