By grinding freeze dried raspberries along with the sugar and cinnamon, I created a tart-sweet mixture to spread on the puff pastry to add a some umpphff to this classic bakery favorite.
What I really wanted besides the extra flavor, was some vibrant color. The raspberry definitely did the trick. The cookies turned out beautiful and delicious in the end. They would be pefect for a pink or red themed wedding or baby shower. For a mom-to-be expecting a boy, you might even be able to use dried blueberries in place of the raspberries for some bright blue cookies. Anything's worth a try.
I'm curious if using a thin coating of jam with just sugar and cinnamon would work just as well instead of dealing with the dried fruit. (Similar to a rugelach.) But, I wonder if the moisture from jam would keep the puff pastry from getting carmelized and crisp.
Raspberry Palmiers
(This looks long and complicated, but it is a breeze—I promise)¾ cup sugar
½ cup freeze-dried raspberries (Just Raspberries brand)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 450°
Combine sugar and freeze-dried raspberries in bowl of food processor and grind until the berries have been reduced to a fine powder about the same grain as the sugar. You will still have some pieces a little bit larger than the sugar granules, but that is fine. If you’re really picky, feel free to run the mixture through a mesh strainer or sifter later.
Once the raspberries are processed to your satisfaction, add the cinnamon and salt and pulse once or twice to combine.
Take about 1/3 of the mixture and spread it a wooden board or other work surface (I just used a sheet of parchment paper to protect my counter from raspberry stains). Then unfold your sheet of thawed puff pastry onto the sugar mixture. Then begin to evenly spread the rest of the mixture over the top of the pastry. You want an even coating ….not just a sprinkling….however I still ended up with a good bit of sugar mixture left over in the end (probably about 1/3 cup).
With a rolling pin, gently roll over the dough a few times to press the sugar into the surface. Fold the sides of the dough toward the center so they go halfway to the middle. Fold them again so the two folds meet exactly at the middle of the dough. Then fold one half over the other half as though closing a book. You will have 6 layers. Slice the dough into 1/4 –inch slices and place the slices cut side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Bake the cookies for 5-6 minutes on one side until caramelized and then flip to cook for another 3-5 minutes until the other side is nicely browned and caramelized. Transfer to a rack for cooling and store in an air-tight container.
Ideas for the leftover sugar mixture: One of my favorite guilty pleasures from childhood is canned biscuits rolled in cinnamon/sugar and baked off…..I’m betting this raspberry/sugar would be a great addition to this 70s era breakfast item. It also might be good as a replacement sugar for cinnamon toast. I’m sure there are endless ideas…so enjoy!
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