Christmas Spice Palmiers

Hello fellow foodies! Are you ready for Christmas? I'm certainly not. I still have shopping to do. Am I the only one? It's probably because I keep baking things! I can't help myself. I'd much rather make up a new recipe than go to a shopping store.
 But, as a result, I have a new recipe for you. Woo hoo! Today's Instructable is about my Christmas Spice Palmiers. They are often called elephant ears or French Palmiers. They are lovely little pastries made from puff pastry and can be sweet or savory. They are super tasty and have lovely flaky layers.
The flavoring is a delicious blend of brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, orange, and cranberries. Not only are they delicious but they are adorable as well. They look like hearts to me so I always think that they are baked with love.
You can make these too by purchasing some ready made puff pastry. That small step takes out most of the work. Puff pastry can be quite time consuming because you have to keep folding it and chilling it. By purchasing instead of making your own, you can cut hours off this recipe.
That being said, this recipe is definitely worth making because these palmiers are delightful. Just make sure you chill them before baking. Otherwise, they may become misshapen in the oven. You want your dough to be firm when it enters the oven.
 Check out the following steps and pictures to make these Christmas delights.

Have fun baking!

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry thawed (from a 17 ounce box with two sheets)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon fresh orange zest

1 egg yolk from a large egg

1/8 cup minced dried cranberries

1/8 cup Demerara sugar

Utensils:
Measuring spoons
Measuring cups
Bowls
Grater
Parchment paper
Cookie sheets
Pastry brush, fork, and spoon
Rolling pin
Dental floss

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Lay out puff pastry on parchment paper.

In a small bowl, add brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves.

Add orange zest and stir to combine.

Spread mixture over puff pastry all the way to the edges. Use a rolling pin to gently press sugar mixture into pastry.

Start at each side and roll puff pastry to the midpoint of the pastry. The two rolls should meet in the middle.

In a small bowl, add egg yolk and two tablespoons of water. Beat with a fork to create an egg wash. Use a fork or a pastry brush to spread egg wash between pastry rolls

Use dental floss to tie around pastry and section off 1/2" pieces.

Place pieces on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Allow two inches between each pastry.

Brush tops of pastry with egg wash. I used a spoon but you can use a fork or a pastry brush.

In a small bowl, combine cranberries and Demerara sugar.

Sprinkle cranberry sugar onto pastry. Place sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm the pastry dough.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 12-14. Minutes or until golden brown. Cool and enjoy!

The Science of Puff Pastry

Puff pastry is really very fascinating. There are no leaveners including baking soda, baking powder, yeast, or eggs. However, the pastry doubles in size in the oven with light, flaky layers. It is amazingly crispy and delightful. But, how does this happen?
“The secret is steam and hundreds of paper-thin layers of dough. Puff pastry starts out as a lean dough of just water and flour. This dough gets rolled, stretched, and folded with a healthy amount of butter again and again until all of those layers are formed. The finished pastry dough looks uniform, but it's actually very thin layers of dough separated by equally thin layers of butter.”

“In the oven, the water in the layers of dough (and some water in the butter) turns into steam. This steam has just enough force to puff up each thin sheet of dough before evaporating into the oven. What's left behind is a delicate shell of airy pastry.”
--Kitchen Mysteries: What Makes Puff Pastry Puff?
by Emma Christensen
February 9th, 2010
thekitchn.com

Thank you reading my Instructable today. If you enjoyed this recipe, please check out my other recipes at bakingintheburbs.net