On October 14th, the French Club held its first interactive activity of the year–a mystery dessert to make at home. Students were given a list of ingredients prior to that date, but had no information on the instruction on how to make the dessert nor the name of it. In the end, the people that attended made palmiers, a classic French pastry. Some say it is in the shape of a pig’s nose while others believe it is in the shape of a butterfly’s wings. 

While meeting over Google Meets, the teacher advisor of the club, Mme. Menichelli, read the recipe’s steps along as students made their cookies. Overall, I believe this virtual baking session was a success because we made tasty treats while chatting with friends. The only issue that occurred was that one of the final steps in the instructions was forgotten. It didn’t really affect the final outcome of the palmiers, but if this recipe were to be done again in the future, the next batches would turn out even better.

The French Club is looking into making another mystery dessert in the future, among other activities. If you would like to participate in the French Club’s activities in the future, join the Google Classroom (code: gm7nxgg). If you would like to try out the recipe we used to make these palmiers, here it is:

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup cane sugar

Instructions:

1. Unwrap the puff pastry. Using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten out the seams if your puff pastry has then, making an even rectangle. Brush melted butter evenly over the puff pastry. Sprinkle half of the sugar on the pastry, then spread it around evenly. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry into a tall rectangle, pressing the sugar into the pastry. Flip the pastry, then repeat the process, brushing with butter and rolling in the rest of the sugar.
2. Tightly roll the bottom of the pastry toward the middle, stopping at the center, then roll the top of the pastry to meet in the center as well. The rolls should be the same size. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Remove the plastic wrap and push one of the rolls directly on top of the other. Trim off the uneven ends of the pastry, then slice into ½-inch (1 cm) rounds. They should look like smushed hearts. Place the slices on the baking sheet about 2 inches (5 cm) apart to allow for expansion. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping them halfway until the sugar is caramelized and the cookies are golden brown.
5. Enjoy!