Filled Shortbread Pastries

Filled shortbread pastries are delicious little cakes, perfect to accompany tea or coffee. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 300 g of type 00 flour
• 150 g of cold butter, cut into pieces
• 120 g of powdered sugar
• 1 whole egg + 1 yolk
• 1 pinch of salt
• Grated zest of 1 lemon (optional)
• Jam or hazelnut cream for filling

Preparation

1. In a bowl, combine the flour with the cold butter, cut into pieces, and work with your fingertips until you get a sandy mixture.
2. Add the powdered sugar, the whole egg, and the yolk, salt, and, if you like, the grated lemon zest. Knead quickly until a homogeneous dough is formed.
3. Wrap the shortbread dough in cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
4. Take the shortbread dough, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 3-4 mm.
5. Use cookie cutters to cut out the pastries. For each filled pastry, you will need two discs of dough, one whole and one with a hole in the center (you can use a smaller cutter to make the central hole).
6. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, place the whole discs of dough; in the center of each, put a teaspoon of jam or hazelnut cream.
7. Cover with the holed discs, slightly pressing the edges to seal the pastries.
8. Bake at 180 °C for about 15-20 minutes or until golden.
9. Let cool and, if you like, dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Curiosity

If you want to add an extra touch to your pastries, you can brush the surface with a bit of milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar before baking. This will give them a crunchy and shiny finish.