Sweet Little Hearts

Most of my friends think I am crazy when I tell them I spent my afternoon quietly baking a batch of muffins or cookies or making a nice loaf of bread. It’s just so therapeutic to create something so beautiful and also be able to relish it. Nothing more inviting than the smell of baked goodies wafting through the apartment. I also get to share the joy with my friends and neighbors, although most of them think I am a fanatic who gives away cookies and cakes every other day.

Last week I was watching an episode of Masterchef and one of the contestants made these gorgeous looking treats that I know as Britannia Little Hearts. They were introduced in India by Britannia (at least that’s what I know) and we used stack our store cupboard with these tasty nibbles. Later when I did a bit of research I found out that they are called Palmiers (elephant ears) and it’s a French pastry. So I tried my hand at making these beauties but got a little worried when my last batch sort of set my oven on a smokey-caramely scare. When you make these make sure you have your windows open and exhaust way up (you don’t want the fire department showing up for baking cookies).

I used Vanilla sugar that I make by throwing in a couple of slit vanilla pods into a jar of sugar and keep replacing the sugar but you could use regular sugar. Also remember that you’d be left with a lot of leftover sugar, so be ready for another baking project. I made blueberry muffins the next day as Mothers Day giveaway for my momma friends.

Ingredients

Puff Pastry rolls as needed (I used 2 and got about 30 hearts)

Vanilla Sugar 1 cup

Pinch salt

Cinnamon Powder 1 tbsp

Method:

Preheat oven to 220C.

Dust the work surface with some sugar about ¼ cup and place a sheet of puff pastry and add another ¼ cup sugar, salt and cinnamon powder on top. Roll out the pastry to a slightly thinner sheet. Roll both the ends of the square until they meet in between and then fold one half over the other half. Slice the dough and place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Bake them for 8 min on one side and then turn them and bake them for 4-5 min until golden. Remove them from the sheet and cool on a cooling rack. They taste great with a cup of coffee.