Pesto Palmiers

in Appetizers

Pesto Palmiers

What appeals most to me in a recipe is the potential – the versatility of substituting one or two ingredients and giving the dish an entirely new flavor. That’s the beauty of this recipe. It has only two essential ingredients: puff pastry and a filling.

It’s fast and easy: Grab frozen puff pastry and a jar of pre-made (or homemade!) pesto, sundried tomato jam, or bacon jam.

Or it can be complicated: Make your own puff pastry.

Sweet or savory, you decide what you want on the inside. Today, I wanted pesto.

Pesto Palmiers

A quick and elegant appetizer.

Ingredients

  • 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
  • 1/2-3/4 cup pesto*
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbsp water

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Roll out the puff pastry on a piece of parchment into a 12x12 inch square.
  3. Spread the pesto within 1/2 inch of each side of the pastry (you might use more or less than 1/2 cup). Using your spatula, make three indentions on the top edge of the dough at 3 inches, 6 inches, 9 inches to divide the sheet into quarters.
  4. Fold the left and right edges of the puff pastry halfway to the center of the dough (to the closest quarter-mark indention). Fold the sides to the middle again until they're almost touching. Fold the two halves together like a book. It looks a lot like this:
  5. Pesto PalmiersPesto PalmiersPesto PalmiersPesto Palmiers I've stopped here and frozen the palmiers for later use. Just let the logs thaw a bit and then proceed.
  6. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and place onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
  7. Whisk egg and water together and brush over the palmiers. Bake for 8 minutes, flip, and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes. Palmiers are best the day of baking.
  8. *I used a traditional basil pesto recipe for this batch. Cilantro-pecan pesto, olive tapenade, sun-dried tomato pesto, and marinara also work wonderfully in this recipe.

Notes

Yields: ~24 Palmiers

Confections of a Foodie Bride

Estimated time: 20 minutes

14 comments… add one
  • Gotta try these – love puff pastry and love pesto!

  • These looks so much prettier than when I make them! I think I cut them into pieces too thick–I like the thin, crisper look that yours have. I’m a big fan of the pesto combined with some cheddar cheese.

  • Kate

    What a great idea. I’ve never thought of making savory palmiers, but it makes so much sense.

  • Beautiful! I love how you can get something so amazing but it didn’t take you all day.

  • These look really yummy. I’m adding it to my list of recipes to try. Thanks!

  • Amanda

    These look wonderful! And I love the little heart shape they make. How cute!

  • Wow, such a versatile appetizer recipe. I love the simplicity of it and the fact that it can be frozen in advance. I’m definitely going to have to try this. Thanks!

  • yum! not sure if i’m ready to tackle home made puff pastry yet but i could totally see myself making this w/the store bought stuff 🙂 so easy and looks so good!

  • Hmmm…I just happen to have Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry in my freezer and Pesto in the fridge… Its a definite must try. Lovely palmiers!

  • Me again! I made the Pesto Palmiers for our Superbowl party and they were a total hit. Thank you so much for the great recipe! You can check out the palmiers I made here.

  • Laura

    Made these for a Christmas Eve party and they went down pretty well. Although multiple people told me “Laura, I liked your pinwheels.” So I’mma just call them that. Posted some pictures of the ones I made on my blog.

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