Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: palmiers

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Palmiers aka French Sugar Cookies #recipe by Leslie Budewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: When my first novel, Death al Dente, came out in August 2013, I wasn’t part of Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen yet and I wasn’t in the habit of photographing the recipes in my books. A week ago, the sixth book in the series, Carried to the Grave and Other Stories, my lucky thirteenth book overall, came out. And while it doesn’t include recipes, it does include food.

In the title story, Erin and her friend Wendy the Baker are drawn into a web of secrets after the funeral of Wendy’s beloved grandmother. There’s plenty of food, including palmiers, the French sugar cookies made with puff pastry. After all, Wendy is a baker and her husband, Max, is French. Erin and Wendy served palmiers in Death al Dente, too, so I thought they’d be fun to make for you now.

A recurrent friendly debate here at the Kitchen is whether using commercial puff pastry is “cheating.” The answer is no. You’re not likely to make it yourself—too much work—and the frozen product is easy to use and perfectly tasty. So go ahead. Use it and enjoy. But if anyone asks whether you made the pastry yourself, ’fess up. Anything else would be cheating.

These cookies are terrific by themselves or with ice cream and fresh berries or mint. They’re super easy, but look fancy and French. Or as Erin says to Wendy in “Carried to the Grave,” “Your Uncle Frank might give you guff about the fancy French food, but I notice he eats his share.”

Any favorite short-cuts in your kitchen?

Palmiers aka French sugar cookies

3/4 to 1 cup sugar

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicon sheet.

Sprinkle your work surface with 1-2 T sugar. Lay the thawed puff pastry on the surface. Sprinkle with 2 T sugar. Roll into a 10X14" rectangle. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup sugar, stopping about ½" from the edges. Lightly press the sugar into the pastry, using your hands or the rolling pin.

Use a knife to score a very fine line across the pastry, starting in the middle of the short side and running the length of the pastry. Start at one long side and roll up the pastry tightly, stopping at the score line in the middle. Repeat from the other side. Using a chef’s knife so that you’re cutting rather than sawing and tearing the pastry, cut into 3/8" slices. Lay slices 2" apart on baking sheets. Sprinkle lightly with 1 T sugar. Bake for 12 minutes. Turn cookies over and sprinkle with 1 T sugar. Bake 3-5 minutes or until golden brown and glazed. Place on wire racks to cool.

Makes about 24. At my house, just like at Erin Murphy’s, these go fast. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

My kitchen ruler is a freebie from RWA, Romance Writers of America, proclaiming "Romance Rules!"

Roll the dough a little tighter than shown here -- I left a gap in the photo for illustration.

CARRIED TO THE GRAVE AND OTHER STORIES: A Food Lovers' Village Mystery (May 2021 from Beyond the Page Publishing in paperback and ebook):

Return to Montana’s Food Lovers’ Village with three-time Agatha Award winner Leslie Budewitz in this collection of five contemporary short mysteries and a historical novella, tales of secrets, envy, revenge, and murder, seasoned with humor, good food, and creative problem-solving.

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, and the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories. Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. Watch for her first standalone suspense novel, Bitterroot Lake (written as Alicia Beckman) in April 2021 from Crooked Lane Books.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

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.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Italian Easter Pie Palmiers: Little Heart-Shaped Quiches by Cleo Coyle

Every year at Pasqua, my beloved Aunt Mary would make an Italian Easter Pie. Her version of this rustic pie was amazing to me because it was so satisfying yet so simple. She called it a "pizza," but Americans would recognize it as closer to a white calzone.

Cleo Coyle has a partner in

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She would fill her rustic Easter pie with ricotta; diced ham; fresh parsley (always fresh!); strong, grated Italian cheese; and raw eggs for binding. She'd mix up a delicious, slightly sweet dough using just her hands on a big bread board. Then she'd roll our the dough, mound in the filling, fold over the dough, seal it, and bake it. After it was baked and chilled (yes, chilled!), we would cut thin slices and eat it at all hours, for breakfast, lunch, snacks, as an appetizer before dinner, or a savory dessert after.

My Aunt
Mary Capaccio

I greatly miss my Aunt Mary. She came to the USA from Italy with my mother. During my childhood, she lived with us and was like a second mother to me and my sister. Aunt Mary passed away over ten years ago, and I still yearn for all the wonderful foods she made for our family. Although I do try to duplicate her recipes, it's the cooking from her heart that I miss the most.

That's why I am once again sharing this Easter recipe with you today, which folds all the flavors of her Easter Pie into a little palmier. The French palmier (a cookie made of sugar-dusted puff pastry) is actually named after a palm leaf, but the shape reminds me more of a heart and that seemed just perfect for my memory of Aunt Mary and her Easter Pie.

I can also testify that a bite of this palmier (after it is baked and chilled) will give you an almost identical taste to what my aunt made every Easter.

Buona Pasqua, Aunt Mary!

Happy Easter, everyone!

~ Cleo

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Cleo Coyle's Italian

Easter Pie Palmiers

Little Heart-Shaped Quiches

Makes 10 savory palmiers

Serve as an appetizer or snack; taste can be compared to a quiche.

Ingredients

1 cup ricotta cheese (whole milk)
2 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1/2 cup flat leaf Italian parsley (fresh!), finely chopped down to 1/4 c.

1 sheet of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry (or 10 x 10-inch homemade)

1 egg, lightly beaten

5 thin slices of good quality ham or prosciutto

Method

Step 1: Mix the filling - In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, grated Romano, and finely chopped fresh parsley. (I just use a good handful, which is about 1/2 cup. When you chop it finely, the volume measure goes down to 1/4 cup.) This filling should be very well mixed--be sure to work in all of the grated cheese and parsley. Set aside in the fridge to keep it cold.

Step 2: Prepare the pastry - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. The paper is mandatory. Not only will it help prevent your palmiers from scorching on your pan's hot spots, it will help you fold the puff pastry when the time comes. Lay the puff pastry out on the parchment paper. Use your favorite recipe or go with the Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry sheets. If you've never used these before, see the photo below...

Two folded sheets of puff pastry come in one package. Take out one sheet and allow it to thaw about 30 minutes (or you can cheat and microwave it on low for no more than 10 seconds to thaw it slightly). Now unfold the dough. If there are any cracks, wet your finger and press the dough together to mend it. TIP: Handle the dough as little as possible and keep it cold during the assembly process by returning it to the fridge to re-chill.

Step 3: Brush and layer - Lightly beat the egg and brush it over the entire sheet of puff pastry. Then mound the ricotta cheese mixture onto the egg-washed pastry. Use a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon to smooth the filling into an even layer. Now lay your thin slices of ham (or prosciutto) over the top layer of ricotta and fold.

Step 4: Fold - You want to fold this 10 x 10-inch sheet like a letter, into thirds, and then a final time so that the two folded layers are stacked. I like to use the parchment paper to lift and fold, which prevents my hands from warming the puff pastry.

Step 5: Chill and slice - Chill the dough for at least 20 minutes and then cut into 1-inch slices.

WARNING: The chilling is necessary for the best result. If the dough is warm, it will begin to give and bend as you cut it, and you're palmiers will not hold their pretty shapes. Set the slices on their sides, leaving room between each to allow space for expansion while baking.

Step 6 - Bake and cool - Bake 15 to 20 minutes in an oven that is well pre-heated to 400 degrees F. The Easter Pie Palmiers are done when the pastry has puffed and turned golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the palmiers to cool a bit before carefully transferring to a rack. Allow these savory goodies to cool to room temperature before eating. If you want to experience the true taste of a traditional Italian Easter Pie, then chill these a bit in the fridge, take them out, and...eat with joy! Love, Cleo