Palmiers

There’s still time to bake a great cookie for that Christmas tray.  Remember when your Mom would make cinnamon sugar bites out of left over pie dough and you couldn’t seem to get enough?  Well, this recipe will conjure up old memories and take those bites a step further.  It’s amazing how just a few ingredients  in just a few minutes can taste so good.  These tiny little cookies have a nice light taste.

2 cups sugar/Splenda/Stevia
3 tbls. Cinnamon
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
2 boxes frozen puff pastry, thawed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with either parchment paper or Silpat and set aside.

NOTE:  If using a convection oven, set at 375.

Make sure that the puff pastry is completely thawed before beginning.  The dough will roll out much easier for you.

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Sprinkle a cutting board with some of the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Open a sheet of puff pastry on the sugared surface being very careful not to tear dough.  If some of it comes apart at the creases, just gently press the dough back together.

Sprinkle the surface of the dough with more cinnamon sugar and gently roll out into a 10″x14″ rectangle.  Very lightly mark the middle of the rectangle with a knife across the width of the dough.  Starting at the short end of the rectangle, roll the dough just like a jelly roll towards the line in the center.  Repeat with the other side. 

Gently take the rolled dough and put it on a piece of plastic wrap and roll it up.  Place in the freezer for about 30 minutes.  This will make it easier to cut.  Repeat with remaining pieces of puff pastry.

Remove a roll from the freezer and cut into 3/8″ slices.  Place the slices, cut side up, on prepared cookie sheet spacing them 2″ apart.

Brush cut side with melted butter and sprinkle on more of the  cinnamon sugar to your liking.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven. Turn Palmiers over, brush with more butter and sprinkle more cinnamon sugar on them.  Bake for 5 minutes longer or until golden.

Remove to wire racks, let cool completely and store in airtight container.

Makes 4 dozen

Bits & Pieces:  I was wrestling with the plastic wrap, trying to get a frozen roll unwrapped.  I couldn’t find the starting point.  It seemed like it was endlessly wrapped.  Finally giving up, I grabbed the scissors and just cut up the middle of the roll.  Well, the bonus of that is…it gave me a great surface to cut the pastry into slices without anything sticking to the board.  I’ll do it that way from now on.