The coconut shortcrust pastry is a delicious variant of the classic shortcrust pastry, prepared in just a few minutes with 5 ingredients and perfect for making tarts, tartlets, and cookies.
The shortcrust pastry is a widely used base in pastry making and, like all bases, requires mandatory steps (such as resting in the refrigerator) to achieve a perfect product.
In my version I didn’t use baking powder, but if you wish, you can add 4 g; in this way, you’ll get cookies with slightly less defined edges but still perfect. I often use the Knam’s shortcrust without baking powder, and it’s truly fantastic.
The recipe I propose today, thanks to the icing sugar, falls into the category of “fine shortcrust pastry“. I’ve flavored it with vanilla, but you can use the flavors you prefer. If possible, avoid vanillin as it gives an artificial and unpleasant taste.
I’ll leave you with other basic recipes and explain how to make coconut shortcrust pastry
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: for 1.4 lbs of shortcrust pastry
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 454.25 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 52.15 (g) of which sugars 20.25 (g)
- Proteins 6.77 (g)
- Fat 25.64 (g) of which saturated 11.25 (g)of which unsaturated 6.50 (g)
- Fibers 0.90 (g)
- Sodium 75.88 (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 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsps cup butter
- 1 cup cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg (whole, about 1.75 oz)
- 1 tbsp tbsp egg yolks (1 yolk from small egg)
- Half vanilla bean
- 1/4 tsp tsp salt
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Scale
- 1 Plastic wrap
Procedure
The coconut shortcrust pastry can be kneaded by hand or with a stand mixer, choose the method you prefer.
Baker’s secret:
To achieve a finer shortcrust and cookies with a more precise cut, I recommend blending the coconut flour in a food processor to make it very fine. Be careful not to overheat it; turn on the food processor for a few seconds, then turn it off and repeat the operation until you achieve the desired consistency. This way, you’ll get perfect shapes!
The flour should be low in gluten to achieve crumbly cookies and tarts. If we used high-gluten flour, we’d get chewy products.
The butter shouldn’t be too cold, leave it at room temperature for 10/15 minutes (depending on the season when you prepare the shortcrust) and use it.
First, blend the coconut flour in the food processor or Thermomix being careful not to release the oil. Operate the food processor in intervals to achieve a fine texture.
Place the flour in the bowl, mix it with the coconut flour, add the butter, and work the two ingredients until you get a sort of sand (many separate crumbs).
Add the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla bean seeds, mix everything, then add the egg and yolk, knead everything quickly just enough to form a dough ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
The coconut shortcrust pastry is ready.
After resting, take the shortcrust and work it on the work surface or in a stand mixer for 1 minute, this operation will ensure you have a homogeneous and pliable dough perfect for your recipes.
You can use it to prepare cookies, tarts, and tartlets
For cookies
Roll out the shortcrust (it must be very cold) to a thickness of 1/8 inch and cut the desired shapes. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, chill well in the fridge, and bake in a preheated static oven for about 12/15 minutes, depending on your oven’s power
For tarts and tartlets
To make tarts and tartlets, the thickness should be 1/8 inch. Roll out the cold shortcrust pastry and line the available molds.
If you want to make an empty tartlet, it will take 12 minutes at 347°F
If you want to make a tart base (blind baking) it will take about 20 minutes at 347°F
If you want to bake a filled tart instead, it depends on the filling you have chosen and its moisture; there are no precise times.
Tips
Storage
Coconut shortcrust pastry can be stored in the fridge sealed for 10 days
It can be frozen for 2 months.
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