Dainty Delight

I'm off to Grandmother's house today for our weekly visit, which I love. She always has the most interesting stories, like how I learned last week that she can knit (or used to be able to) but never really had the patience for it (sounds like me). Evidently, her mother was quite the avid knitter and used to knit all sorts of wonderful things for her children to wear, like the beautiful knit wool sweater suit my grandmother had when she moved to California from Canada. Though very lovely, it was quite inappropriate for the warm and sunny California weather, but she had to wear it, because it was one of the only articles of clothing she owned. I may never complain that I have nothing to wear again....well, for a while at least.

I always like to bring my grandmother something sweet to eat because she has a wicked sweet tooth and when a person is 90, why not indulge a bit? But unfortunately I have no flour because I haven't had a chance to get to the market yet this week due to unforeseen circumstances. But a post on another fantastic blog caught my attention. Have you heard of Palmiers or elephant ears? They are cookies that are light, crisp and sweet, a perfect treat to go with coffee or tea. And because they are made from puff pastry (which I will probably NOT ever make from scratch) I can pull the dough right out of my freezer; it's an easy and delicious solution to my bare pantry, much like my cinnamon roll recipe.

It is so important to use quality ingredients if you are going to fake it instead of making it from scratch. So make sure that the puff pastry you buy uses real butter, not some nasty emulsified oil stuff. The ingredients on my Trader Joe's puff pastry are as follows: wheat flour, butter, salt, sugar, water. That is as close to homemade as anything!

Palmiers

Remove one large or 2 small sheets of puff pastry from the freezer. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes (or as long as the package directs).

Set dough on a lightly sugared board, sprinkle the top heavily with sugar, about 1 C total, and roll dough out to 1/8 inch thick.

Roll each edge towards the center, jelly roll style until they meet in the middle. Place the rolls in the fridge to rest for about an hour, or until firm.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove from refrigerator and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices. Lay on a greased cookie sheet, or one that is lined with a silicone liner or parchment paper. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and baked through. Remove to rack to cool.