Palmiers...or how to use up puff pastry leftovers

I hate wasting food of any kind, but when I’ve gone to the trouble of making puff pastry I want to make sure I use up every little scrap. Palmiers are the perfect way to do this.

If you’re cutting out a circle from a large rolled out sheet of pastry, save the bits that are left over, follow the instructions for rolling out below, and they will be ready by the time you have finished cooking your pie or whatever you needed that other circle of pastry for.

But even if you don’t have any scraps to hand, these light buttery biscuits are a perfectly legitimate use of your puff pastry making efforts in their own right.

I have long been a fan of palmiers, but for some reason had always assumed they would be hideously complicated to make. In reality, they couldn’t be simpler, just puff pastry and sugar – and that’s it. Still, it could be considered a good thing that I have only recently discovered this as they are seriously addictive.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

How to make palmiers:
Ingredients

• Puff pastry scraps
• Sugar (preferably demerera, but any kind will do)

Collect up your puff pastry scraps and lay them on top of each other. Don’t scrunch them together; you want to keep the lamination in the pastry the right way up

Roll out to form a long rectangle

Roll up the long edges in towards the middle, making sure its tightly and evenly rolled



Sprinkle sugar on the work surface and roll the pastry log in it to coat

Cut 5mm thick slices from the pastry log and press each flat side into more of the sugar



Place the palmiers on a baking tray, leaving space between each one for them to expand

Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C for 8 minutes then turn them over and return to the oven for a further 8 minutes, until deep golden brown

Transfer to a wire rack to cool