Pastry heaven

I think Palmiers are one of the clearest memories from my childhood. I remember always choosing the palmiers over all the other goodies in the cabinet at the bakery when Mum would let me have a treat. The ones from my childhood usually had some kind of icing - vanilla or passionfruit - I think this is an Australian bastardisation of the original recipe. I haven't made mine with icing before - the trouble is, I'd have to wait for the palmiers to cool down & then ice them & then wait for the icing to set. Which would all take too long - this recipe is the one I use when I'm need of a quick sugar fix. They definitely don't look much like the French version, but they're yummy & super easy to make.

Anyway, tonight, it was actually D who asked for 'pastries' as we call them, so I'm feeling a little less guilty about so much sugar this early into the weekend :-).

Step 1
Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Take 1 Borg's puff pastry sheet & wait for it to thaw out. Fill a small dish with water.Using a pastry brush, brush the thawed-out pastry with a decent amount of water - make sure it covers the edges.

Step 2
Sprinkle about 3TBS of caster sugar over the pastry - I only use raw sugar, which is why it's a little brown. At this point you could add any flavourings you like - e.g. cinnamon or even grated chocolate.

Step 3
Fold the 2 edges of the pastry towards the middle, pressing down firmly as you go. You're now left with 2 long rectangles.

Step 4
Fold each of the rectangles in half length-ways - you should have 2 long rectangles about 1 inch wide.

Step 5
Fold the pastry in half length-ways & press down firmly - now you will have 1 long rectangle about 1 inch wide.

Step 6
Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into 1/2-1cm widths. The width here is completely up to you. I prefer narrower because that way I end up with more palmiers!

Step 7
Lay the palmiers cut side down on a tray lined with baking paper. Make sure you leave a little bit of room between each for spreading - remember, it's puff pastry so it's going to puff out. Using your fingers, press each one down firmly - don't squash them completely flat.

Step 8
Bake 15-20mins. If you're keen, you could flip them over half-way through. I never bother with this, because I cut them so thinly, they cook through well enough without being flipped.