Sweet Palmiers
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
1 hour, plus 3 hours chilling and 20 minutes cooling
Yield
Makes about 2 dozen
Ingredients
Puff Pastry
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, about 9 ounces (255 grams)20 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch dice (4 tablespoons kept separate)1 teaspoon table salt 6 tablespoons water cold, plus a tablespoon more, if necessaryFilling
1 cup sugar 1 large egg kosher saltBefore You Begin
This dough will keep in the freezer for at least three months. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap, then seal in zipper lock bag. Thaw by placing in refrigerator overnight. Illustrations for shaping the palmiers and other forms can be found in the related Illustrated How to Guide, "Making Puff Pastries."
Instructions
- Place flour in workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade; add the 4 tablespoons butter; pulse until butter is absorbed, about 10 to 12 pulses of 1 second each.
- Add remaining butter; pulse once or twice to distribute. Dissolve salt in water and add to flour mixture; pulse 3 or 4 times, until dough just starts to form a rough ball (see illustration 1, below) - do not overprocess. If mixture remains very dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time and pulse again.
- Turn dough onto floured work surface and shape into rough rectangle, then place on top of sheet of well-floured plastic wrap measuring at least 12-by-18 inches. Lightly flour top of dough and cover with another sheet of wrap. Press dough with rolling pin to flatten, then roll back and forth several times with rolling pin to make 12-by-18-inch rectangle of dough.
- Peel away plastic wrap and invert dough onto floured work surface, long side facing you. Peel away second piece of wrap. Fold top third of dough down and bottom third up (illustration 2), to make 4-by-18-inch rectangle, then roll up dough from one end (illustration 3). Divide dough in half and press dough into two squares, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. You can reserve one square for other purposes or double the recipe.
- Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar on a work surface and roll one of the squares of puff pastry into a 12-by-9-inch rectangle. Slide onto a pan and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and brush dough with egg beaten with a pinch of salt. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup sugar on dough. Fold each long side toward the center. Repeat folds so folded edges meet in the center, then fold in half at center. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
- Using a sharp, thin knife, cut dough into 1/2-inch slices; arrange cut side down on 2 parchment lined cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart on all sides.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until golden and crisp, about 20 minutes. Cool on pans and serve at room temperature or reheated.
Time
1 hour, plus 3 hours chilling and 20 minutes coolingYield
Makes about 2 dozenIngredients
Puff Pastry
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, about 9 ounces (255 grams)
20 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch dice (4 tablespoons kept separate)
1 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons water cold, plus a tablespoon more, if necessary
Filling
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
kosher salt
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Puff Pastry
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, about 9 ounces (255 grams)
20 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch dice (4 tablespoons kept separate)
1 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons water cold, plus a tablespoon more, if necessary
Filling
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
kosher salt
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Puff Pastry
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, about 9 ounces (255 grams)
20 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch dice (4 tablespoons kept separate)
1 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons water cold, plus a tablespoon more, if necessary
Filling
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
kosher salt
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We wondered if we could eliminate the repeated rolling and folding called for in the conventional puff pastry recipe, but still create multiple layers in our quick puff pastry dough recipe. We discovered we could do this by folding the dough and rolling it up jellyroll style in just seconds. Mixing the dough in a food processor also helped to speed things up. The dough puffed as well as any quick puff pastry we've ever made. Not only that, it definitely lived up to our hopes for saving time; the whole process—from measuring the flour to wrapping the dough and refrigerating—took only 15 minutes.
Before You Begin
This dough will keep in the freezer for at least three months. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap, then seal in zipper lock bag. Thaw by placing in refrigerator overnight. Illustrations for shaping the palmiers and other forms can be found in the related Illustrated How to Guide, "Making Puff Pastries."
Instructions
- Place flour in workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade; add the 4 tablespoons butter; pulse until butter is absorbed, about 10 to 12 pulses of 1 second each.
- Add remaining butter; pulse once or twice to distribute. Dissolve salt in water and add to flour mixture; pulse 3 or 4 times, until dough just starts to form a rough ball (see illustration 1, below) - do not overprocess. If mixture remains very dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time and pulse again.
- Turn dough onto floured work surface and shape into rough rectangle, then place on top of sheet of well-floured plastic wrap measuring at least 12-by-18 inches. Lightly flour top of dough and cover with another sheet of wrap. Press dough with rolling pin to flatten, then roll back and forth several times with rolling pin to make 12-by-18-inch rectangle of dough.
- Peel away plastic wrap and invert dough onto floured work surface, long side facing you. Peel away second piece of wrap. Fold top third of dough down and bottom third up (illustration 2), to make 4-by-18-inch rectangle, then roll up dough from one end (illustration 3). Divide dough in half and press dough into two squares, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. You can reserve one square for other purposes or double the recipe.
- Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar on a work surface and roll one of the squares of puff pastry into a 12-by-9-inch rectangle. Slide onto a pan and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and brush dough with egg beaten with a pinch of salt. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup sugar on dough. Fold each long side toward the center. Repeat folds so folded edges meet in the center, then fold in half at center. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
- Using a sharp, thin knife, cut dough into 1/2-inch slices; arrange cut side down on 2 parchment lined cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart on all sides.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until golden and crisp, about 20 minutes. Cool on pans and serve at room temperature or reheated.
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