I decided to try out the dish I am making for the Super Bowl party I am attending tomorrow night and I am glad I did. I was charged with making the dessert or sweet. We’re having chili as the main course, so I thought something simple would be in order.
As I leafed through Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris cookbook, I found something I thought was perfect... Palmiers or elephant ears. They’re simple to make, just commercial puff pastry and sugar. But the timing is critical, as I found in my first effort.
It is literally a matter of seconds that will take the palmiers from a lovely caramelized bronze to black.
All you do is roll out a sheet of the puff pastry in sugar on both sides. I used Pepperidge Farm, but to really upgrade, use Dufour pastry. Fold in from the sides and then slice thinly. 
I put them on parchment paper, just because they remove from the tray more easily.
Put them in a 450* oven, and set the timer for six minutes. Remove from the oven and flip them, and then set the timer for 2.5 minutes. CHECK OFTEN! When they are a dark golden brown, remove from the oven and put on a baking rack to cool. If you don’t know, hot sugar is like Napalm and burns like the devil. 
I am not sure why some of them open up, but I am sure they are all tasty, regardless of how they look! If you want to change them a little, add cinnamon to the sugar. You can also do everything up to cooking the palmiers, and then freeze them for later use.
I'd like to come to your party for those. I'd even eat the burned ones....but who are you rooting for?
ReplyDeleteMmmm... I never heard of these commercially frozen puff pastries until I tried a recipe for Shepherd's Pie recently that used the puff pastry for the top. I was skeptical that my grocery store would carry such a thing, but there it was in the freezer, "Puff Pastry." I feel like the world has been conspiring to hide these things from me! They made for an almost effortless and very tasty pastry topping for my Shepherd's Pie, and I have another one frozen in my freezer. Of course I need to try these elephant ear things immediately. I just want you to know that you and the napalm sugar devil are totally conspiring to sabotage my diet. ;-) Happy Superbowl!
ReplyDeleteUC... if you were closer, you'd have been invited! And someone already said that they'd have eaten the dark ones, which I pitched.
ReplyDeleteAs for who I want to win? Since the Pats barely squeeked by the Ravens, I'd like them to win, so we will have been beaten by the winners.
Rebecca... another thing I do with puff pastry is roll it out and put parmesan cheese on it. fold, cheese and roll again. top with an egg wash and some good sea salt. cut into strips and bake. cheese straws - they're addictive!
ReplyDeleteHere's how they looked on New Year's eve.
So nice and light. I would add the cinnamon, just because I love it. I will also try your Parmesan Cheese Crisps Meg!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
I always liked those little things and did not know they are so simple to make. Love the "napalm" comment - how true!
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black-end elephant ears sounds as if it would be an exotic delicacy not a result of a baking mis calculation --- the birds would have loved them ---or a bit of powdered sugar to the rescue-- another layer of flavor to cover a "sin"
ReplyDeleteThey look marvellous, and the addition of some cinammon would make them scrumptious in my view!
ReplyDeleteHappy Superbowl Sunday. We shall be watching until around 4am here!
Di
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Thank you for the "scorched" photo--I don't feel so alone any more. Mary
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