The shortcrust pastry with little butter is a basic dough that is easy to prepare and has many uses: to create delicious tarts, crumbly cookies, fragrant cakes…
It pairs beautifully with creams and jams, but is also excellent simply dusted with powdered sugar.
The basic recipe can contain more or less butter, can be flavored as preferred, and depending on the sweet treat you want to achieve, you can decide to replace all or part of the flour with almond flour, hazelnut flour, etc…
The shortcrust pastry recipe I propose is the one I have always used, where the use of butter is moderate and includes a small addition of baking powder for a softer final result.
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 312.76 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 43.07 (g) of which sugars 16.50 (g)
- Proteins 5.57 (g)
- Fat 14.22 (g) of which saturated 8.89 (g)of which unsaturated 5.11 (g)
- Fibers 0.84 (g)
- Sodium 66.05 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 3 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg (and 1 medium-sized yolk)
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 packet vanillin (or seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean or grated lemon peel)
- 1 pinch fine salt
- Kitchen Scale
Preparation
To prepare the shortcrust pastry with little butter, start by mixing the sugar, vanillin, and fine salt with the butter cut into pieces, taken out of the fridge 10 minutes before use.
Then add the egg and yolk and the flour, knead.
Finally, add the sifted baking powder.
Once you have a homogeneous dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.
After the resting time, the shortcrust pastry will be ready to be used for making deliciously crumbly sweets.
Storage
In the fridge for a couple of days. If desired, it can be frozen by sealing the dough in a freezer bag, consume within two months.
In the fridge for a couple of days. If desired, it can be frozen by sealing the dough in a freezer bag, consume within two months.
Here is a selection of products that are very useful for making desserts. Many of these have been personally purchased and tested by me. To view the recommended products click here.
Here is a selection of products that are very useful for making desserts. Many of these have been personally purchased and tested by me. To view the recommended products click here.

