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Originating in France, the palmier is a sweet, crunchy biscuit made from puff pastry and a generous helping of sugar. They’re sometimes called palm leaves, palm hearts, or French hearts, due to their resemblance to a palm leaf.
I first learned to make traditional French palmiers during Basic Pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu London. During the demonstration, the chef instructor told us stories of his childhood in France, and how his mother always made palmiers for him as an after-school snack.
This pastry school demonstration the first time I learned to make palmiers.I’m pretty sure it was also the first time I’d ever even heard of them. Nevertheless I quickly fell in love with this crispy, sugary treat, and haven’t stopped making them since.
Although somewhat complicated to describe, the process of making palmiers actually requires very little effort. You start by rolling a sheet or block of puff pastry into a rectangle. Then you roll the dough in sugar, in same way you’d use flour to roll a sheet of pie or cookie dough. Next, you fold the sugary dough into a long, rectangular roll, cut the roll into slices, and flatten the slices on a tray using the palm of your hand. Finally, the palmiers bake in the oven until crispy and golden.
Palmier Possibilities
These palm-shaped biscuits make for a delicious snack, and they’re also a fantastic way to use scraps of puff pastry left over from other recipes. I like to make palmiers when I have the end of a block of puff pastry behind. (Not enough to save, but too much to throw away? Make palmiers!) You can also make palmiers using scraps of puff pastry re-rolled into a sheet. While in most recipes you need to be careful about not destroying the layers in a sheet of puff pastry, for palmiers it really doesn’t matter all that much. Smashing the pastry is part of the fun!
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Traditionally, palmiers are made with caster sugar, but there are plenty of other variations you can try, too. (A mix of sugar and cocoa powder works really nicely if you enjoy chocolate in your bakes!) Here I’ve used brown sugar, along with ground cardamom and orange zest. The result? A fun twist on a classic French pastry.
Palmiers make for a delectable sweet breakfast treat, and they’re perfect with a cup of tea or as an afternoon snack. They’re definitely best enjoyed on the day they’re made, so the one drawback is that you can’t really bake these in advance. But these are so good that they’ll probably disappear within a few hours of baking anyway, so no worries there!
Palmier Tips and Tricks
It is very important to remove your palmiers from the baking tray immediately. If you allow them to sit on the tray (even for a few minutes) the sugar will adhere to the tray as it cools. This will make it impossible to remove the palmiers. Thus, the whole experience will end in frustration with you spending fifteen minutes scraping each palmier from tray with a knife. (Trust me. I learned this lesson the hard way!) Save yourself the headache and use a metal spatula to transfer the palmiers to a wire rack while they’re still hot from the oven.
Palmiers can be made with homemade puff pastry, or with the pre-made kind available at most grocery stores. There are generally two kinds of pre-made puff pastry available: a rolled kind available in the refrigerated section, and sheets or blocks that are sold frozen. (I’ve found that the refrigerated version is more common in the UK. US stores tend to carry the frozen sheets.) Either product will work!
Palmiers are best enjoyed on the day they’re made. If you do need to save them overnight, store the biscuits in an airtight container. They won’t spoil or become totally inedible. But, they’ll definitely lose some of the crunch and flakiness that make them so irresistibly good.
More puff pastry recipes you might enjoy:
Strawberry Puff Pastry Hearts
Fig, Goat Cheese, and Onion Galette
And if you make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
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Brown Sugar Palmiers with Cardamom and Orange
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12-14 palmiers 1x
Description
These brown sugar, cardamom, and orange palmiers offer a fun twist on a classic French pastry. Simple to make, and highly addictive, too!
Ingredients
110 grams dark brown sugar (3/4 cup)
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
Zest of 1 orange
1 sheet puff pastry (thawed according to package directions if frozen)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375° F / 190° C. Butter a large baking tray and transfer to the freezer to chill.
In a bowl, combine sugar, cardamom, and orange zest. Sprinkle half of the mixture on the countertop. (I like to use a rolling mat for easier cleanup!)
Unroll pastry on top of the sugar. With a rolling pin, roll to approx. 12 x 14 inches / 30 x 35 centimeters.
With a pastry brush, brush pastry lightly with water, then sprinkle with remaining sugar. Roll the sugar into the dough, then flip and roll again, to approx. 1/8 inch / 3 millimeter thickness.
Trim edges with a knife, creating an even rectangle.
Use a knife to gently mark the dough into 6 equal parts. Fold inward, using markings as a guide. Fold dough over itself again to create one rectangle.*
Transfer rectangle to prepared tray and freeze for 10 minutes.
Cut rectangle into slices, about 1/2 inch / 1 1/4 centimeter thick. Place cut sides up on chilled tray, allowing plenty of space in between.
Use the palm of your hand to flatten slices, creating the classic palmier shape. Freeze on tray 10 minutes.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Flip and bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until flaky and nicely golden brown. Remove from tray immediately** and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Palmiers are best enjoyed on the day they are made.
Notes
*See the video above to watch me demonstrate the process of rolling and folding palmiers!
**This is VERY important! If you allow the palmiers to cool on the tray, even for a few minutes, the sugar will adhere to the tray as it cools, making the biscuits impossible to remove. Use a metal spatula to transfer the palmiers to a wire rack while they’re still hot from the oven.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Chilling Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
- Category: Biscuits and Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: French Patisserie
