Cardamom, Ginger & Orange Palmiers

Orange, Cardamom & Ginger Palmiers

Do you ever make a dessert only to realize your dessert could use another dessert?  I’ve found myself in this situation a few times recently–allow me to explain before you write me off as a total glutton.

I’ve been really into poaching pears this winter.  Red wine, sugar, a cinnamon stick, and maybe a splash of Grand Marnier…they’re really good, but they never quite feel like a stand-alone dessert. 

Enter palmiers.  These cookies are the perfect bite to add when you make something like a poached pear and your dessert needs a little extra something (not that they’re not delicious on their own—they are!).  Palmiers are an absolute cinch to make, just spread sugar and spice on sheets of puff pastry, roll, slice, and bake.  Boom—pretty cookies with flaky, buttery layers and a welcome hit of orange and spice.

Palmier ingredients
You’ve got to love the fact that these take about 3 minutes to prep, look beautiful, and taste great. You’ll just need a sheet of puff pastry that’s been defrosted, a bit of melted butter, sugar, orange zest, cardamom, and ginger.

Combine sugar with a spoonful of cardamom and ginger and the zest of an orange. Side note–if you want to skip the palmiers, this would be almost as good just sprinkled on a piece of buttered toast.
Orange zest, cardamom, ginger & sugar mixture for palmiers
Now sprinkle a board or countertop with some sugar and lay the puff pastry on top.

Rolling puff pastry for palmiers

Roll the pastry into a rectangle, brush with a little melted butter, and then sprinkle the delicious sugar mixture over the top.  Press it into the dough with your hands.  Now like your fingers (duh).

Orange & spice sprinkled puff pastryRoll 1 side of the dough over itself ’til you reach the center.  Roll the other side up so they meet in the middle.

Rolling the PalmiersRolled PalmierPlace the double-sided log in the freezer to firm up for half of an hour or so, then pull it out, slice it into cookies, and pop ’em in the oven. 

Slicing the PalmiersAfter a few minutes pull the cookie sheet out and flip the palmiers.  Put them back in to bake until the pastry is golden and the spirals of sugar have caramelized.

Palmiers halfway through baking

And there you go, a perfect cookie for when your dessert calls for more dessert or when your afternoon cup of tea just begs for a quick treat with a fancy name.

Cardamom, Ginger & Orange Palmiers

5.0 from 1 reviews
Cardamom, Ginger & Orange Palmiers
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
These cookies are so many good things: crispy, buttery, flaky, subtly spiced, and a snap to make!
Author:
Recipe type: Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: French
Serves: 2 dozen
Ingredients
  • ½ c. + 2 Tbsp. Sugar
  • ½ tsp. ground Cardamom
  • ½ tsp. ground Ginger
  • zest of 1 Orange
  • pinch of Salt
  • 1 sheet Puff Pastry, defrosted
  • 2 Tbsp. Butter, melted
Instructions
  1. Combine ½ c. sugar with the cardamom, ginger, orange zest, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl.
  2. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. sugar over a large board or clean counter. Unfold the puff pastry and place over the sugar. Roll into a 10 in. x12 in. rectangle. Brush the dough with the melted butter. Sprinkle the sugar and spice mixture evenly over the top of the dough. Use your palms or a rolling-pin to press the sugar into the pastry dough. With the short side of the dough facing you, tightly roll the dough over itself until you reach the center. Now do the same from the other side until you have 2 tight rolls, side by side. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes before proceeding.
  3. When you are ready to bake the palmiers, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  4. Cut the rolled puff pastry crosswise in ¼-½ in. intervals. Place the cookies on the lined baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes. Remove the pan and flip the cookies. Return the pan to the oven for another 7-8 minutes until the pastry is golden. Total baking time will be about 15 minutes and you’ll want to keep a close eye, as the puff pastry can burn easily. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. The palmiers will keep pretty well for a day or 2, in an airtight container at room temperature.

 

Comments

  1. Lisa Schlesinger says

    Can’t wait to try this Sarah! Am a total nut about cardamom. I also want you to know that several of your recipes are now staples for us. Thank you so much!

  2. Suzanna says

    Darn you, Sarah. I’ve been playing with these all weekend. It’s your fault I’m gonna be fatter soon. Did you know that I can defrost puff pastry in my microwave in 3 minutes on level ‘2’? If I cool this in the freezer, it means cooking from start to finish in about 20 minutes…not good for me.

    I didn’t have cardamom, but I did have bittersweet chocolate to shave…mmmmmm…..also, cinnamon and semi-sweet chocolate is pretty delicious, too.

    • says

      Sorry…I probably should have written a warning to go along with these–I couldn’t leave these alone either. And, whoa, cinnamon and chocolate sound like an awfully good idea!

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