Shortcrust pastry Christmas biscuits

Easy and quick to prepare at home, this recipe can be the base for various preparations: biscuits, pies, quiches, tartlets, to name few.

Soft, light and crumbly are the three secret words that makes of your pastry a success!

Cooking time: 15 mins

Prep time: 10 mins

What do you need?

• 250 grams of all-purpose flour .

• 125 grams of butter at room temperature.

• 100 grams of sugar (Use granulated sugar for a crunchier shortcrust, use Confectioners'/powdered sugar for a crumblier texture or if making the cocoa version).

• 2 egg yolks (if using this recipe to make a tart or the cocoa version you can use whole eggs) .

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

• A sprinkle of salt.

How to proceed?

1. In the mix bowl of a food processor, add the flour and the butter cut into small pieces. Blend for few minutes until the mixture have a sandy consistency.

2. Add the sugar, egg yolks, salt and vanilla. Blend the mixture quickly, until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough.

3. Transfer the dough to a flowered surface. Knead it until you get a smooth feel. Work the dough as little as possible.

4. Form a ball shape, cover with a plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 to 45 minutes.

5. Remove the dough from the fridge; transfer to a working surface, give it a gentle quick knead to make the surface a little more pliable. The dough is ready!

6. Roll out the dough, dust with extra flour to prevent it from sticking (use as little as possible). Press or cut out biscuit shapes as desiered.

7. Transfer the cut shapes into baking sheets.

8. Preheat oven to 180 ° and bake in the oven for 10 to 15 mins or until golden brown.

Notes:

1. Work quickly: don't overwork the dough.

2. The cooler the better: keep the ingredients, the tools and your hands as cool as possible.

3. Pastry must always be chilled in a fridge after making don't skip this step!

4. Always preheated, the oven to the right temperature before cooking the pastry.

5. To obtain a shortcrust pastry with cocoa, simply replace part of the flour with dark cocoa powder: for this type of shortcrust pastry use confectioner’s sugar and whole eggs.