Cheddar Pepper Palmiers

Recently I saw a post for palmiers dusted with sugar. I made a mental note to make them. Then, a few days later, I randomly came across a recipe for Cheddar Pepper Palmiers. For those of you unfamiliar with palmiers, they are a simple and delicious pastry made from puffed pastry. They get their name from the shape of a palm leaf.

I served these hot from the oven last night as a nice addition to a big platter of spaghetti and meatballs. They were finished off very quickly. There was a time when I was afraid to use puffed pastry because it seemed too delicate and complicated. But now that I'm an old pro using phyllo dough, the puffed pastry was so simple that a kindergartner could have made these. And let me just say that if I had been in charge of catering The Last Supper, I would have filled big baskets at the table with these Cheddar Pepper Palmiers and let the fellows dig in.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup finely grated sharp Cheddar; 3 1/2 ounces
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 puff pastry sheets (from a 17.3-ounce package); thawed if frozen

Directions

Toss Cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, pepper, and salt in a bowl.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese mixture onto a work surface. Unfold 1 pastry sheet and place over cheese. Roll into a 10-inch square, then sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese mixture all over top of pastry, pressing lightly to adhere. Fold sides of 2 ends to meet in center, then fold once more into center and press ends together. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 1 hour (or freeze 15 to 30 minutes). Repeat with remaining cheese and second sheet of pastry.

While dough chills, preheat oven to 400F with racks in upper and lower parts of oven. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Working with 1 piece at a time (keep remaining chilled until ready to use), unwrap pastry and cut, seam side up, into 1/4-inch-thick slices, arranging them 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake, turning palmiers over and switching position of pans halfway through, until golden and pastry is cooked through, 18 to 22 minutes total. Transfer palmiers to rack to cool. Repeat cutting and baking remaining pastry on cooled sheets.

Make ahead: Dough can be assembled up to 3 days ahead. Palmiers can be baked 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
about this recipe

Palmiers are French pastries in the shape of palm leaves. This miniaturized savory version is made with cheese and a hint of black pepper, and make an ideal accompaniment to a glass of wine.

Cheese Cranberry Cookies

With Thanksgiving only four days away, I tried to think of something fitting to express my thanks for the creation of cheese. I was on the fence at first when I came across this recipe but I'm glad my faith in fromage saw me through. It is right to give thanks and praise to the Cheese Cranberry Cookie. The delicious taste of the cheese complimented with a bite of sweet cranberry filling makes think of a perfect little Thanksgiving meal rolled in to one cookie. Minus the turkey. But let's be honest. Who cares about turkey when you've got these on the table?

Let me just say that if the priests would start using these instead of the stale communion wafer, I'd go back to church every Sunday.

I found the recipe in an old copy of The Encyclopedia of Creative Cooking edited by Charlotte Turgeon that my mother gave me. It's a bit retro in feel but I like that. Besides, with a cookbook crammed with 2000 recipes, there's bound to be a few dozen I can't live without. Just two quick notes:

1. I toasted the pecans before putting them in the filling for extra crunch and flavor.
2. I sifted a bit of confectioner's sugar on them when they got out of the oven.

Now drop down and give me three Hail Marys for the amount of these you will consume in less than a half hour.





Recipe:

2 cups of sifted flour
2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of butter or margarine
1/4 cup of milk

Preheat oven to 400*

Mix flour, cheese and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender or your hands. Add milk. Roll dough in foil. Chill. Roll thinly on lightly floured board. Cut in to desired shapes. Spread half the shapes with filling. Cover with remaining shapes. Press edges well together. Place on a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Bake about 10 minutes. Yields 30.

Filling:

3/4 cup of cranberry jelly
1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Break up jelly with fork, add other ingredients and mix well.