This perfectly sweet and crunchy palmier cookie recipe has only three ingredients. These classic French pastries are a delightful treat for any occasion.
Jessica’s Recipe Science
- Defrost the puff pastry before using. Ice crystals can prevent a crisp texture due to releasing extra moisture.
- Sugar and cinnamon caramelize as the sugar melts, creating a light and crunchy texture and warm cinnamon flavor in each layer.
- Sugar caramelizes at 320°F and burns at 375°F. Once the palmiers turn golden brown, remove them from the oven to avoid burning.
Featured Comment 46
“I am 16 and just made this for my French party tomorrow. It was an easy to follow and fun. The illustrations really helped make sure I was doing it correctly. Great recipe!!!”—Hannah
Why It Works
When I worked at a bakery in high school, the European pastry chefs always made fresh batches of palmier cookies—heart-shaped, delicate treats also called elephant ear cookies. These were a holiday favorite and sold out fast, making them a perfect addition to any Christmas cookie platter to share with family and friends.
Culinary school taught me to make these crispy, flaky cookies from scratch. I created this instant gratification recipe using store-bought puff pastry, sugar, and cinnamon for a quick and easy version. The buttery, flaky layers caramelize, creating a light, crunchy texture and sweet flavor. It’s simple, delicious, and captures all the charm of this classic French treat.
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Ingredients You’ll Need
- Puff Pastry: I make the cookies using Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets. Defrost the sheets before rolling, but do not let them get too warm, as this can make them hard to roll.
- Sugar: I use white granulated sugar for a clean sweetness and caramelization as the cookies bake.
- Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon adds a warm baked note and churro flavor to the cookies.
See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).
Ingredient Substitutions
This palmier cookie recipe is easy to customize! Try these tasty options:
- Puff Pastry: Use refrigerated or frozen puff pastry. They come in all butter and gluten-free versions as well.
- Spices: Add cardamom, allspice, mace, nutmeg, ginger, or try my pumpkin pie spice mix.
- Coatings: Drizzle or dip the palmiers in white, milk, or dark chocolate for extra decadence.
How to Make Palmier Cookies
Step 1: Defrost the Puff Pastry
The key to working with puff pastry is to make sure that if frozen, the dough is completely defrosted (overnight in the refrigerator, if possible). If the dough starts to get sticky or soft, pop it back in the fridge to allow the butter to chill so it’s easier to work with. If the butter melts into the dough, you won’t get the proper “puffed” texture.
Tips for Perfect Execution: Make sure the puff pastry is completely defrosted before you use it. Otherwise, the dough will still have ice crystals, and the cookie will not be as crunchy. The extra moisture may also seep from the cookie during baking, creating caramel puddles around your cookie.
Step 2: Mix the Sugar and Cinnamon
In a medium bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon until evenly combined. This ensures consistent flavor and caramelization throughout the layers of the palmier cookies. The fine sugar granules will melt into the puff pastry as it bakes, creating a crisp finish with a hint of warmth from the cinnamon.
Step 3: Roll Out the Puff Pastry
Place one defrosted puff pastry sheet on parchment paper. Ensure it’s fully thawed but still cool to the touch. Using a rolling pin, gently roll the pastry in both directions to create an even, slightly thinner surface. This helps the layers bake evenly and enhances the final texture of the palmier cookies.
Step 4: Add the Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
After rolling out the dough to slightly even the surface, sprinkle about ¼ cup of the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat the surface evenly. Gently roll the rolling pin over the cinnamon-sugar mixture to adhere as much of the sugar to the dough as possible.
Carefully flip the dough over and repeat the process on the other side. Roll out the dough to approximately a 13-inch by 13-inch square. Rolling out the dough will yield a crisper cookie.
Step 5: Fold the Pastry
The key to the palmier heart cookie shape is evenly folding the dough from opposite edges twice on each side until it reaches the middle. Then, fold one half over the other to create a “closed book” shape, resulting in 6 layers. Repeat with the second puff pastry sheet.
Step 6: Refrigerate
Chill the dough for 15 minutes so the fat in the pastry can solidify and make cutting easier.
Step 7: Heat the Oven
Position the oven rack in the center and preheat to 400°F (204°C) for even baking. Since puff pastry is not leavened with yeast or chemical leavening agents, it relies on high temperatures to allow the moisture in the butter and dough to turn into steam, enabling the pastry to separate and rise into hundreds of delicate layers in the crisp cookies.
Step 8: Slice
Slice the cookies into 3/8-inch pieces. Each sheet of puff pastry will yield about 24 French pastries.
Experimentation Encouraged: You can also make cinnamon and sugar straws by cutting them into 3/4-inch pieces and then twisting them before baking them off.
Step 9: Coat
Dip each side of the cookie into the reserved cinnamon-sugar mixture, shaking off the excess. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart, to allow them to expand. Separate the tops of the cookies to make “bunny ears” to create a more defined heart shape.
Step 10: Bake
After baking the cookies at 400°F for 12 minutes, quickly flip them over. They will not be completely hardened, but this will help them continue to caramelize. They will become crispier as they bake for 3 to 7 additional minutes. More time is needed in an electric oven.
Expert Tip: Sugar caramelizes at 320°F (106ºC) and burns at 375°F (191ºC). Once you flip the cookies over and take them out when they just turn golden brown, keep a close eye on the color of the surface. Be careful, the sugar can quickly go from caramelized to burned!
Step 11: Cool
After removing the cookies from the oven, immediately place each on a wire rack to stop cooking. The sugar will harden for a perfectly crisp, sweet, and crunchy palmier cookie recipe made with lots of love.
With only three ingredients, this simple, delicious palmier cookie recipe quickly brought back some nostalgic memories from my childhood. I enjoy the cinnamon flavor because it reminds me of homemade churros; however, feel free to omit the cinnamon if you enjoy a simple yet elegant cookie instead!
Frequently Asked Questions
The English name for a palmier is “elephant ear cookie.” This name comes from the cookie’s shape, which resembles an elephant’s ear with its crisp, flaky layers and signature heart-like curve. It’s also called pig ear cookies or palm leaves. Palmiers are made by folding and rolling puff pastry with sugar to create a caramelized, buttery treat that’s as light as it is delicious.
Mille feuille and palmiers both use puff pastry but differ in form and texture. Mille feuille, or “Napoleon,” is layered with pastry cream between thin sheets, creating a rich, creamy dessert. Palmiers are simpler—puff pastry folded with sugar into a heart shape, then baked until crisp and caramelized, with no filling for a lighter, crunchy texture.
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Palmier Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 package puff pastry sheets, 17.3 ounces, 2 sheets (Pepperidge Farm®)
Instructions
- Defrost the Puff Pastry – Defrost overnight in the refrigerator or leave it in its package on the counter at room temperature for about 40 minutes. To thaw in the microwave, remove 1 pastry sheet from the packaging, wrap in a paper towel, and microwave on high for 15 seconds per side.
- Mix the Sugar and Cinnamon – Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
- Roll Out the Puff Pastry – Unfold 1 defrosted pastry sheet on a piece of parchment paper. The puff pastry should be refrigerator temperature, and completely defrosted. With a rolling pin, roll out the puff pastry sheet in both directions to create a slightly flatter and even surface.
- Add the Cinnamon Sugar Mixture – Evenly cover the surface of the puff pastry with ¼ cup of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Using the rolling pin, roll over the sugar surface; this helps the mixture adhere to the puff pastry.Carefully flip the pastry over (the excess sugar mixture will come off), and repeat the step on the other side, gently rolling the sugar into the surface of the dough. You want an even covering of the sugar mixture on both sides of the pastry. Roll the dough out to approximately a 13” by 13” square.
- Fold the Pastry – To shape the palmiers, fold the dough evenly from the opposite edges inward toward the center twice, then fold one half over the other to form a closed book shape with six layers. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry.
- Refrigerate – Chill the dough for 15 minutes to allow the fat in the puff pastry to harden slightly before cutting and prevent melting into the dough.
- Heat the Oven – Set the oven to the center position. Heat the oven to 400°F (204ºC).
- Slice – Slice the dough into ⅜ inch slices. This should yield approximately 24 cookies per puff pastry sheet.
- Coat – Dip each side of the sliced dough into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place the cookies cut-side up, 2" apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. For a more heart-shaped cookie, slightly separate the tops of the cookie dough to resemble bunny ears.
- Bake – Bake one tray at a time in the center of the oven. Bake for 12 minutes, then turn over the cookies with a spatula and bake another 3 minutes, or until lightly caramelized on the surface. This may require 4 to 7 minutes depending on your oven. Check after each additional minute because caramelization will occur quickly. The cookies are done baking when both sides feel hard on the surface.
- Cool – Immediately transfer the cookies to a wire rack. They will continue to harden as they cool. The texture should be crunchy and crispy.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Storing: Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Veronica says
Thank you for including the science!! 🙂
Jessica Gavin says
You’re welcome, Veronica!