What is an elephant ear as you know it? For me, it was a giant piece of fried dough sprinkled with cinnamon sugar enjoyed at the county fair as a kid. Recently I happened upon this recipe for so-called elephant ear cookies and they looked so amazing, I knew then and there that I had to make them. However upon reading further, I didn’t see that much resemblance to the elephant ears that I know and love. In this version, puff pastry is covered with a ground nut-cinnamon-sugar mixture, the whole thing is rolled up into a spiral, and the log is sliced. Each slice is further rolled out in additional cinnamon sugar and then baked. Maybe not much like my definition of an elephant ear, but clearly a dessert worth trying no matter the name.
These cookies are fun to make, make your house smell heavenly while baking, and as you might imagine from the description, they taste pretty fab too. Because of the nature of puff pastry, these are really best enjoyed when freshly made, but since they are a slice (roll) and bake cookie, you can bake just as many as you need at a time. A lovely cookie to bake up at a moment’s notice!