POM-mier Wonderful: Pomegranate Palmiers
Friday, March 6, 2009 
Pomegranates are kind of like the rock star of the antioxidant world. In fact, based on what we read on the POM Wonderful website, there isn't a whole lot they can't do: they improve cardiovascular health, help clear arteries, and might even help you feel more frisky. And happily, pomegranate seeds and juice are pretty delicious, even on their own, so getting all of those benefits need not taste like bitter suffering.
However, when the sweet people at POM (thanks buddies!) offered to send us some of their juice to test out with baking, we wonderered, could there be a way to increase the awesome quotient of this superfood? The answer is yes: by smothering its supreme antioxidancy in butter and sugar.
So was born the POM-mier, a pomegranate infused and topped palmier. Joking aside, the resulting pastry is a lovely, not too-sweet combination of flavors: the buttery, flaky pastry gets a sweet, tart taste contrast from an infusion of pomegranate between its layers and a topping of pomegranate syrup. Here's how we made them:
Pomegranate Palmiers (adapted from a recipe on Epicurious):
Ingredients:
- 1 to 2 tablespoons POM Wonderful juice per pastry sheet
- 2 sheets puff pastry (or more, or less, to your preference)
- 1 tablespoon sugar per pastry sheet (approx.)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Sprinkle some sugar on a work surface and cover it with a puff pastry square sheet. Then sprinkle more sugar evenly over pastry sheet and roll it out into a 10-inch square with a rolling pin. With a pastry brush, gently brush the pomegranate juice across the surface of the puff pastry (this will give the finished pastry the lightest essence of pomegrante).
Fold in two opposite sides of the pastry sheet square so that they the sides meet in the center. Fold in same sides of the pastry again.
Fold one half of the pastry over the other. Cut pastry crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Dip cut sides of each piece in sugar and arrange, cut side down, on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with three remaining pastry sheets.
Bake palmiers in batches in middle of oven until golden on bottom, about 12 minutes. Turn over and bake until golden on bottom, 5 to 7 minutes more, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. While cooling, top with pomegranate syrup (below).
Pomegranate Syrup (Adapted from the POM Wonderful website):
- 1 cup POM Wonderful Juice
- 1/2 cup sugar
Combine juice and 1 cup of sugar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes until reduced to about 3/4 cup, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat and cool. (You can store in a tightly closed jar or container in the refrigerator for up to 2 months).
With a spoon, gently pour a small amount on top of each finished pastry.
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Reader Comments (21)
That is officially one of the best photos you've ever posted... and I still can't believe you make your own palmiers!!
how creative is that? I must try this on some shortbread or poundcake.
Great idea. I made palmiers last month and would love to revisit them with this! Nice play on words.
wow I ve never saw palmiers like this. these look delicious and so nice :)
So creative and such a nice combo of flavours I am really impressed. :D
Love how you updated this classic cookie!
mmm tasty AND healthy...awesome.
Yummy and creative! It almost looks like a delicious jam smothered on top, lovely :).
Seriously brilliant! The tart with the sweet and that shot is irresistible!
What a great idea! Pomegranate syrup could be used in so many delicious ways.
I love that name! Lol!
YUM, I just baked with POM as well. I love how simple yet so tasty these are.
A symphony of antioxidancy ...
I wish you were there, too. We absolutely will have to meet one day. Did you see her post. I didn't know what she was going to use, but she must have thought your cuppie cake bites were cute. I just wish she had referenced you.
EB: Thank you! I was surprised to learn how easy they are to make!
Dawn: Bet that would taste great!
Glamah: Yeah! There are so many variations possible!
Snooky: Thank you!
Ricardo: You're sweet, glad you enjoyed!
Dana: Thanks! It was a great flavor!
Veggievixen: Yeah, they were pretty awesome!
Sophie: That is pretty much what it was! So good.
Zoe: You're so sweet! That credit goes to the rare and shining lovely seattle sun!
Lisais: Oh yeah, pomegranate is such a delicious flavor!
Clumbsy: Thanks! :-)
Peabody: Ooh, I am going to go check out what you did right now!!
TW: Ha! And butter...and sugar!! Yea!
Bakerella: I hope it all went really well!! I wish I could have been there, I'm sure you had fun. With your combined forces...awesome creativity!! I didn't see her post, but what a compliment that she used those ones. Of course, for obviously biased reasons, they're one of my favorite of your projects too! :-)
Wow ... and to think I've been wasting this amazing Pomegranate Juice in Pom-Tinis when I could have been baking with it. Thank you for sharing the secret with us all to broaden our baking horizons. =)
This is fantastic...delicious and packed with antioxidants. Love palmiers with a cup of coffee!
You are beyond wicked.
I'm all over this.
Great idea!
I love the juice, but always find the acutal pomegranite too hard to buy. I don't know what I'm looking for, I don't know how to get the seeds out, etc...
Its on my to-do list!
Wow. Looks fantastic. We love pomegranate juice at our house because of all the anti-oxidants it has. We saw in the store one of those expensive juice mixes you can buy that had some special fruit (noni I think it was), and the plain old pomegranate juice that cost 3x less had more anti-oxidants. So, go pomegranate!