The Elegant French Cookies You Can Make Using Just 2 Ingredients

When we think of French food, we often think of fancy food. You know, those extravagantly prepared, delicate dishes that look like expensive pieces of art — with price tags to match. Yes, the French make wow-worthy, million-step dishes that take legitimate skill to be able to pull off, like beef bourguignon and crêpes suzette. Ambitious and delicious, it's no wonder French cuisine was famously Julia Child's favorite. But even the most refined chefs can't deny a good cookie.

Palmiers cookies are a French staple, and are among those dishes that sound fancy but are actually incredibly easy to make. In fact, they only require two simple ingredients! Commonly called elephant ears thanks to their fun shape, these light cookies are just the right balance between sweet and buttery, crunchy and flaky.

To make palmiers, all you need is sugar and puff pastry. Roll out the puff pastry on some granulated sugar, and then sprinkle some more sugar on top of it. Get your dough in a uniform rectangle shape, and then start rolling the short edges of your dough toward the center of the rectangle, until you have a layered log of dough. Slice the log into half-inch portions, and those little nuggets are your elephant ear cookies! Don't worry — the puff pastry will characteristically puff out to give you the shape you're hoping for. The sugar outside the cookies caramelizes as they bake, while the puff pastry crisps slightly, leaving you with a sweet, slightly sticky, perfectly crunchy bite.

Palmiers are some of the easiest cookies for beginners to make thanks to their short and sweet ingredient list, but what if we made the list a little more lengthy ... and a little more savory?

The beauty of a two-ingredient recipe is its versatility. Since puff pastry is the main ingredient here, it's easy to swap out the sugar for something else. Instead, add a thin layer of pesto or even some goat cheese (or both!) over the puff pastry before rolling it up into the elephant-ear shape.

If you want to keep these treats good and sweet, consider shaking things up by adding a sprinkle of cinnamon to your granulated sugar. Or, experiment with different types of sugar, using extra coarse granules in demerara sugar for more crunch. Try combining coarse and fine sugar for more dimension, or spread a bit of fruit jam or Nutella over the puff pastry for a sweet cookie interior. It's common to bake these with just sugar, and then once the cookies are cooled, dip the top in melted dark chocolate for extra elegance and indulgence. Whether you make palmiers with two ingredients or five, these simple French cookies belong in your sweet treat repertoire.