Baby Almond Elephant Ears Recipes

BAKED ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Preheat the over to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
• Stir flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in milk and the 1/4 cup melted butter until dough forms.
• Turn dough onto a flat, floured surface. Knead dough 10 times. Roll dough with a rolling pin or pat with hands into a rectangle, 9x5 inches. Brush with remaining melted butter using a pastry brush; sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough up tightly, beginning at narrow end. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Cut into 4 equal pieces with sharp knife. Place cuts sides up on cookie sheet; pat each into a 6-inch circle.
• Bake until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet with a spatula. Let cool on wire rack.

CINNAMON ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• 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 onto the sugar mixture.
• Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar and the cinnamon and spread it evenly on the puff pastry. This is not about sprinkling, it's about an even covering of sugar. With a rolling pin, lightly roll the dough until it's a 13-inch square and the sugar is pressed into the puff pastry on top and bottom. 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. You will have 6 layers. Slice the dough into 3/8-inch slices and place the slices, cut side up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• Bake the cookies for 6 minutes, or until caramelized and brown on the bottom, then 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.

ELEPHANT EAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast pecans on a baking sheet until fragrant and lightly toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Grind pecans, sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor until very finely chopped (mixture should resemble very coarse sand).
• Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Place puff pastry sheets side by side on floured parchment; press together at seam to form a 9 1/2-by-18-inch rectangle. Roll out to an 11-by-20-inch rectangle using a rolling pin. Transfer pastry on parchment to a baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes. Brush generously with beaten egg, and evenly sprinkle with pecan mixture, patting it into dough. Starting with a short side, use one hand to roll up as tightly as possible, holding unrolled portion firmly with other palm. Brush off excess flour with a dry pastry brush as you are rolling, and press sides back into shape (they tend to splay). Roll tightly in parchment.
• Freeze dough until firm, about 20 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1-inch slices. Generously sprinkle a work surface with granulated sugar, and coat both cut sides of dough slices in sugar. Press dough slices to flatten slightly. Roll out into 6- to 7-inch rounds on sugared surface, sprinkling more sugar on top as needed. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 3 per sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Bake in batches until golden brown, 17 to 18 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool on baking sheets.

ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• In small saucepan over medium heat, combine milk, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar and shortening. Heat until shortening melts and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm, 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). Sprinkle in yeast and let sit until foamy.
• Transfer mixture to large bowl, and stir in flour to make a dough. Knead until smooth, cover and let rise 30 minutes.
• In a large heavy skillet or deep fryer, heat 1 inch of oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Roll out 1 to 2 inch balls of dough into thin sheets. Fry sheets 1 to 2 minutes on a side, until puffed and golden. Drain on paper towels.
• Combine cinnamon and 6 tablespoons sugar. Sprinkle over warm pastries. Serve.

ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water. Add milk, sugar, salt, shortening and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , On a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch down and shape into 15 ovals, 5-1/2-in. round by 1/8-in. thick. Heat 3-4 in. of oil to 375° in deep-fat fryer. Fry ovals, one at a time, 3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Drain. Mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over warm pastries.

HOMEMADE ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture as for pastry. Beat milk, egg and yeast mixture until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture and shape into a ball. Place in a greased bowl; cover and chill for at least 2 hours. , Turn out onto a floured surface; punch dough down. Cover with a towel and allow to rest 10 minutes. Roll into a 18x10-in. rectangle. Spread with softened butter. Combine remaining filling ingredients and sprinkle over butter. Starting with the long side, roll up dough jelly-roll style and pinch the edges to seal. Cut into 1-in. slices. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle a portion of the mixture on waxed paper. , Place one slice of dough on top of the mixture and roll to a 5-in. circle, turning to coat both sides. Place on greased baking sheets. Repeat until all the circles are rolled and coated. Sprinkle tops of ears with leftover topping if desired. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

JUMBO ALMOND ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• to prepare the COOKIE DOUGH:.
• sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and mix with an electric mixer on low speed until the largest of the butter pieces are the size of small lima beans.about 20 seconds.
• the butter pieces will be different sizes and there will still be some loose flour.
• add the sour cream and mix until large clumps of dough form that pull away from the sides of the bowl.about 15 seconds(or use a pastry blender to combine the flour mixture and butter.add the sour cream and stir with a large spoon for about 2 minutes until a smooth dough forms).
• form the dough into a smooth ball and flatten it into a rectangle about 8x5".
• you will see small pieces of butter in the dough, that is good and contributes to the flaky texture.
• wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerator for 30-60 minutes to rest and firm the dough.
• the dough can also be refrigerated overnight, but then it will have to sit at room temperature until it is soft enough to roll out easily.
• this can take as long as 1 hour in a cool kitchen.
• to prepare the FILLING:.
• in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the almond paste and butter until smooth.
• mix in the powdered sugar, cream or milk,vanilla and almond extract until blended to a smooth soft mixture.
• OR make the filling in a food processor. Put all the ingredients in the processor, and beginning with a few on/off bursts, process until a smooth mixture forms,.about 1 minute.).
• transfer to a small bowl, cover and set aside at room temperature for up to 1 hour or refrigerate if leaving overnight.
• position a rack in the middle of the oven.
• preheat the oven to 375*.
• line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• unwrap the dough.
• lightly sprinkle the flour and sugar on the rolling pin and the rolling surface.
• roll the dough to a 14x12" rectangle.
• don't flip the dough over while rolling, but lift and turn it several times as you roll it to prevent it from sticking to the rolling surface.
• and, when you lift and turn the dough, sprinkle sugar generously on the rolling surface.
• use a thin metal spatula to spread the filling in a thin layer over the dough.
• turn the dough if necessary so a short side faces you.
• Measuring along the 14" sides, mark the center of the dough.
• rolling from the shorter 12" edge that is closer to you, roll up the dough like a jelly roll just to the marked center.
• then roll the far side toward the center until the two rolls meet.
• you will have a double log of filled dough that is smoothly attached on the bottom side.
• turn the double log over for easier cutting.
• press in the ends of the log to smooth them.
• and use a large sharp knife to cut the log into 12 1" thick slices.
• dip both sides of each slice in sugar, sprinkle the rolling pin with sugar.
• roll out each slice of dough to a large butterfly shape about 4x5" and about 1/16" thick, sprinkling the rolling pin as necessary with sugar.
• the cookies will not all be exactly the same size.
• use a large spatula to place the cookies at least 1" apart on the prepared baking sheets.
• sprinkle the top of each cookie with about 1/2 tsp sugar.
• bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops are evenly light brown.about 15 minutes.
• the cookies will spread about 1" and rise slightly.
• the filling may bubble up slightly on some of the cookies and have a few darker spots.
• cool the cookies for about 5 minutes on the baking sheets.
• then use a large metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
• the outside of the sugar coated cookies will become very crisp as they cool.
• the cookies can be stored in a single layer in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

BABY ALMOND ELEPHANT EARS

Steps:

• Mix together all ingredients except granulated sugar and pastry.
• Beat at low speed until well blended.
• Sprinkle 1 tbs sugar on flat surface.
• Lay 1 sheet of puff pastry onto sugared surface.
• Sprinkle with another 1 tbs sugar.
• Roll into a 12-inch square.
• Cut square into 2 rectangles (12x6).
• Spread 1/4 of almond mix on each rectangle.
• Roll both 12-inch sides in toward center of pastry.
• Continue rolling until they meet in the center, then firmly press layers together.
• Repeat with other rectangle.
• Repeat all with second pastry sheet.
• Wrap each roll in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 400°F and cut rolls into 24 slices with sharp knife.
• Place 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheets.
• Optional- sprinkle cookies with turbinado, raw, or granular sugar.
• Bake 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Cool on rack.