What French pastry cookie is also called an elephant ear?

The French pastry cookie also called an elephant ear is a palmier.

A palmier is made from puff pastry rolled in sugar. The dough is folded or rolled from both sides toward the center, sliced, and baked until the layers fan outward into a palm-leaf or butterfly shape. Because it uses laminated puff pastry rather than a yeasted dough, it is crisp, flaky, and richly caramelized around the edges.

The French name comes from feuille de palmier, meaning “palm tree leaf,” a reference to the pastry’s shape. English speakers may call it an elephant ear, pig’s ear, palm leaf, French heart, or pastry heart. These names vary by country and sometimes describe related versions rather than a single standardized recipe.

Palmiers are often treated as cookies in bakeries even though they are technically pastries. Regional forms include Spain’s palmeras, Mexico’s orejas, Colombia’s mariposas, and Japan’s Genji Pie. An arlette is a cinnamon-flavored palmier-style biscuit.