Elephant Ears
Named for their shape, these Elephant Ears are layers of puff pastry with cinnamon and sugar. Only four ingredients to make this tasty treat.
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My friend Lindsay posted a picture on her Instagram of her eating elephant ears. Ever since then, I’ve been obsessed with them. I researched tons of recipes, some more complicated than others, with yeast and without. But school just started here. Which means I get to wake up at 6:45 every morning and I’ve turned into a beast. An impatient beast. I’m soooo not a morning person. I wanted something simple and easy to satisfy my cinnamon sugar craving. These are great warm or room temperature. For breakfast…or an afternoon snack.
Sprinkle a surface with some sugar with a pinch of salt. Place your puff pastry on top.
Sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top.
Roll the cinnamon sugar into the dough.
Roll it into a 13″ square.
Fold the dough halfway to the middle. 
Then fold it over again meeting at the center.
Then fold it over again like you’re closing a book.
Gently slice it and place it on a parchment lined sheet. It’s not pretty. Don’t worry. When they’re done baking they will spread just like they’re supposed to.
I looked over and saw my monkeys doing this with the leftover sugar. I swear I do feed them actual meals.
Elephant Ears
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar, divided
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 sheet Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, defrosted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar and kosher salt and pour it over a flat surface such as a wooden board or marble slab. Unfold the sheet of puff pastry and place it on top of the sugar mixture.
- Combine the remaining 1/2 cup of the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the pastry. Lightly roll the dough with a rolling pin pressing the sugar in the pastry until it's a 13 inch square.
- Fold the sides of the square toward the center so they go halfway to the middle. Fold them again so the two folds meet exactly at the middle of the dough. Then fold one half over the other half as though closing a book. Slice the dough into 1/2-inch slices and place them cut up on the prepared sheet.
- Bake for 6 minutes, or until caramelized on the bottom, then carefully turn with a spatula and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, until caramelized on the other side. Transfer to a baking rack to cool. Don't worry if they look funky when you flip them. Their shape will come as they finish baking. Great served warm or room temperature.
Notes
And since 2 puff pastries come in a package you can make double batch or make these recipes:
Love your recipes. Do you also have recipes that are keto friendly?
Yes, yes of course! They are all here:
https://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/category/keto-recipes/
These look delish! We’ll be trying them today as an after-school snack.
And I’m so glad you posted the picture of your kids licking the pan of sugar. It’s nice to know my children aren’t the only ones! 🙂
I tired to make a version of this once, never thought about rolling the cinnamon sugar into the dough.
Wow! that looks so good! love how the ears came out, re4ally golden and seems so crispy, Yum!
I LOVE the pic of your “monkeys” licking the sugar off of the pan. Made me howl with laughter! It so reminded me of when my kids were little and did stuff like that. Too funny! Just so you know….they don’t fold the dough, it is rolled up to the center then cut. Danish and puff pastry was my job in a bakery for two years. These look good though….even though they were folded. Happy baking! And give your “monkeys” a hug for me. 🙂
Ooh. I’ll have to try it your way! Thanks for the tip.
I am totally blown away how you made those. Goodness girl that’s easy peasy. Your kids picture is a funny and definitely a keeper. Ha!
Christy, these are so fun! Can’t go wrong with puff pastry.
What a great idea! They look so yummy and so easy to make!! And the picture of your kids was hilarious! 🙂
Oh my goodness! The picture of your kids licking up the sugar is just precious… Loving the cinnamon and sugar embedded in the puff pastry:) Pinned because we need these!
Oh thats amazing! I’m originally from Germany and we have them in every single bakery! Ours are giant though and the top is dipped in chocolate!! This reminds me so much of home – great post! I love your blog btw! xo
These look yummy! I have always seen this type of pastry called palmiers. Up in the north west, elephant ears are like fry bread. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/elephant-ears-2/
These look delicious! Approximately how many does one batch make?
Makes about 16-20 depending how thin you cut them.