Strawberry Palmiers filled with sweetened cream cheese and flavored with citrus zest and vanilla.
Strawberry Palmiers with Cream Cheese
Tag: pastry
Palmiers with Parmesan + Everything Spice
After a week and a half of recovering from surgery I’m finally back! Although I can’t say my senior-year spring break was worthy of being considered a “spring break woohoo!” by any means, I can’t really complain about playing lots of guitar, having an excuse to eat ice cream for all 3 meals, and watching Season 2 of Love for an entire week, right? Take it from me, if you’re sick and also feeling blah about a breakup, ice cream and Love will solve all of your problems…or at least help you pretend you don’t have any in the first place*.
*jk, this is probably not the healthy way to deal with feelings, but we can all be self-indulgent once in a while, right?
Anyways, my week off was fun, but I’m ready to drag myself back into my regular routine so that I can get ready to graduate! Plus, as it turns out, laying in bed is really only fun for a limited amount of time. I feel myself itching to get back to working at the coffee shop and walking around campus. As a senior in college getting ready to go back into the real world after a week long break, I’ll take motivation wherever I can get it…
Now for the palmiers! As a busy student who loves to cook, I’m always looking for easy appetizers or snacks that I can bring along whenever I’m invited to someone’s house for dinner. Normally, I go for a cheese plate, because cheese = ♥, but I also am passionate about everything spice. Put the two together, and you get a savory palmier combo that’s reminiscent of an everything bagel with cream cheese, except butter-ier, because puff pastry is essentially just a delicious block of flaky butter. While these do take a little while to bake, they’re super easy to put together, and they come out beautiful, so you seem kind of impressive even if you aren’t. Also, if you have some spinach dip lying around, spooning a little on top of these palmiers is really A+.
Read below to learn how to fold palmiers!!
For palmiers, you’ll want to start by rolling the creases in the puff pastry with a floured rolling pin. Spread your filling on the puff pastry sheets (filling recipe below).
To fold these cuties, fold the puff pastry long-ways once toward the center. Then roll them again so the left-and-right sides meet in the middle. You’ll want to have 2 layers for each side (see right side of the picture).
Fold the left side on top of the right side so you have 4 layers. Place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. This can be done up to a day in advance if you’re pressed for time.
Cut each roll into 1/4 inch slices. Place on a baking sheet, brush with egg wash, and bake until golden brown!
Although I strongly suggest using the everything spice + parmesan on these palmiers, this recipe is a great template for other flavors as well (cheddar + rosemary, feta + za’atar?).
xo Sara Lynn
*Song of the Day: Give it to Me by HOMESHAKE
Beef & Veggie Pot Pie
Happy Election Day! If you’re like me, you’re probably very nervous about the results of the presidential election, and you’re trying to decide if you should start packing your bags so you can get your ass to Canada. My personal remedy is to drink lots of coffee and wine and try to stay positive. Either way, I hope that you exercised your right to vote regardless of your political affiliation! Today is a day to feel lucky that you have a right to *choose*, not a day to hurt others based on their beliefs. However, I’m not here to talk about politics today or ever really, pls pls pls don’t bring it up like every confrontational person that walks into the coffee shop I work at. *eyeroll* Can you tell I’ve been dealing with this for a few months? I’m here to talk about beef & veggie pot pie, which good news (!), has wine in it!!! Plus, it takes a few hours to cook, so it’ll keep your mind off of the election (although, it is a really easy recipe and only takes a little bit of prep – it’s mostly cooking away quietly on the stove while you engage in other activities).
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve partnered with Sanford Ranch Beef to bring you all kinds of delicious recipes to make with your box of beef! If you’re in the Reno area, give them a call! Their beef is way more affordable than at the grocery, and you’ll be supporting a local family business! I can guarantee this, because well, I’m related to the owners.
For this recipe, you’re going to start with some typical winter veggies and a durable cut of steak. You can add or subtract veggies if you want, but I’d say the mirepoix components are necessary – that’s the carrots, celery, and onions. The recipe calls for 1 onion, but because mine were teeny tiny and cute, I used 2.
Essentially, you’ll add these ingredients with some wine, stock, and herbs and cook the hell out of it, because durable steak cuts require lots of cooking time in order to become tender. After, you’ll plop some pastry on top, bake it for a bit, and it’ll be ready to go! It’s super easy, but also very flavorful and impressive for company. I like to serve it with a simple green salad and pie for dessert!
Happy fall and happy voting ♥
XO Sara Lynn
*Song of the Day: Light House by Future Islands
Cinnamon Rolls
[Update 1/12/16: I made these rolls last weekend for the first time since I posted this recipe. I changed the recipe up a little bit for experimentation, and ended up liking the new recipe more. I added more butter (yikes, I know), tried traditional scalded milk instead of buttermilk, and used a different icing. The original recipe is in the body of the post, and the new recipe is on a recipe card at the bottom of the post. The new rolls are more fluffy, but if you prefer the old recipe, it’s still there, no worries! I also updated some new pictures, since my photography has gotten significantly better (but still left the old ones with instructions and whatnot). Hope you guys love! Xo.]
Guys.
These are so good.
Have you ever had like, a really really really good cinnamon roll? Not like a Cinnabon one, but a really delicious, homemade cinnamon roll? It’s a special kind of experience everyone should get to have.
I’m happy to report that you may now make your own if you truly wish to experience the phenomenon of eating an out-of-this-world cinnamon roll.
I have truly done it. I have created the perfect cinnamon rolls.
They take pretty much all day to make, but they’re super easy. I promise, you can make these! Just make sure you have new yeast and everything is going to be okay. You can do anything.
Sara Lynn: motivator and cinnamon roll goddess.
Maybe that’s a little dramatic. Maybe it’s not. Maybe you should make these cinnamon rolls and let me know if you think that I’m a cinnamon roll goddess.
A disclaimer about the following pictures:
1. My nail color randomly changes from red to sparkly pink because I got my nails done while the dough was rising. I highly recommend you find something time consuming to do while you wait because cinnamon rolls take a long time to rise and a long time to make in general (but still so worth it).
2. The pictures change from good quality to bad quality because, again, they take a while to make and I ran out of daylight.
Shall we get started?
Cinnamon Rolls:
1/2 c. warm water
1 package instant yeast
1/2 c. + 1 Tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 egg
1/3 c. melted butter
4 1/2 c. flour
Filling:
1/2 stick butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
2 1/2 Tbs. cinnamon
Pinch salt
Icing:
4 oz. cream cheese
2 Tbs. butter
1 1/2-2 c. powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like your icing!)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2-3 Tbs. milk, to thin
Pinch salt
First, you’re going to want to mix together your warm water, yeast, and a tablespoon of sugar. Set it aside to double in size!
Mix 1/2 c. sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl.
Nice and doubled! Yay!
Mix together buttermilk, egg, and butter.
Add half of the flour mixture until it’s incorporated.
Add the yeast mixture and stir together.
It might not mix very well because it’s going to be very lumpy and thin like pancake batter.
Mix in the rest of the flour and knead a few times with your hands.
Knead until smooth and beautiful.
Set aside in a warm place covered with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise for 1-2 hours.
*insert random photo and nail color change*
Once it has risen, punch the dough a few times.
Roll until about 1/8 inch thick.
Brush with melted butter.
Mix together cinnamon, sugars, and salt for your filling.
And spread it all around!
Roll it up.
Brush it with more butter (sorry cholesterol).
Cut into rolls that are about 2 inches wide. You should have about 8 pretty ones.
And a few not so pretty ones 🙁 Oops!
Brush a parchment lined casserole dish with more butter.
Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon and sugar.
Line the cinnamon rolls in the casserole dish. Set them aside, covered, to rise for another hour or two.
Look how pretty!!! (That top left one is so sad. Poor little guy. Still delicious).
Bake at 350* F for about 14-16 minutes, or until a light golden brown.
Meanwhile, mix together the icing! Whip butter and cream cheese together until incorporated. Add sifted powdered sugar and vanilla. Thin with milk.
(Uhm, is this not just the worst picture you’ve ever seen? Did I even try? Just trust me, it’s a delicious icing).
Yay, they’re baked and beautiful!
Spread frosting over warm cinnamon rolls.
Hell yeah.
Do you see that cinnamon filling? Oh my gosh. I might go grab one of my extras from the freezer right now. They’re sooooo good.
Which reminds me, if you have too many because you made 11 cinnamon rolls and you live by yourself, just go ahead, wrap them in some plastic wrap individually and then place them in freezer bags. They’ll stay good for a few months and you can indulge in cinnamon bun goodness whenever you want!
Go make these. Right. Now.
* Notes*: 1. I use my mixer with dough hook, but these can also be made with a mixing bowl and wooden spoon! I’ve done tries both methods and either works! 2. If your dough won’t rise, try heating oven to 250* F, turning oven off, and placing covered bowl of dough in warm oven (make sure bowl is oven proof!). Leave alone for 2 hours. 3. If dough still won’t rise, your yeast is probably old. Buy new yeast and start again. 4. Rolls can be made one night, and baked in the morning! Just form the rolls and let them do their second rise in the fridge overnight (8-12 hours). In the morning, remove from fridge, and let warm up for about an hour. They will take longer to bake (upwards of about 30 or 40 minutes, so don’t worry if they don’t bake quickly! Cover with foil halfway through if they start to brown too much.)
*Song of the Day: Won’t You Come Over by Devendra Banhart