Cocoa shortcrust pastry is a basic preparation in home baking, perfect for making chocolate tarts, crumbly cookies and pantry cakes.
Compared to classic shortcrust, the addition of unsweetened cocoa gives an intense flavor and an elegant dark color, ideal paired with jams, creams and chocolate fillings.
Making it at home is simple, but to obtain a crumbly, elastic dough that is easy to roll out it is important to respect the quantities, resting times and a few small tips. In this guide you’ll find a step-by-step procedure, tips to avoid mistakes and several useful variations.
If you love basic doughs, on the blog you’ll also find the recipe for savory shortcrust pastry and for pistachio shortcrust pastry for cookies and tarts, but before you start, if you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 1 lb 9 oz shortcrust pastry (about 700 g)
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients to make cocoa shortcrust pastry for tarts and cookies
- 2 1/2 cups Type 0 flour (all-purpose)
- 2/3 cup Butter (at room temperature)
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp cup Powdered sugar (sifted)
- 1 egg (large)
- 6 tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 packet Vanillin (or 1 tsp vanilla extract or orange zest)
- 1 pinch Salt
Tools
- Mixing bowl
- Work surface
- Sieve
Preparation of cocoa shortcrust pastry for tarts and cookies
In a large bowl, sift the flour with the unsweetened cocoa powder and the pinch of salt.
Add the cold butter in pieces and work it quickly with your fingertips until you obtain a sandy mixture. At this point add the sugar, mix, make a well and add the egg and the chosen flavoring.
Knead quickly until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous dough ball.
Wrap the cocoa shortcrust pastry in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using it. When ready to use, work it for a few minutes to give it some plasticity and then use it.From here, you can return to the HOME and discover new recipes!
Notes and tips
Storage
Cocoa shortcrust pastry:
keeps for 2 days in the refrigerator, well wrapped
can be frozen for up to 1 month
once baked, cookies last 4–5 days in an airtight container
Resting and baking times
Rest: minimum 30 minutes in the refrigerator
Tart baking: 338–356°F for 30–35 minutes
Cookie baking: 338°F for 12–15 minutes
For a perfect cocoa shortcrust pastry:
work the dough as little as possible so you don’t warm the butter.
If the dough is too hard, add 1 tablespoon of cold milk
If it crumbles, the cocoa is probably excessive: balance with a little flour
Chilling the dough is essential for perfect rolling
Variations of cocoa shortcrust pastry
With vanilla: add the seeds of one pod for an intense aroma.
With baking powder: 1/2 teaspoon baking powder will make the cookies more crumbly and light
With whole wheat flour: if you replace part of the type 0 flour with whole wheat flour you’ll obtain more rustic cookies.
How to use cocoa shortcrust pastry
This pastry is ideal for:
Chocolate tarts with jam or cream
Simple or filled cocoa cookies
Individual tartlets
Shells for chilled desserts
This recipe was updated on 12/30/25
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Why does cocoa shortcrust pastry break?The dough breaking can be due to too much cocoa, which dries the dough, or to a short resting time.
Can it be mixed using a food processor?
Yes, but only in short pulses, avoiding warming up the dough.
Is this pastry suitable for children?
Certainly, it can be eaten by children of appropriate age.
