Savory Palmiers -- a festive appetizer for any occasion!

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Here at the Kitchen, we decided ages ago that using commercial puff pastry is not “cheating.” If you’ve ever tried making your own, you know how hard it is. And the ready-made pastry (the grumpy word lover in me refuses to say pre-made, because how can you make something before you make it?) is perfectly fine, as well as tasty.

And who doesn’t love a little puff pastry treat at a holiday party – even if it’s just a party for one or two at home by the fire? 

In my first mystery, Death al Dente: A Food Lovers’ Village Mystery (2013, winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel), Erin Murphy, my main character, cooks up a Festa di Pasta as a summer kickoff in her hometown of Jewel Bay, Montana. One of the desserts served, even though they’re not Italian, are Palmiers, aka French sugar cookies, made with puff pastry and sugar. (The recipe is in the book – I wasn’t part of the Kitchen then, and haven’t shared the recipe here.) They’ve become a family favorite.

So when I saw a recipe for Savory Palmiers, I was all in! I’ve adapted the recipe a fair bit from the original, but it’s still full of buttery flavor and Italian herbs. (Here's my Italian herb blend recipe; scroll down a bit!) 

Cheese cookies, as Mr. Right calls them, are the perfect appetizers with a holiday cocktail or mocktail, and also go beautifully alongside tomato soup or even an omelet. (Shown with my Tomato-Orange Soup, another household fave.) 

And you’ve got to love an appetizer that looks more difficult than it is – bringing us back to the magic of puff pastry! 

These can be prepared in advance and frozen, in logs, then sliced and baked like – well, like cookies! If you’ve got a bottle of herbed olive oil, this is a great opportunity to use it, although regular EVOO works just fine. The palmiers can be served warm or at room temperature, making them an easy treat for a potluck as well as at home. 

Wishing you all the joys of the holiday season!

One lucky reader will win an e-book short story, "The Christmas Stranger: A Food Lovers' Village Mystery," in which Erin does a small good deed for a mysterious stranger, who repays her in surprising ways. Scroll down for details.

That's the real bridge in my hometown, the model for Jewel Bay, and the site of a pivotal scene in "The Christmas Stranger." (Thanks to the Bigfork, Montana Chamber of Commerce for permission to use the photo!)

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. 

Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

SAVORY PALMIERS 

1 package puff pastry

olive oil 

4 tablespoons Italian herb blend 

pinch of salt

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, preferably sharp, shredded

1 egg

1/2 cup grated Parmesan 

Thaw the puff pastry sheets on a large cutting board, lightly floured. (Typically about 20 minutes.) Roll each sheet to a rectangle roughly 12X14 inches. 

Brush each sheet with oil. In a small bowl, mix the herbs and salt. Sprinkle each sheet with half the Italian herbs (2 tablespoons each) and half the cheddar (1/4 cup each). 

Working from the long side, roll the pastry to the center. Rotate your cutting board and roll from the other side. Repeat with second sheet. Place on a plate or baking tray topped with parchment paper and freeze for 10 minutes. (If you’re making the palmiers in advance, wrap well and leave in freezer.) 

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Remove logs from the freezer. The ends of your logs may be uneven; trim if needed. Cut into slices, about 1/3" thick. (Each log will make 18 palmiers.) Place on the prepared baking sheet. Whisk the egg with one tablespoon water and brush the tops of each palmier. Sprinkle with Parmesan. 

Bake until the pastry begins to puff and the tops begin to turn golden, about 6-8 minutes. Flip and bake until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes more.

Makes 36. (Trust me, that’s not too many.) 

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

Are there treats -- sweet or savory -- that you save for holidays or other festive occasions? For me, it's a bowl of salted, roasted mixed nuts and a pan full of homemade fudge, but these savory palmiers are joining the list! 

One reader will win an e-copy of "The Christmas Stranger: A Food Lovers' Village Short Story. When Erin does a small favor for a mysterious man, lives change in unlikely -- and miraculous -- ways. 

Leave your email address to be entered; the winner will be announced Thursday, December 18. (The story was originally published in Carried to the Grave and Other Stories, so if you have the collection, you've already got the story.)

And if all this talk of Christmas treats and books whets your appetite for more, take a look at As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles: A Food Lovers' Village Mystery and Peppermint Barked: A Spice Shop Mystery. Both are available in paperback, ebook, and audio. And remember, books fit perfectly in any holiday stocking! 

Have you read the latest Spice Shop mystery, Lavender Lies Bleeding?

At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .  

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who’s taken to the hills. 

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there’s one in every pocket. 

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz’s success, and a local growers’ cooperative. She’s also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf. 

As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. Watch for Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop Mystery, on July 15, 2025.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine. 

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.