Chocolate Palmiers

Heat the oven to 350°F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Stir the sugar and cocoa powder in a medium bowl.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar mixture on the work surface.  Unfold the pastry sheet on the sugar mixture.  Sprinkle the pastry with 1/2 cup sugar mixture.  Reserve the remaining sugar mixture.

Roll the pastry sheet into a 10-inch square.  Fold about 1 1/2 inches of the top and bottom edges in towards the center.  Fold in the same edges again over the first folds, leaving about a 1/4-inch space in the center.  Fold one half of the pastry over the other, making a 6-layer pastry roll.

Cut the pastry roll into 20 (about 1/2-inch thick) slices.  Dip a cut-side of each pastry into the reserved sugar mixture.  Place the pastries, sugar-side up, on the baking sheets.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.

Tips

Recipe Note: Parchment paper keeps the pastry from sticking to the baking sheet and also makes for easier cleanup. If you don't have parchment paper, you can spray the baking sheet with cooking spray instead. However, cooking spray may cause the bottoms of the pastries to brown more quickly, so begin checking for doneness 5 minutes early.