SHF#10: Honey, Pistachio and Rum Palmiers

Oh honey!  The Baking Sheet is hosting this Sugar High Friday and the theme is honey.  I decided to try palmiers.  You can see what others chose to make here.

Honey Pistachio and Rum Palmiers

3/4 C pistachios (roasted and hulled)

1/4 C caster sugar

7 teaspoons Flor de Caña Nicaraguan rum

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 stick of butter (at room temperature)

2 tbl light brown sugar

2 sheets puff pastry (I used store-bought)

1 C honey plus 1 tbl

Preheat oven to 400F

Process pistachios until finely ground.  In a bowl combine the pistachios, butter, caster sugar, cinnamon, 3 tsp of the Rum, and 1 tbl of honey until the ingredients come together to form a paste.

Distribute half of the brown sugar on a counter or cutting board and place one of the puff pastry sheets over it.  Press the puff pastry so the sugar adheres.

Spread half of the pistachio mixture onto the center-third of the puff pastry.  Fold each outer third in to meet in the middle and press down.  Fold each side in once again and press. Repeat one last time and fold each side of the resulting cylinder into each other.  Cover in plastic wrap and chill for about 15 minutes or until the pastry is cool enough to handle without coming apart.  Repeat with the other half of the ingredients.

Remove from the plastic wrap once chilled and cut into pieces 1/4in thick.  Place on a greased cookie sheet or Sil-pat mat.

Bake 10-15, watching carefully near the end so the bottoms do not burn.  Meanwhile combine 1/2 C of the honey with 2 tsp of the rum in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat.

When finished baking, place one palmier at a time in the honey mixture, turn to coat, and place on a wire rack (with paper towels underneath).  Allow to cool and enjoy.

This was a very easy recipe and it would lend itself well to substitutions and different flavors.  I do not typically enjoy things that taste heavily of honey, but I really enjoyed these.  The rum and boil mellow out the sweetness and leave you with a lovely consistency.

I used Kallas brand unfiltered and uncooked alfalfa honey.  The alfalfa gave a subtle earthy flavor that worked nicely with the honey's natural sweetness.

My roommates really seemed to enjoy these.  Aviva made madelines during the day, so we had lots of sweet things to eat last night. Mmmm.