Orejas Dessert with Cinnamon Sugar
Orejas (also called palmeras or palmiers) are a fun addition to many celebrations. These palmiers look like elephant ears and are really quite simple to make yourself. Box puff pastry will speed things up, but there is something quite wonderful about making your own from scratch.
When I think about the pan dulces of my childhood, these sweet and seasonally spiced pastelitos are what come to mind. They are the taste of nostalgia, especially around Christmas Eve when my Mexican-American family gathers. We gormandize ourselves in the delights of some very elaborate, delicious eats and savor all these tasty sweets with a steaming cup caliente de champrurado.
This recipe uses store-bought puff pastry, so it is crucial to prep the day before serving for a holiday breakfast. Especially on Christmas morning with a side of creamy champurrado. The act of making them with loved ones is a really festive tradition, and makes the treat all that more special.
How to Make Orejas?
These Orejas were delightful to bake — perfect for a simple, yet gratifying dessert. To make the puff pastry Begin with mixing flour and salt together in a bowl, then mix grated butter until the entire mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix into soft dough with cold water. Once you have your dough roll it out on a floured surface then knead a few times before resting in the refrigerator for about 2 hours or overnight.
When you are ready to go, roll the dough into a rectangular shape. Folding is where the fun starts. I did this fold in a salt pack, so I imagine you could too but layer the dough flat and marinate or toss with your chosen glazing spices. Fold like a letter then roll out again. You take the batch of dumplings and fold them, repeat four times. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and rest it on your fridge 15 minutes prior to this final fold.
And now, turn these dough into yummy Orejas. When the dough is ready, dip it into cinnamon and sugar on both sides. FOLD OVER the open sides 2 or 3 times then FOLDOVER on top of itself. When you cook it, slice the meat around 1 inch pieces for round ears. These puff pastries are easy-to-make, but oh-so rewarding… and they go beautifully with a steaming cup of champurrado or coffee. Take your time making them and enjoy that sweet, sugary flavor with cinnamon!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup very cold unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 1/2 cup ice cold water
Orejas
- puff pastry
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Tips for Success
Baking Orejas at home is a fun (albeit involved) experience, but here are some key tips for success to make sure your cookies come out perfect. No. 1) Keep Everything Cold, Ingredients and Puff Pastry It makes for those lovely flaky layers and that wonderful crispy crust! Just make sure to be gentle and careful when folding and rolling the dough so you get those layers that make Orejas such a tempting treat.
Since they do spread a little bit when you bake them, maybe go back after baking and use a fork to help reshape your pancakes. Baking them at a really high temperature will help the sugar to crystallize and give that oh so familiar “crunch” for Orejas. The Recipe Tips To preheat your oven, the way we are doing here you will get a new crisp on top so be sure to take that heat up and also make it hot because no one wants soggy bread.
Gently dip it well then into a choc coating and sprinkle color！ These cookies are delicious whether you use homemade puff pastry or store-bought! Oh, and an easy variation makes these treats next-level irresistible.
How to Store Palmiers
If you are left with leftover Orejas, KEEP IN FRESHERY AIR OTHERWISE 100 PERCENT THEY GONNA BE MOISTURE FULL OF AND GOES SOFT YUCK. Store them in an air proof container à Pharma Kit This will prevent the bread slices from getting stale or soggy. They can be stored in the refrigerator for several days, up to 5 if you have them that long.
Parchment paper makes a great separator here, so your Orejas don’t stick to each other when you stack them in the container. When you refrigerate the pastries like this, it helps prevent them from being flat and flattening or losing their shape. So long as you stick to these tips, your Orejas will be eaten even just slightly hot off the range.
Can I Freeze Them?
Absolutely! These delicious cookies can be prepared and they freeze well too. While I eat more than one, make them on repeat and freeze the cookies afterwards to pull out when people come over or they are just a fun treat that waits for you in the freezer. Freeze Orejas in an air-tight container to ensure that they last fresh. Freeze Them: Up to 3 months; With bread, your options are vast. Make ahead all you like!
Just don’t forget to label that container before you pop it in the freezer. In this manner, you will always be aware when the cookies were last made and so they cannot remain there till all your invited guests are finally together or until you can find “some appropriate time” to enjoy them by yourself.
