There are Asian (or Indian) and African elephants. African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. They are slightly larger than their Asian cousins and can be identified by their larger ears that look somewhat like the continent of Africa. Asian elephants have smaller, rounded ears.

To celebrate Elephant Appreciation Day, have some Elephant Ear pastry (Palmiers), a sweet available at many bakeries. If you like to bake, you can try these at home.

 These multi-layered pastries sprinkled with cinnamon sugar make a treasured after-school or tea-time treat. Plus, they’re easy when you start with prepared puff pastry sheets.

Ingredients

1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
All-purpose flour
1 package (17.3 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (2 sheets), thawed

Directions

Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork. Stir the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Sprinkle the work surface with the flour. Unfold 1 pastry sheet on the floured surface. Brush the pastry with the egg mixture and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar mixture. Starting at both short sides, fold the pastry toward the center, leaving a 1/4-inch space in the center. Brush with the egg mixture and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar mixture. Fold one side over the other, making a 4-layer rectangle. Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet.

Cut each rectangle into 12 (3/4-inch) slices, making 24 slices in all. Place the slices cut-side down, 2 inches apart on baking sheets and brush with the egg mixture.

Bake for 12 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and cool on wire racks.