"Carrot Cake" Palmiers

I didn’t become an actual coffee drinker until about two years ago. I would consider myself a coffee novice as I am still discovering which types of beans and roasts I enjoy the most. Other than its intoxicating aroma, what I love most about coffee is learning which foods pair the best with it. My favorite pairing at the moment is anything with cinnamon. I adore cinnamon and add it to just about everything. It’s like Seinfeld said, “People love cinnamon. It should be on tables at restaurants along with salt and pepper. Anytime anyone says, ‘Oh, this is so good. What's in it?’ The answer invariably comes back, cinnamon. Cinnamon. Again and again.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Back in January, I made an incredible carrot cake loaded with cinnamon for my husband’s birthday. Amazingly, there was some left over the following morning. As I ground my coffee beans in a sleepy haze, I noticed that my regular morning oatmeal paled in comparison to the tempting leftover carrot cake. I also decided that if I was going to eat an unhealthy breakfast, I was going to go all out. I poured myself some piping hot Columbian roast, sat down at the table, and proceeded to dunk the carrot cake into my mug. The coffee left no nook or cranny behind as it completely saturated the luscious carrot cake. This was, without a doubt, the breakfast of champions.


To relive that winning combination of flavors, I decided to make a lazy man’s version of carrot cake to nibble on with my coffee. To be fair, it’s not really a cake, but it shares similar ingredients and flavors. Carrot cake palmiers look fancy, however they are incredibly easy to prepare. You can get creative with palmiers too, as you can make them sweet or savory. These tasty little two-bite treats will happily dive into a comforting cup of joe to make a simple and sweet dessert, afternoon snack, or if you are feeling sassy, an extraordinary breakfast.

Ingredients

Puff pastry
¼ cup carrots, grated with a box grater
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup walnut pieces
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grate carrots with a box grater and then set to drain on some paper towels. Roll out the puff pastry onto a board, and sprinkle with dried carrots, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt. Press or roll the ingredients into the puff pastry.

Bring the left and right sides of the puff pastry to meet in the center. Then repeat with the folded sides, so they too meet in the center. With a very sharp knife, cut the dough into ½ inch pieces, being careful not to mash the palmiers.

Place palmiers on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the sugar has caramelized. Cool and then serve.