Our family loves going on adventures.  And having Los Angeles so close makes it easy for just about any day to turn into an adventure: there’s so much to do in that area, we love driving south, and seeing what amazing new bakery, restaurant, museum, hike, etc. awaits us.

I’ve written about two of our favorite places to visit in LA, Cake Monkey bakery, and Edelweiss Chocolates.  A recent adventure took me, Mary Jeanne, and one of my very best friends to Beverly Hills.  So of course, Cake Monkey and Edelweiss were among our stops!


One of our family adventures to LA before catching Cover Girl (1944) at Old Town Music Hall, a vintage theater in El Segundo. Click here to read all about our experience at the theater!

My Inspiration for Savory Palmiers

In addition to losing all self-control at the chocolate shop, and basically buying out the whole store, my friend and I both went nuts over a savory pastry we each tried at Cake Monkey.  It was a croissant filled with jalapeño and cream cheese.  Sounds simple, but it was utterly delicious.

Of course, I was inspired to create my own cheesy jalapeño pastry when we got home.

And that’s how my Savory Palmiers with Creamy Jalapeño Filling came about.

savory palmiers

Savory Palmiers: Surprisingly Easy to Fold!

Palmiers look super fancy, but they are so incredibly easy to fold.  Using store-bought puff pastry, which I definitely do here, is also a great shortcut that I 100 percent support.  And I’ve got a step-by-step photo tutorial below, which makes it even easier to master these elegant appetizers.

Also, I warn you ahead of time, my filling is absolutely addicting: cream cheese, freshly grated cheddar, and jalapeño pieces studded throughout make this creamy filling a delicious dip for crackers or chips as well.

Make my Savory Creamy Jalapeño Palmiers as an appetizer for your holiday table, or to enjoy all-year round.  Whenever you make them, I guarantee these palmiers won’t last long!

savory palmiers

A Few Things!

Seasoning for Savory Palmiers

One of my favorite things about these palmiers is the black sesame seed and fleur de sel seasoning.  It really is the finishing flavor/textural element.  If you haven’t cooked with fleur de sel before, it’s a French finishing salt that is literally flakes of sea salt.  I use it all the time to add flavor to dishes like pastas, pizza, or rice before serving.  Fleur de sel is also great for making “salted” desserts.  You can find my favorite fleur de sel here on Amazon [aff. link].

Fleur de sel is one of my very favorite products! I use it basically everyday, no exaggeration! Click to view on Amazon! [aff. link]

And if you can’t find black sesame seeds in your grocery store, here is my favorite brand on Amazon [aff. link]. The Spice Way black sesame seeds are super fresh, and it’s great quantity for the price.

My Tip for De-Seeding the Jalapeño

And really quick!  For reference, I prefer to de-seed the jalapeños by cutting a whole jalapeño into rounds, then taking the seeds out the middle.

Ok, now onto the palmier folding tutorial!

Savory Palmier Folding Tutorial

Roll the dough out so it is about 9×13 inches.
Dollop the filling over the dough.
Use an offset spatula to evenly spread the filling to the edges of the dough. Click the photo to view or purchase my favorite offset spatula on Amazon [aff. link].
Fold a short side of the dough half-way to the center.
Now fold the other short side halfway to the center.
Now fold one side over itself. The edge will end in the center. (Or almost…as you can tell, mine is slightly crooked, and that’s ok!)
Now fold the other side over itself. The edge will meet up in the center with the other side.
Now take one side, and fold it over the other.
savory palmiers
Cut each palmier to about 3/4 inch thick.
savory palmiers
Place the palmiers on the baking sheet so one side of filling faces the pan, and the other faces up. Now you’re ready to bake!


savory palmiers
5 from 3 votes

Savory Palmiers with Creamy Jalapeño Filling

My Savory Palmiers with Creamy Jalapeño Filling are the perfect appetizer. Filled with cheddar, cream cheese, and studded with jalapeño, there are never leftovers!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time17 minutes
Total Time47 minutes
Servings: 12
Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the filling:

  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup canned jalapeños, seeds removed and roughly chopped (use 2 Tbsp chopped jalapeños if you want the spice level to be more mild)
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp onion salt
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ cup cheddar cheese, freshly grated

Everything else:

  • 1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted (defrost in the refrigerator overnight, or on the countertop 45 minutes before you plan to roll out the pastry)
  • ½ cup cheddar cheese, freshly grated
  • 1 ½ Tbsp black sesame seeds
  • ½ tsp fleur de sel

Instructions

Prepare the jalapeños

  • Here is my preferred jalapeño prep method, but you can de-seed them however you like:
  • I prefer to buy a can of whole jalapeños. Then I slice them to small rounds, and remove the seeds from the center of each round. See photo above for reference.
  • Now do a rough chop of the de-seeded jalapeño slices.

Make the filling

  • To the bowl of your food processor, add the roughly chopped jalapeño. Pulse a few times, until the jalapeno is roughly diced.
  • Now add the softened cream cheese, sea salt, onion salt, and garlic powder. Process until everything comes together, and the jalapeño pieces have broken down a bit further.

Add the cheddar

  • Transfer the filling to a small mixing bowl, and add the freshly grated cheddar. Stir until the cheddar is fully incorporated.
  • Set the filling aside while you roll out the puff pastry.

Prepare the puff pastry

  • Lightly flour a clean surface. Unfold the defrosted puff pastry, and lay it on top of the flour.
  • With your rolling pin, lightly roll out the puff pastry until it measures 9 inches by 13 inches.

Add the filling

  • See the photos above for my method of spreading the filling on the puff pastry, and how to fold the palmiers!
  • Dollop the filling on top of the puff pastry. I use all the filling, but if you want less cheesy palmiers, use 3/4 of the filling, and save the rest for spreading on crackers. (It’s delicious!)
  • With your offset spatula, spread the filling out to the edges of the puff pastry. I’m telling you, an offset spatula will make this step super easy!

Fold the puff pastry

  • Don’t forget to reference my photos above!
  • Take a short side of the puff pastry, and fold it half way to the center. Do the same with the other short side of the puff pastry, so that each short side is folded half way to the center.
  • Now fold each side towards the center one more time, so they now meet up in the center.
  • Lastly, fold one side on top of the other.

Cut the palmiers

  • With a sharp knife, cut the palmiers from the puff pastry ‘log.’ Make each palmier about ¾ of an inch thick. You will get 10-12 palmiers total.

Bake the palmiers

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Place the palmiers on a standard-sized baking sheet so that one side of the filling touches the baking sheet, and one side of the filling is face up. I bake 6-8 palmiers at a time. Just be sure to space them about 2 inches apart. They will expand!!
  • Sprinkle a little bit of freshly grated cheddar over each palmier.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the fleur de sel and the black sesame seeds. Now sprinkle a little bit of the seeds/salt mixture over each palmier.
  • Bake at 375 degrees for 17-20 minutes, until the cheddar on top is lightly browed and the palmiers are golden.

Serve and enjoy!

  • Let the palmiers cool for about 10 minutes before serving as an appetizer or snack.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

This recipe can easily be doubled!
Store any leftover palmiers tightly sealed in the refrigerator, then warm/crisp them back up in the oven for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.