Serious Eats: Sweets
Cookie Monster: Palmiers
[Photograph: Carrie Vasios]
Growing up I knew these cookies as Elephant Ears. And the ones that I got from the bakery—once a week, only after ballet—felt about as large as the real thing. While this version is much more dainty (and thus in my mind more deserving of a pretty French name) they still remind me of childhood.
Palmiers are made from puff pastry, which makes them exceptionally tender and flaky. I love the thin sugar glaze and how each bite dissolves in your mouth, leaving a smooth vanilla aftertaste. But most of all they're so fun to look at and to eat, like little sugar butterflies flitting into my mouth.
