Palmiers

Once you know the hours of work that go into making a palmier from scratch—namely, the puff pastry—you’ll never overlook one again on a bakery counter. You shouldn’t anyway: They’re gorgeous and simple and have the perfect sweetness-to-crunch ratio. (The sugar bakes into the dough, caramelizing as it cooks. Heaven.) The chef who taught me how to make them may cringe at my use of store-bought puff pastry, but it’s a cheat that’s sure to put these beautiful treats into more home baker’s ovens