The walnut shortcrust pastry is a variant of the classic shortcrust pastry ideal for making tartlets, cookies, and many delicious sweets. The dough, like the most traditional shortcrust pastries, is based on flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. However, just add some chopped walnuts to get an original and delicious dough, very crumbly and crunchy, fragrant and aromatic, perfect for making many sweets. We can use the walnut shortcrust pastry to prepare delicious tartlets to fill with our favorite jams and marmalades or with hazelnut or pistachio spreads, or we can make cookies perfect for breakfast or tea time, even to fill like linzer cookies. Preparing it is very simple, just use a food processor or a stand mixer, but it can also be made by hand with a few small adjustments. In less than 5 minutes, it will be ready! The secret to excellent walnut shortcrust pastry is to work the dough very little, and in this, the sanding method proves important, allowing us to obtain the pastry in a few minutes.
We prepare the walnut shortcrust pastry by combining in the food processor the walnut flour, that is, the chopped walnuts with all-purpose flour, grated lemon zest, and cinnamon. We add the sugar and cold butter cut into cubes and mix until you get a sandy mixture. Lastly, we add the egg and yolk and mix until the dough becomes compact. Once a soft and homogeneous dough is obtained, we wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour before using it.
A very versatile and practical dough, very easy to make, with which you can get super delicious sweets. You just have to try the walnut shortcrust pastry and unleash your creativity by making special sweets!
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients to prepare Walnut Shortcrust Pastry
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 9 tbsp butter
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- lemon zest (grated)
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
Tools to prepare Walnut Shortcrust Pastry
- 1 Food Processor
Steps to prepare Walnut Shortcrust Pastry
To prepare the walnut shortcrust pastry, first grind the walnuts in the mixer.
Add the resulting walnut flour to the all-purpose flour, grated lemon zest, and cinnamon. Mix in the mixer or alternatively using the stand mixer.
Add the sugar and cold butter cut into cubes and mix again very quickly until a sandy mixture begins to form.
Add the egg and yolk and work the dough quickly until it begins to compact.
Move to a floured work surface and quickly form a smooth and homogeneous dough with your hands. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour before using it.
After an hour, the walnut shortcrust pastry is ready, you can use it to make tartlets, cookies, or other sweets you prefer.
Simo and Cicci recommend
You can store the shortcrust pastry in the fridge for up to 2-3 days before using it or freeze it for up to two months.
If you want to make this shortcrust pastry dough by hand, use soft butter and try not to work the dough too much with your hands as their heat could melt the butter.
You can also use other types of nuts such as hazelnuts.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Why is it better to use cold butter to make shortcrust pastry?
Because when we need to roll the dough to make cookies or tartlets, it will be more elastic and less prone to breaking.
