The basis for the best biscuit classics

Baking biscuits without shortcrust pastry – unthinkable! The classic dough is just perfect for biscuits to cut out and decorate, not only the children are happy! Even adults like to let their creative streak play with the shortcrust pastry. Shortcrust pastry is also wonderfully versatile: with a little cocoa or with grated nuts, things look different – but they still taste incomparably delicious!

The classic shortcrust pastry ingredients for a sweet shortcrust pastry are cold butter, flour, sugar, eggs, and a pinch of salt. Knead quickly into a smooth dough and wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge.

Are you new to baking? – No problem! This video explains how to prepare a basic shortcrust pastry.

Trick 17 for the shortcrust pastry: the cold does the trick

When making shortcrust pastry, all the ingredients and all the equipment used must be cold! It’s worth putting the kneading hooks of the hand mixer in the freezer for 30 minutes or washing your hands with cold water (then dry them thoroughly!). If you have a stone or marble worktop, put cold packs on it for 30 minutes, for example, and then even the worktop for kneading the dough will be chilled. You can even put the flour in a tightly sealed container in the fridge to chill!

In classic shortcrust pastry recipes, the dough is wrapped in cling film and placed in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. Especially when baking biscuits, it is advisable to prepare the dough the day before and let it rest in the fridge overnight so that the sugar crystals can dissolve better.

Help, my shortcrust pastry is on fire!? – What is a “burned” dough?

If you mean it too well with your shortcrust pastry and knead it for an extra-long time, it may become “burnt”. This means that the butter separates out and the dough does not bind well. It becomes tough and sticky and can no longer be rolled out well. Shortcrust pastry likes it quick and cool! To save your battery, you can try spooning a well-chilled egg white into the batter to help the flour and butter combine.

It is important that the fat used is by no means liquid so that the finished pastry – regardless of whether it is a small biscuit or a large tart – remains fluffy. If you want a very fine dough, it is best to use icing sugar instead of conventional granulated sugar for your shortcrust pastry!

In addition, baking powder has no place in shortcrust pastry! Do you feel like baking cookies now? With our tips for baking biscuits from a professional, it’s guaranteed to succeed. We have also put together a large selection of Christmas cookie recipes for you here.

If you were too eager and ended up with cookies, here are the best ways to freeze cookies.