Puff Pastry Elephant Ears Food

EASY ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Mix sugar and cinnamon., On a lightly floured surface, roll one sheet of pastry into an 11x8-in. rectangle. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar. Working from short sides, roll up jelly-roll style toward the center. Wrap in plastic; freeze 10 minutes. Repeat., Unwrap and cut dough into 1/2-in. slices; place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

COULDN'T BE EASIER ELEPHANT EARS.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Sprinkle a thick layer of sugar on a pastry board.
• Place puff pastry on top and roll into a neat oblong.
• Fold one long side of puff pastry inward, like a jellyroll, stopping at the centre.
• Repeat on the other side. The 2 sides will meet in the centre.
• Cut into 1/4 inch slices and press each slice in sugar.
• Place slices on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake for 6 to 8 minutes.
• Turn over and bake for another 6 to 8 minutes or until golden brown.
• Variation:.
• In a food processor, process 1/2 cup chopped nuts, 2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon until finely ground.
• sprinkle dough with mixture before folding.

ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Unfold the pastry sheet on a clean work surface. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar. Starting at each long side, fold the pastry toward the center, leaving a 1/4-inch space in the middle. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar. Fold one side over the other, making a 4-layer rectangle. Cut the rectangle into twelve 3/4-inch slices and put the slices cut-side down on baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
• Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer them from the baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

TOMATO BASIL ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• To make the paste, place the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for 15 seconds. Set aside.
• Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry and place it on a lightly floured board. With a rolling pin, lightly roll the dough until it's a 13-inch square. Using a knife, spread the paste over the top of the puff pastry. Fold the sides of the square toward the center so they go halfway to the middle. Fold them again so the 2 folds meet exactly at the middle of the dough. Then fold one half over the other half as though closing a book. You will have 6 layers. Slice the dough into 3/8-inch slices and place the slices, cut side up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Brush each piece with egg wash and place in the oven. Bake for 6 minutes. Turn each pastry slice over and continue baking an additional 5 minutes.

PUFF PASTRY ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Water wash entire surface of one pastry sheet.
• Sprinkle cinnamon on surface.
• Roll sheet up into a coil.
• Cut coil into 12 equal pieces.
• Place sufficient granulated sugar on work surface and place one cut piece on sugar, also covering top of roll with sugar.
• With a rolling pin, roll down piece, changing direction of sheeting to keep the piece oval. Use sugar as you would dusting flour to keep from sticking. Roll approximately 7" or 8" circles.
• Place on parchment paper lined baking pan.
• Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Heat milk with butter until butter melts.
• Set aside to cool to lukewarm.
• Stir yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar into warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 to 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine milk and yeast mixtures with 2 1/2 cups flour, salt, and nutmeg.
• Stir until smooth.
• Cover and let stand until bubbly, 30 minutes.
• Stir in beaten eggs, then add additional flour to make a soft but not sticky dough.
• Turn dough onto a floured board and knead until smooth, supple, and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Return dough to bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until dough is doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch down and divide into 4 pieces.
• Divide each piece into 4 or 5 pieces.
• Put several inches of oil in a large, deep pan such as a chicken fryer or heavy dutch oven.
• Heat to about 360 degrees F.
• Work each ball of dough with the hands, shaping into a large disk, about 10 inches long and 6 inches wide.
• Fry one at a time, turning once, until nicely browned.
• Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar or cinnamon sugar while hot.
• Serve at once.

ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Grease a cookie sheet with shortening.
• Heat margarine until melted; set aside.
• Stir flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
• Stir in milk and 3 tablespoons of the melted margarine until dough forms.
• Sprinkle a surface lightly with flour; turn dough onto surface.
• Knead 10 times.
• Roll dough with a rolling pin or pat with hands into a rectangle, 9x5 inches.
• Brush with remaining melted margarine, using a pastry brush; sprinkle with mixture of 3 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon.
• Roll dough up tightly, beginning at narrow end.
• Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal.
• Cut into 4 equal pieces with sharp knife.
• Place cut sides up on cookie sheet; pat each into a 6-inch circle.
• Sprinkle with more sugar.
• Bake until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Immediately remove from cookie sheet with a spatula.
• Let cool on wire rack.

ELEPHANT EAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast pecans on a baking sheet until fragrant and lightly toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Grind pecans, sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor until very finely chopped (mixture should resemble very coarse sand).
• Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Place puff pastry sheets side by side on floured parchment; press together at seam to form a 9 1/2-by-18-inch rectangle. Roll out to an 11-by-20-inch rectangle using a rolling pin. Transfer pastry on parchment to a baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes. Brush generously with beaten egg, and evenly sprinkle with pecan mixture, patting it into dough. Starting with a short side, use one hand to roll up as tightly as possible, holding unrolled portion firmly with other palm. Brush off excess flour with a dry pastry brush as you are rolling, and press sides back into shape (they tend to splay). Roll tightly in parchment.
• Freeze dough until firm, about 20 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1-inch slices. Generously sprinkle a work surface with granulated sugar, and coat both cut sides of dough slices in sugar. Press dough slices to flatten slightly. Roll out into 6- to 7-inch rounds on sugared surface, sprinkling more sugar on top as needed. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 3 per sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Bake in batches until golden brown, 17 to 18 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool on baking sheets.