Gingersnap Palmiers

Rating: 3.22 stars
119 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 16
  • 4 star values: 37
  • 3 star values: 32
  • 2 star values: 25
  • 1 star values: 9

Palmiers, sometimes called palm leaves, are made with puff pastry folded several times, then sliced, to create a distinctive heart-shaped coil design. Ginger syrup and spiced sugar make these crisp French cookies festive and fragrant.

Martha Stewart Living, December 2006

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Recipe Summary

Yield:
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen
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Ingredients

Directions

  • Bring brown sugar, molasses, ginger, and 1/4 cup water to a simmer in a saucepan, whisking until sugar has dissolved. Simmer until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour syrup into a bowl; let cool.

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  • Whisk granulated sugar, salt, and spices in a bowl. Lightly sprinkle sugar mixture over a clean work surface; place puff pastry on top. Cut into two 10 1/2-by-7-inch pieces. Sprinkle generously with sugar mixture; press into pastry with a rolling pin. Brush generously with syrup.

  • Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll in from both long sides, meeting in the center; brush with syrup to seal. Sprinkle generously with sugar mixture. Wrap in plastic, and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours (up to overnight).

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut dough crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Dip slices in sugar mixture. Space 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten with your palm. Freeze 30 minutes.

  • Bake 10 minutes. Flip, and brush with syrup. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake until darkened, 10 minutes more. Transfer palmiers to a wire rack; let cool completely. Palmiers can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Cook's Notes

Palmiers can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.

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Reviews (8)

119 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 16
  • 4 star values: 37
  • 3 star values: 32
  • 2 star values: 25
  • 1 star values: 9
Anonymous
Rating: 2 stars
12/13/2015
ok. I have a lot of tolerance for Recipies that require numerous steps and are a bit fiddly if the results are worth it. Unfortunately, these cookies were NOT worth it. I just did not get enough flavour to reflect the effort for these cookies.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/20/2011
@ KarenSR - Once you cut the palmiers, they will become a bit flattened from the cutting process. Pinch them on the sides, bringing the "ears" back together in a more rounded shape. This will ensure your palmiers stay together and maintain a nice shape for baking. But these are a rustic cookie and will do their own thing in the cooking process, so don't be overly concerned about shape. Focus on flavor and good color!
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/14/2011
Taste is great but how to you keep the pastry from separating? I ended up with very few in palmier shape as they uncurled while cooking, with syrup covering most of the sheet.... Ib ought a high-quality (expensive) puff pastry so i was disappointed. I could only salvage a fraction for the gift boxes I was making....
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Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/13/2010
@PPPGGG, If you turn the pastry so the long side is facing you, you roll the long sides in towards each other. This gives you 10 1/2" of rolled pastry and 21 pieces per roll for a total of 42 pieces.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/07/2010
First of all - they tasted great! The baking process was a little challenging - I bought the only kind of puff pastry at the store, which had some seams for easy dividing on it, which I think screwed up the look of the cookie. As they baked they split apart and weren't all in the traditional Palmier shape. The syrup aspect was a bit messy - maybe I went overboard, but during the baking the syrup spread out from the cookie all over the parchment. I would make these again, even with the mess!
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/03/2010
Comments not encouraging.... anyway I detest recipes which clearly indicate a finished (cookie) amount which is not possible according to the recipe! (In this case, two 7 " rolls cut into 1/2 " slices cannot possibly result in 3 1/2 dozen cookies!)
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Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
01/06/2010
The baking instructions aren't very practical for the home cook-- you would need to raise and lower the temp four or five times. I did one sheet as directed, but for the rest of the batch I just baked them at 400 the whole time. There was no noticeable difference. I also think they look better if you brush with syrup before baking, then flip and finish with the syrup side down. All-in-all, not a perfect 10, but not very difficult and something different for the holiday cookie trays.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
03/31/2008
very fidgity, and messy and look nothing like Martha's. They taste pretty good...suprizingly.
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