Palmier or in German “Schweineohren” is a very airy, crispy and sweet pastry from France, suitable with coffee or tea
Also called Palmiers or sometimes called Elephant Ears, is a sweet French pastry that is made from puff pastry. They are usually filled with butter, sugar and sometimes cinnamon. There are also savory versions of this pastry.
Admittedly, the name Schweineohren, which means pig ear, is misleading. The strange name came about because of their appearance. With a lot of imagination they resemble pig’s ears.
To start, remove the puff pastry from the freezer. Keep it on the counter for at least 30 minutes. Once thawed but still cold, roll out puff pastry and spread with butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
Both sides are now folded in the middle. This process is repeated once so that you can get the typical and beautiful pattern. After the folding process, the dough is sliced and baked. The sugar caramelizes during the baking process. The result is delicious, airy, and crunchy puff pastry with a filling of caramelized cinnamon-sugar.
The filling in this recipe is made with a mixture of butter, cinnamon and sugar. If you don’t like cinnamon, you can of course make the filling just with sugar. You can then dunk the baked and cooled Schweineohren pastry edges in melted chocolate.
It is an easy recipe for baking crunchy puff pastry with the most delicious cinnamon filling.
I have created a visual guide to ensure this recipe will be a success. This is especially recommended for beginners, with step-by-step pictures:
1. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Melt 1/4 cup of butter (make sure it’s not hot).
2. Roll out puff pastry sheet into a rectangle on baking paper, brush with soft butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
3. Fold both sides to the middle.
4. Sprinkle the inserted puff pastry halves with cinnamon sugar.
Place the puff pastry in the middle again and sprinkle again with cinnamon sugar.
5. Now place both sides on top of each other and sprinkle all over with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Fold to one piece and cover with cinnamon sugar again.
6. Wrap the puff pastry roll in parchment paper and freeze for 30 minutes. This makes it much easier to cut.
In the meantime, line a baking tray with baking paper and preheat the oven to 425 F convection or 450 F regular oven.
Cut the cold puff pastry roll into about 1/2″ thick slices (or thicker if you like) with a sharp knife.
Place them on the baking sheet with enough space between them (they will increase significantly in size while baking).
Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through the baking time.
Place on cooling rack for about 20 minutes,
If you like, dip edges of cooled Palmiers in melted Chocolate
Prepare, Freeze & Store
Prepare the dough: You can store the rolled up puff pastry (after step 6) in the freezer for a few days. Let the deep-frozen dough thaw briefly at room temperature until it can be easily cut. Then follow step 7. Once baked store the Schweineohren or Prussiens in a cookie jar or plastic container at room temperature. The sweet pastry stays fresh and crispy for a good week!
Schweineohren, sweet Palmiers
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup soft butter
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- Melted chocolate (optional)
Instructions
- Mix 1 cup sugar and cinnamon in a bowl..
- Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small bowl.
- Place the puff pastry rolled out into a rectangle on baking paper.
- Swipe with butter.
- Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar.
- Place both sides in the middle.
- Sprinkle the inserted puff pastry halves with cinnamon sugar.
- Place the puff pastry in the middle again and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
- Now place both sides on top of each other and sprinkle all over with the remaining cinnamon sugar.
- Wrap the puff pastry roll in parchment paper and refrigerate or freeze for 30 minutes (this makes it much easier to cut the puff pastry).
- In the meantime, line two baking trays with baking paper and preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Cut the cold puff pastry roll into 1/2″ thick slices and place them on the baking trays with sufficient spacing.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 8 to 10 min., turning halfway through the baking time.
- Allow to cool on baking rack.
- Note: If only using butter and sugar, the edges of the cooled pastry can be dunked into melted chocolate.
Notes
Store in a plastic container at room temperature for 5 days.
