Pastry: Palmiers

Puff pastry is delicious, especially when you use it to create these delicious swirls of cinnamon and sugar. You can make your own puff pastry, or you can use frozen pastry.


Ingredients


1 recipe for Easy Puff Pastry
½ cup sugar
1½ tsp cinnamon sugar


Preparation


Heat oven to 375°F. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Divide dough in half and wrap one half and refrigerate. Roll out the remaining dough to a 10x14-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface or silicone rolling mat. Square up the corners as well as you are able.


Sprinkle the rectangle with half the sugar mixture. Press the sugar lightly into the dough. Starting from one of the 10-inch sides, roll up the dough, but stop when you get halfway. Roll up the other 10-inch side, stopping when you meet the first roll. Press the rolls lightly together, but you don't need to pinch them. Puff pastry doesn't move too much when baking.


Slice the roll into 20 ½-inch slices. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the palmiers are golden brown. Immediately remove from the baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Repeat with other half of dough.


Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. This recipe makes 40 palmiers.

Pastry: Parmesan Pastry Twists

If you're having soup or salad, these cheesy pastries are a delightful and light accompaniment. They're also a great after school snack and are easy to pack for picnics. These are made with puff pastry, which you can make yourself or you can buy frozen at your local grocery store. Either way will work.


Ingredients


1 recipe for Easy Puff Pastry
¼ cup parmesan cheese
¼ tsp garlic powder
¾ tsp basil leaves, dried
1 egg, slightly beaten


Preparation


Heat oven to 425°F. In a small bowl, combine parmesan, garlic powder, and basil. Roll out the puff pastry dough on a floured surface until you have a 10x14-inch rectangle. Square up the corners as best you can.


Brush the dough with the egg, covering the surface completely. Don't cover the very edges. If you cover the edges (or parts where you've cut the dough) it may not puff correctly. So cover the surface fully, but don't cover the little edges. Sprinkle with the cheese mixture.


Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough so you have 2 5x14-inch rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 28 strips that are ½-inch wide. You can go a little wider if you like, but you'll get fewer strips.


Twist each strip 3 or 4 times and place on prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on wire racks, then store in an airtight container for up to a week. Or just eat them. That's what we do.


This recipe makes 56 strips or less, depending on how wide you cut them.

Pastry: Easy Puff Pastry

Puff pastry is actually very easy to make, if you have the time. While it doesn't take any particular skill, it does take all day. There's a lot of folding, a lot of rolling, and a lot of spreading butter on the dough, not to mention the time the dough will spend chilling in the refrigerator. It's worth the effort if you like to bake things from scratch.


The real secret to this dough is keeping it cold. Refrigerate it between steps and use ice cold water in the dough itself. You might even want to use a metal rolling pin that has been refrigerated overnight. The dough will turn out all the better for it. Just don't substitute anything for the butter. No margarine, no shortening, nothing. Just butter.


When you work with puff pastry, make sure to keep it cold. Refrigerate the portions you're not working with. Puff pastry should go from the fridge to the oven for best results. If you're going to reroll puff pastry that you've cut, don't roll it up into a ball first. Layer it instead, then roll, or your pastry will not puff properly.


Ingredients


3 cups all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
1 cup ice water
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cups butter, softened


Preparation


This dough is relatively simple, so throw everything except the butter into a large bowl and mix until you have a soft dough that you can manipulate. Add a little extra water if you have to, but not so much that you end up with a sticky mess. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll into a 12x15-inch rectangle.


Spread with ¼ cup butter, but stay about an inch away from all edges. Fold into thirds so that you have a 12x5-inch rectangle, making sure to fold over the butter. Pinch edges sealed and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.


Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out again until it is a 12x15-inch rectangle once more. Spread with another ¼ cup of butter. Fold into thirds, pinch edges until they're sealed, cover, and refrigerate for another hour. Continue to repeat this process until you have no more butter. Make sure you have folded, sealed, and rolled out the dough into a 12x15-inch rectangle.


At this point, you can use the puff pastry immediately for freeze for future use. If you're freezing it, place the entire 12x15-inch rectangle between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll up the dough gently and freeze.


Before you use the frozen dough, let it thaw on the counter for at least 2 hours.


This puff pastry can be used in any recipe calling for puff pastry.