These vegan puff pastry palmiers are sweet, buttery, and flaky, despite not having any dairy in them. They’re a simple but luxurious treat, and a lot of fun to make.
When it comes to desserts, I’m often a believer that less is more. Sometimes you need just a few simple, quality ingredients to make a perfect, melt in your mouth dessert. That’s the case with these vegan puff pastry palmiers, also called elephant ears. They only have two ingredients, yet they’re a nearly perfect cookie.
Vegan puff pastry palmiers are essentially just baked puff pastry coated in sugar. How good does that sound? Yet despite only having two ingredients, these elephant ears look and taste super fancy. They’re a great dessert to make when hosting a party, because you’ll impress everyone who eats them when you tell them that the palmiers are homemade!
Notes on Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you need to make this flaky, fluffy vegan puff pastry palmiers. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the article for the exact amounts.
- Vegan puff pastry
- Sugar
How to Make Puff Pastry Palmiers
These elephant ears may only have two ingredients, but they have a lot more than two steps. Here’s how to make them.
- Prep your counter. Start by sprinkling sugar across your countertop.
- Cover the dough with sugar. Place the puff pastry on top of the sugar, and sprinkle more sugar on top.
- Roll. Roll out the puff pastry dough into a rectangle that is about 9×15 inches, and roughly ¼-inch thick.
- Add more sugar. Flip the puff pastry over, and sprinkle more sugar on the dough. Lightly run your rolling pin over the dough to press the sugar in.
- Clean it up. Use a knife to cut the edges off of the puff pastry, forming a perfect, clean rectangle.
- Draw a line. Without cutting through the puff pastry, use your knife to make a line down the center of the dough, lengthwise.
- Fold one side. Fold one side of the dough in about ¼ of the way. Then fold it a second time.
- Fold the other side. Repeat this process on the other side of the puff pastry. You’ll be left with a small valley between the two sides.
- Fold in half. Now fold the dough in half down the line, creating a log of puff pastry.
- Chill. Wrap the puff pastry log in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
- Prep a baking sheet. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Clean up the dough. Take the puff pastry log out of the freezer and cut off the ends so that the log is clean and flat.
- Cut the cookies. Slice cookies from the dough log that are a little bit less than ¼-inch thick.
- Put the cookies on the baking sheet. Place all of the cookies on the baking sheet, and spread them open a little bit to make a V shape. Leave at least 1 ½ inches between each elephant ear.
- Add more sugar. Sprinkle sugar over the top of the palmiers.
- Chill. Put the baking sheet of vegan puff pastry palmiers in the freezer.
- Heat the oven. Turn your oven on to 450F.
- Bake. When the oven is up to temperature, remove the baking sheet from the freezer and place it straight in the oven. Bake the palmiers for 10 minutes, then flip them over and bake until golden and caramelized, about 5-8 minutes.
Tips for Success
Here are a few of my favorite tricks for making these vegan elephant ears.
- Make your own puff pastry. It’s not always easy to find vegan puff pastry at the store. So I just make it! Making your own puff pastry is a little labor intensive, but it’s super rewarding, and makes a product that’s even better than what you could buy at the supermarket. For the best palmiers, make your own Vegan and Gluten Free Puff Pastry dough using my recipe.
- Keep the palmiers cold. When working with puff pastry you always want to keep the dough cold, as the vegan butter can quickly start to melt and ruin the texture. If you notice the puff pastry dough is starting to get a little warm and sticky, place the dough back in the fridge or freezer. Let it sit for a few minutes, then continue making the elephant ears.
- Let them chill. Once the vegan puff pastry palmiers have come out of the oven, resist the temptation to eat them immediately. Instead, place them on a wire rack, and let them cool to room temperature. This allows the cookies to firm up, at which point they’ll get extremely flaky.
How to Store Puff Pastry Palmiers
You can store these vegan treats in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for a week. If you want to reheat them to make them crispy, place them in a 325F oven for 5 minutes, or heat them in a toaster oven.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
You can absolutely freeze these vegan elephant ears. Simply place them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months. Reheat by placing them in a 325F oven for 10 minutes.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes to Make
Here are a few more vegan cookie recipes for you to try making.
- Rolled pumpkin spice cookies
- Buttery vegan spritz cookies
- Vegan chocolate chip cookies
- Vegan pumpkin cookies
- Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Ingredients
- 1 batch vegan puff pastry
- ½ cup sugar , (100 grams)
Instructions
- Sprinkle your countertop with a generous amount of sugar.
- Place the puff pastry on top of the sugar and sprinkle the top side of the dough with sugar as well.
- Roll the puff pastry out to a rectangle approximately 9” x 15” in size and 1⁄4” thick. The rolling will press the sugar into the surface of the pastry.
- Flip the pastry over and add more sugar to the top and bottom. Roll gently to press the sugar into the surface.
- Cut the edges with a sharp knife to have a clean rectangle.
- Mark a faint line at the center of the dough.
- Fold one edge in, a little less than 1⁄4 of the way. Then fold over a second time.
- Repeat with the other side. You should have a small valley between the two folded edges.
- Fold the dough in half – folding one side over the other. It will make a log shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove the chilled dough from the freezer. Cut off the end to make a clean, flat edge.
- Slice the dough log into pieces a little less than 1⁄4” thick. Place one the prepared baking sheet, opening up the top edge slightly to make a little V. Leave 1 1⁄2” of space between each palmier. Sprinkle the tops of the palmiers with a little more sugar.
- Place the baking sheet into the freezer while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat to 450 degrees.
- Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and place it directly into the oven.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then working quickly flip the palmiers over. Bake an additional 5-8 minutes on the second side until they are golden and caramelized.
Notes
Vegan Puff Pastry Palmiers
Ingredients
- 1 batch vegan puff pastry
- ½ cup sugar (100 grams)
Instructions
- Sprinkle your countertop with a generous amount of sugar.
- Place the puff pastry on top of the sugar and sprinkle the top side of the dough with sugar as well.
- Roll the puff pastry out to a rectangle approximately 9” x 15” in size and 1⁄4” thick. The rolling will press the sugar into the surface of the pastry.
- Flip the pastry over and add more sugar to the top and bottom. Roll gently to press the sugar into the surface.
- Cut the edges with a sharp knife to have a clean rectangle.
- Mark a faint line at the center of the dough.
- Fold one edge in, a little less than 1⁄4 of the way. Then fold over a second time.
- Repeat with the other side. You should have a small valley between the two folded edges.
- Fold the dough in half - folding one side over the other. It will make a log shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove the chilled dough from the freezer. Cut off the end to make a clean, flat edge.
- Slice the dough log into pieces a little less than 1⁄4” thick. Place one the prepared baking sheet, opening up the top edge slightly to make a little V. Leave 1 1⁄2” of space between each palmier. Sprinkle the tops of the palmiers with a little more sugar.
- Place the baking sheet into the freezer while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat to 450 degrees.
- Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and place it directly into the oven.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then working quickly flip the palmiers over. Bake an additional 5-8 minutes on the second side until they are golden and caramelized.
Notes
Nutrition
Vegan Puff Pastry Palmiers https://jessicainthekitchen.com/vegan-puff-pastry-palmiers/ December 30, 2022
This Greek cucumber salad is loaded with delicious and filling veggies, topped with creamy hummus and comes together in just 20 minutes!
Do you have one of those meals that you just keep going back to, time and time again? The ones that don’t really require specific quantities, have amazing flavors, and taste great no matter what? That’s what this Greek Cucumber Salad is for me. One taste and you’ll want to add this bowl to your weekly rotation too. Let’s have a build-a-bowl party.
The combination of cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes, olives, and hummus tastes like a momentary Mediterranean vacation, without the cost of a plane ticket. In fact, it’s even more affordable than any fancy restaurant’s replicas you might find nearby. Plus, you have an edge on the competition because you can combine any amount of these ingredients that you want because, well, it’s your bowl!
Why You’ll Love This Cucumber Salad
- Timeless appeal. It goes with just about anything your heart desires and is the perfect carb for a bowl meal for brunch, lunch, or dinner at pretty much any time of the day.
- No cooking needed. You don’t even have to turn on the stove if you have cooked quinoa ready to go! As a matter of assembly more than cooking, you don’t even need a full recipe to master the concept.
- Highly adaptable and customizable. If you love cucumbers, go ahead and double up! Not so crazy about olives? Cut them out. This is your bowl, and you can make it exactly the way you want.
Notes on Ingredients
Please note that this is important information on the ingredients and instructions and the FULL recipe with amounts and details can be found DOWN BELOW (scroll to it) in the recipe card.
- Quinoa – It takes about 15 minutes to cook dry quinoa, but you can skip right ahead by getting either frozen or shelf-stable pouches of prepared quinoa that are ready to use.
- Cucumbers
- Olives – Kalamata are ideal for their authentic Greek flavors, but all olives are good olives. Just make sure they’re pitted!
- Vegan tofu feta cheese or store-bought vegan feta – For a quick fix, my favorite brands of vegan feta are Violife and Follow Your Heart.
- Tomatoes
- Red onion
- Parsley
- Hummus – Homemade or store-bought, in any flavor you like best!
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Lime wedge
Recipe Variations
The beauty of this recipe is that you can use it as a build-your-own-bowl blueprint for anything you’re craving.
- Mexican: Use guacamole instead of hummus, cilantro instead of parsley, and shredded vegan cheddar-style cheese instead of feta. Add black beans and sliced jalapenos.
- Japanese: Use sliced avocado instead of hummus, pickled ginger instead of olives, and snow peas instead of tomatoes. Add edamame and a splash of soy sauce.
- Thai: Use peanut sauce instead of hummus, roasted sweet potato instead of tomatoes, and toasted cashews instead of feta. Add shredded carrots and baked tofu or tempeh.
- Indian: Use plain, unsweetened vegan yogurt instead of hummus, toasted peanuts instead of feta, and achaar (mango pickles) instead of olives. Add curried chickpeas and chopped peppers.
How to Make Greek Cucumber Salad
- Cook the quinoa according to package directions and let cool.
- Split the ingredients in half and add to each quinoa bowl as desired. Spoon hummus on top and mix all the ingredients together if desired. Drizzle olive oil, and grind salt and black pepper over each quinoa bowl. Serve with a lime wedge to squeeze over olives, cheese, tomatoes, and red onions.
Tips for the Best Quinoa Salad
- If you don’t have vegan feta cheese and don’t want to make your own , you can omit it and add more olives for a similar briny, salty sensation.
- Raw onions can be a bit harsh. To take some of the bite out, blanch them (that is, plunge them into boiling water for a minute than rinse in ice water) before using. Alternately, replace them with sliced scallions.
- You can use any whole grain instead of quinoa to switch up your routine. Try cooked brown rice, barley, millet, buckwheat, or farro.
How to Store Cucumber Salad
If you want to prepare this bowl ahead of time, I recommend preparing all the ingredients in advance, storing them all in separate airtight containers. That way, you can just reheat individual components and then put the entire bowl together. You can make the whole bowl, fully assembled, up to a day in advance, but I wouldn’t recommend keeping it together for longer than that.
If you’re making this for lunch, just assemble it all together the morning of, or pack in a mason jar for easier transport.
More Vegan Salad Recipes
- 15-Minute Quinoa Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing
- Easy Vegan Caesar Salad
- The Best Vegan Potato Salad
- Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad with Peanut Ginger Sauce
- The Best Kale Salad with Sesame Tahini Dressing
If you try this Greek Cucumber Salad please let me know in the comment section below, or tag me on instagram with the hashtag #jessicainthekitchen ! For more exclusive recipes follow me on Instagram AND on Snapchat: jessinkitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/4 cup chopped cucumbers
- 1/4 cup chopped olives
- 1/4 cup vegan tofu feta cheese or store-bought vegan feta
- 1/4 cup tomatoes , diced
- 2 tablespoons red onion
- 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons hummus
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil + salt + black pepper
- Lime wedges to serve
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa according to package directions and as desired: see here how to cook quinoa
Per Bowl
- Split the ingredients in half and add to each quinoa bowl as desired. Spoon hummus on top and mix all the ingredients together if desired. Drizzle olive oil, and grind salt and black pepper over each quinoa bowl. Serve with a lime wedge to squeeze over olives, cheese, tomatoes and red onions.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- If you don’t have vegan feta cheese and don’t want to make your own , you can omit it and add more olives for a similar briny, salty sensation.
- Raw onions can be a bit harsh. To take some of the bite out, blanch them (that is, plunge them into boiling water for a minute than rinse in ice water) before using. Alternately, replace them with sliced scallions.
- You can use any whole grain instead of quinoa to switch up your routine. Try cooked brown rice, barley, millet, buckwheat, or farro.
