The classic shortcrust pastry is a perfect base for CHRISTMAS COOKIES, pies, or tartlets. Extremely easy to make, it’s highly versatile and can be flavored to taste, allowing many variations from a single dough. I chose the classic lemon and vanilla flavor.
To prepare the classic shortcrust pastry, I used the ‘sanding’ method, which results in a very crumbly final product, suitable even for perforated molds. You can make it by hand, in a food processor, or with a stand mixer.
The pastry needs to rest in the refrigerator, which helps it stabilize and achieve the right consistency. If you have time, let it rest for 3/4 hours before using, or even better, overnight.
I love making cookies, and the Christmas holidays allow me to enjoy creating many varieties of simple or filled shortbread cookies that I always gift to friends and family.
With this dough, you can create many flavors by adding chocolate chips, chopped nuts, spices, or colored sprinkles; you can also add other special ingredients like dried fruit, but in this case, you’ll need to bake your treats immediately and not store them in the fridge for days.
Can I add cocoa to the ready pastry? Many do, but it’s better to divide the ingredients into two bowls and knead two different pastries; the reason is simple, cocoa absorbs more liquids, so it needs to be balanced correctly, otherwise, you’ll end up with dough that breaks during rolling because it’s too dry.
Can I substitute butter with oil in shortcrust pastry? NO, the substitution cannot be made, a specific balance must be created for making an oil-based shortcrust pastry.
Can baking powder be added to shortcrust pastry? Certainly, baking powder can be added, 3/4 g is enough for this amount, but the cookies will be less defined and precise, moreover, shortcrust pastry with baking powder cannot be used in perforated molds.
Try the other variations:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: for 19 oz of puff pastry
- Cooking methods: No Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Christmas
- Energy 436.06 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 51.04 (g) of which sugars 19.26 (g)
- Proteins 6.35 (g)
- Fat 23.91 (g) of which saturated 15.14 (g)of which unsaturated 8.46 (g)
- Fibers 1.04 (g)
- Sodium 86.40 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 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 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 oz butter
- 1/2 cup fine granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup eggs (whole, about one medium egg but weigh it!)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Half vanilla bean
- lemon zest (grated, from half an organic lemon, or other flavors to taste)
Tools
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Scale
- Plastic Wrap
Procedure
To prepare a classic shortcrust pastry using the sanding method, the butter should be quite cold, around 50°F. If you store it in the fridge door, you can use it immediately; if stored on a colder shelf, let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
Place the flour and diced butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix at medium speed until you get a sandy texture.
Turn off the mixer and add the granulated sugar, salt, lemon zest, and vanilla bean seeds. Mix, then add the egg, and operate the mixer to quickly combine the ingredients. This prevents gluten formation, making your cookies super crumbly.Pour the mixture onto the work surface and knead quickly to form a smooth dough.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. If time allows, let it stabilize overnight.
The classic shortcrust pastry is ready to use.
How to knead by hand
The process is the same. Pay attention to the sanding, as your hands will warm the butter quickly. Work the all-purpose flour and butter swiftly.
Follow the same steps by kneading the pastry in a large bowl.After resting, take the pastry and work it on the pastry board or in a stand mixer for 1 minute. This step ensures a homogeneous and pliable dough.
For Christmas cookies, roll it out to about 1/8″ if making single cookies like canestrelli, or about 1/10″ if making double cookies like occhi di bue. Baking time varies from 12 to 15 minutes depending on cookie thickness.
Tips
Storage
The classic shortcrust pastry can be stored in the fridge well-sealed for 10 days if made with fresh ingredients like butter and eggs.
It can be frozen for 2 months but must be well-sealed.
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