This treat here has a few different names. Some call them »Palmiers« or »Prussiens«, others call them »Pig’s ears«. I normally just call these sweet little treats Puff Pastry Hearts or Valentine’s Heart Palmiers. I think that the name pig’s ears is not really hitting the mark. They don’t look like ears at all. Neither animal nor human ears. ;P
Regardless of the name, these sweet treats have in your area – »Palmiers« might be the most accurate word for these puff pastry spirals, since they are coming from the French pâtisserie. Sometimes they are also called »Cœur de France«, means the »heart of France«. Everything else are simply regional or country-specific names. These puff pastry treats are popular all over the world, not only in France. But why we turned French hearts into pig’s ears, here in Germany, remains a mystery to me. ;P
Anyway. The puff pastry treats come in various shapes and sizes, sometimes plain with sugar only, sometimes decorated with chocolate or sugar glaze. I really like the supersized version with chocolate – those you can sometimes find in bakeries. One of those is enough to nibble on for days. ;P Our little hearts are gone in two bites. Small enough to eat several at once… ;P
If you want to bake Palmiers or puff pastry hearts, you have two options. You can either make your own puff pastry beforehand or use a premade dough from the supermarket. As you can see in the recipe, I have opted for the supermarket puff pastry version. I wanted the recipe to be quick and easy, a last-minute thing you can do for someone you like. Feel free to go all the way and make the puff pastry dough at home. It’s not rocket science, just a bit time-consuming. ;P
When buying puff pastry in the supermarket, I recommend getting something that’s not frozen. Here in Germany, we have cooled puff pastry sold as rolls. You can use those right away – the frozen one has to be defrosted and rolled out, because this type of puff pastry is normally sold as thick, rectangle discs in packages. If you can only get hold of something like that, you have to do some extra work.
Once you have the puff pastry dough in front of you, everything is actually quite simple and easy to do.. Brush the dough with whisked egg (or dairy-free milk, if you want to keep it vegan and also using vegan puff pastry), sprinkle a mixture of sugar and cinnamon on top, fold the dough, add more sugar, fold again, etc. The recipe will give you all the instructions. After a quick visit to the freezer, the dough can be cut into strips and baked. That’s basically all there is to it. How you want to decorate the little hearts after being baked is up to you…
I decided to use white chocolate cake glaze and some freeze-dried strawberries – again, I wanted it to be quick and easy. This type of glaze just needs to be warmed in some hot water and is ready to use in a few minutes. If you want to use melted chocolate or something else – go for it! Plain sugar glaze also works here – that’s something pretty much everyone can whip up at home easily.
Whether it’s Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day (the day before Valentine’s Day) or any other day of the year – small gifts and treats make people happy. So why not bake something small for a loved one, right?! If you are not a fan of puff pastry, why not try our Heart Thumbprint Cookies? The are equally delicious. Or… in case you want to impress someone really badly, why not baking a big Heart-shaped Chocolate Cake? That one is a winner, for sure. ;P Well, no matter what, any recipient is sure to be delighted with a cake or cookies!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(about 12 hearts)
For the hearts:
2.8-3.5 oz. (80-100g) brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 small egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 roll (approx. 270g) of puff pastry* (cooled not frozen)
For the decoration:
3.5 oz. (100g) white chocolate glaze* or white chocolate, melted
some freeze-dried strawberries*, crumbled
(etwa 12 Herzen)
Für die Herzen:
80-100g brauner Zucker
1/2 TL Zimt
1 Ei (S)
1/2 TL Vanille Extrakt
1 Rolle (etwa 270g) Blätterteig* (aus der Kühltheke)
Für die Dekoration:
100g weiße Schokoladenglasur* oder weiße Schokolade, geschmolzen
einige gefriergetrocknete Erdbeeren*, zerbröselt
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Start by mixing the brown sugar with the ground cinnamon. Whisk the egg with the vanilla extract.
2. Take the puff pastry out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature briefly, then take it out of the package and unroll. Brush the puff pastry with the whisked egg and then sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Fold the dough towards the center from the shorter sides – you want to fold in about 1/3 of the width towards the center – in my case this was about 7 cm. Brush the now showing bare surfaces as well with whisked egg and sprinkle with the sugar mixture, then fold again towards the center, so the dough almost touches in the middle and repeat the process with brushing and sprinkling. Fold the dough one last time, brush again with egg and sprinkle with sugar. Place the folded pastry in the freezer for about 12-15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment and set aside.
4. Use a sharp knife and cut the folded puff pastry into strips with a width of about 1.5-2 cm – you should get about 12-14 strips. Place these strips cut side facing upwards on the prepared baking sheets with enough space in between. The dough strips should have enough room to rise and spread out. Press the end of the dough strips (the one that’s not open) together with your fingers to force the dough into a heart shape as it rises. This sometimes works, but not always. ;P Bake the puff pastry hearts for about 13-15 minutes – the puff pastry hearts should have risen and browned nicely. Take out of the oven and let cool briefly on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a cooling rack and let the hearts cool down completely.
5. Melt the chocolate glaze or white chocolate, dip one side of the puff pastry hearts in it and decorate with crumbled strawberries. Leave to dry/cool completely on a cooling rack. Serve or store in an airtight container – max. 3-4 days.
1. Den braunen Zucker mit dem Zimt vermischen. Das Ei mit dem Vanille Extrakt verquirlen.
2. Den Blätterteig aus dem Kühlschrank nehmen und kurz auf Zimmertemperatur kommen lassen, dann ausrollen. Den Teig mit dem verquirlten Ei bestreichen und dann mit der Zucker-Zimt-Mischung bestreuen. Als Nächstes den Teig von den kürzeren Seiten her 1/3 zur Mitte einklappen – bei mir waren das etwa 7 cm. Die Oberflächen auch hier mit verquirltem Ei einstreichen und Zucker-Zimt-Mischung bestreuen, dann noch einmal zur Mitte einklappen und den Vorgang wiederholen. Den Teig ein letztes Mal zusammenklappen, mit Ei bestreichen und mit Zucker bestreuen. Das Teigpaket für etwa 12-15 Minuten ins Gefrierfach legen.
3. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Umluft vorheizen. Zwei Backbleche mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen.
4. Das Teigpaket mit einem scharfen Messer in etwa 1,5-2 cm dicke Streifen schneiden – es sollten etwa 12-14 Streifen entstehen. Diese Streifen dann mit Abstand zueinander, mit einer der Schnittflächen nach oben, auf die vorbereiteten Bleche setzen. Die Teigstreifen sollten genug Platz zum Aufgehen und Ausbreiten haben. Das Ende der Teigstreifen, das nicht offen ist, mit den Fingern zusammenpressen, um den Teig beim Aufgehen ein wenig in eine Herzform zu zwingen. Das klappt manchmal, aber nicht immer. ;P Die Blätterteigherzen für etwa 13-15 Minuten backen – die Blätterteigherzen/Schweineohren sollten schön Farbe bekommen haben. Aus dem Ofen holen und kurz auf den Blechen abkühlen lassen, dann auf ein Kuchengitter setzen und komplett auskühlen lassen.
5. Die Schokoladenglasur oder weiße Schokolade schmelzen, die Blätterteigherzen auf einer Seite eintauchen und mit zerböselten Erdbeeren dekorieren. Auf einem Kuchengitter komplett trocknen/abkühlen lassen und dann servieren oder in einer luftdichten Dose lagern – max. 3-4 Tage.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Valentine’s Heart Palmiers
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 00:14
- Total Time: 00:45
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Sweet Snacks
- Cuisine: France
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
If you need something quick and easy (homemade) for Valentines or any other celebration – these Heart Palmiers are perfect as a little gift for a loved one!
Ingredients
For the hearts:
2.8–3.5 oz. (80-100g) brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 small egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 roll (approx. 270g) of puff pastry* (cooled not frozen)
For the decoration:
3.5 oz. (100g) white chocolate glaze* or white chocolate, melted
some freeze-dried strawberries*, crumbled
Instructions
1. Start by mixing the brown sugar with the ground cinnamon. Whisk the egg with the vanilla extract.
2. Take the puff pastry out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature briefly, then take it out of the package and unroll. Brush the puff pastry with the whisked egg and then sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Fold the dough towards the center from the shorter sides – you want to fold in about 1/3 of the width towards the center – in my case this was about 7 cm. Brush the now showing bare surfaces as well with whisked egg and sprinkle with the sugar mixture, then fold again towards the center, so the dough almost touches in the middle and repeat the process with brushing and sprinkling. Fold the dough one last time, brush again with egg and sprinkle with sugar. Place the folded pastry in the freezer for about 12-15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment and set aside.
4. Use a sharp knife and cut the folded puff pastry into strips with a width of about 1.5-2 cm – you should get about 12-14 strips. Place these strips cut side facing upwards on the prepared baking sheets with enough space in between. The dough strips should have enough room to rise and spread out. Press the end of the dough strips (the one that’s not open) together with your fingers to force the dough into a heart shape as it rises. This sometimes works, but not always. ;P Bake the puff pastry hearts for about 13-15 minutes – the puff pastry hearts should have risen and browned nicely. Take out of the oven and let cool briefly on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a cooling rack and let the hearts cool down completely.
5. Melt the chocolate glaze or white chocolate, dip one side of the puff pastry hearts in it and decorate with crumbled strawberries. Leave to dry/cool completely on a cooling rack. Serve or store in an airtight container – max. 3-4 days.
Notes
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
