Savory Palmiers with Roasted Garlic and Rosemary

Step 1

Real Talk: What the heck is a “palmier”, anyway? These French pastries (pronounced “pahlm-yay” in case your friends ask) are traditionally lacquered with sugar, then rolled up. They’re also adorably called “elephant ears.” We filled these palmiers with a garlic-rosemary blend to make them less dessert-y. The cook time for the garlic is correct—just be sure to cook it over super-low heat.

Step 2

Preheat oven to 400°. Cook garlic and oil in a small saucepan over low heat until garlic is bubbling around the edges but not taking on color, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook until garlic is softened and tender and your kitchen smells like garlic, 15–20 minutes. Add rosemary, red pepper, and a few generous pinches of salt and increase heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rosemary is fragrant and garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Be patient and let everything cool. Mash garlic mixture with a fork or potato masher to a coarse paste. There’s your filling!

Step 3

Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface just to smooth out any creases. If you’re using a package of pastry that has 2 sheets, simply stack the sheets and roll out to a rectangle between ¼"–⅛" thick. Smear garlic mixture over pastry in an even layer, spreading to edges (a small offset spatula is good for this).

Step 4

Okay, here comes the fun part: With 1 long side facing you, fold both long sides in toward the center line so the edges meet in the middle (do not overlap); press down gently to flatten. Brush exposed pastry with egg wash (which is just a beaten egg that will make the dough a beautiful color after baking). Now roll the sides you just folded lengthwise toward the center to form a double-spiral log with a seam running down the middle. Squeeze all along length of log to adhere. Roll whole log away from you 90° so seam is facing away from you. Trim about ½" off 1 end to clean up the edge, then slice log crosswise into ½"-thick pieces (you should have about 15).

Step 5

You’re almost done! Transfer pieces cut side up to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 2" apart. Brush outside edges of pastry with egg wash, avoiding cut sides on top. Chill until pastry is firm, 10–15 minutes.

Step 6

Bake palmiers 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350° and continue to bake until puffed and golden all over, 20–30 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Step 7

Do Ahead: Palmiers can be baked 8 hours ahead. Let cool, then cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature until ready to serve.