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These elephant ears cookies are so light and crisp. It’s so easy a caveman can do it. Really! There are only 2 ingredients if you buy pre-made puff pastry. Kids (and husbands) just love them! Vadim and I gobbled these up in 2 days.
Ingredients Elephant Ears:
1 cup white sugar
2 sheets (1 package) Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, thawed
Pinch of kosher salt (optional)
What you will need:
Parchment paper to line the cookie sheet.
How to Make Elephant Ears:
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
1. Mix together sugar (and kosher salt). Pour 1/2 cup of sugar mixture on a flat surface such as a large wooden board. Unfold one Puff pastry sheet onto the sugared surface and spread 1/4 cup sugar over the top. With a rolling pin, roll the pastry sheet to about a 13″ square, pressing the sugar into the dough.
2. Fold 2 opposite sides into the center.
3. Fold again and close like a book (you should have 8 layers total).
4. Cut the pastry log into just under 1/2″ pieces.
5. Arrange on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Repeat with the second puff pastry sheet.
6. Bake for 6 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown and caramelized. Flip the cookies over and return to the oven for another 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown on the other side. Remove from the baking sheet to cool.
Notes:
You can thaw puff pastry on the counter according to package instructions and then stick it in the fridge until ready to use, OR you can thaw in the fridge overnight.
You may not be able to see if the bottom is caramelized until you flip one over.
Once they are cooled to room temp, they keep well in an airtight container or ziploc bags.
Palmiers a.k.a. Elephant Ears Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 sheets, 1 package Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, thawed
- 1 Pinch of kosher salt, optional
What you will need:
- Parchment paper to line the cookie sheet.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Mix together sugar (and kosher salt). Pour 1/2 cup of sugar mixture on a flat surface such as a large wooden board.
- Unfold one Puff pastry sheet onto the sugared surface and spread 1/4 cup sugar over the top.
- With a rolling pin, roll the pastry sheet to about a 13" square, pressing the sugar into the dough.
- Fold 2 opposite sides into the center. Fold again and close like a book (you should have 8 layers total).
- Cut the pastry log into just under 1/2" pieces and arrange on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the second puff pastry sheet.
- Bake for 6 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown and caramelized. Flip the cookies over and return to the oven for another 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown on the other side. Remove from the baking sheet to cool.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
The elephant ears were so easy and fun to make. I added a little cinnamon on the top layer with the sugar before folding it. They were pretty and fluffy on to and glazed and crunchy on the bottom. My husband LOVED them and thought I was so talented. (LOL) They were really really good! (As are all your recipes)
Yum! The cinnamon sounds like a great addition! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, JoAnne!
Do you brush the pastry with egg before putting it in the oven?
Hi Sarah, we did not!
GREETINGS:)
Just made these and sprinkled some colored sugar between layers or a Christmas look..Wondering if I can freeze these.Long story short I will freeze:)
Hi Kathy, although I haven’t tested this, here is what a quick search showed: “You can freeze leftover Palmiers after they have cooled down completely from baking. You will want to thaw them and re-crisp them before serving. You may notice that the sugar coating has dissolved, in which case you may wish to add a sprinkling of sugar to these pastries before eating”
He sure did lol!:)
I made two batches of these cookies the other day for a party and i left them to cool and went to Take a shower, when i came back almost half of them were gone and my husband was standing licking his fingers and he was like you are not taking these nowhere, they are the best cookies ever lol! I was so surprised because he is not that easy to please with food. Thank you for this super easy recipe! Everything ive tried from your blog turned out great so far:)
That’s hilarious. Did he have a guilty look on his face? These are actually my hubby’s fave cookies. I should make them for him again soon 🙂
Yes, they were soft but golden brown. They didn’t come out like the ones you have pictured. Oh well, maybe this recipe isn’t for me. :/
The only other thing that I could think of was maybe the type of dough that you used. What brand was it?
My cookies came out really soft for some reason – I baked at 450 for 9 mins on one side and then another 9 on the other. Anyways, these were really good! 🙂
Were they a golden brown?
Hi!these cookies look yummy!!will do it tomorrow..my hubby is fr Kazakstan & I’m a Malaysian..He had just opened a restaurant serving Central Asia Cuisine..I had learnt few dishes/desserts fr my mother In law & sister inlaws..2 days ago, I did your birds milk recipe..it’s so delicious!!Just one question about this cookies..if I store them at the cake counter will it be ok?
Hi Linda! Yes if you store them at room temp, they will be fine ;). Central Asian Cuisine? Wow! Sounds like quite a culinary adventure!
Thanks for posting this! Veeery yummy !!!
You’re most welcome. I always get excited when someone tries and likes a recipe 🙂
mmm… these look so good! i’ve had them before and loved them, i didn’t realise they were so simple, thank you!
You’re welcome. Hope they are as good (and better ;)) as you remember them!
made these the other day. LOVED THEM!!! my cuzin goes “who bought those yummy cookie things?” 🙂 thank you so much for the recipe. i also sprinkled one with cocoa powder and it added this interesting(subtle) flavor 🙂
Hmmm, that’s very creative! I’ll have to give it a shot next time. These are my hubbies favorite cookies. You must have done a great job if someone thought they were store-bought! Nice!
Oh my! I just got back from spending a summer in Ukraine and I had these all the time, but I’d never made them, only bought them (They came in big yellow boxes that you could get for a few grivens and then feed an army with). I didn’t think i’d ever see a recipe for them outside of Ukraine, but it looks like you have a great one here! Thanks for posting this!
Hm I need to try these. A Spanish lady gave me a different recipe and it is really tasty as well. Bring oil in a pan to a boil and put a tortilla in it..It will puff up and when golden flip to the other side for a little bit. After taking them out dab them with paper towels to remove excess oil. Mix sugar with cinnamon and top. Very yummy and easy. 🙂
im baking these right now, they smell so good and are so easy!! thanks for the recipe!
You are very welcome. Now I want some too!!
I ate all of these from the box of cookies we got at the Christmas banquet. They’re yummy, and I didn’t realize they’re so easy to make! I’m adding them to my file of cookie/pastry recipes. Thanks for posting.
I love these cookies! I’m not the biggest fan of frosting and “American cakes” so I love the simple pastries. I have made these a few time for my husband and our family Christmas party, they were a HIT! Everyone loved them as much as we did….I use a little less sugar and cut them into larger slices so that they “puff” up more!
So glad you enjoyed them. They are my husbands favorite cookies too. He can eat half the batch when I make them, so they become a “dangerous” cookie in our house.