Whipped Shortcrust Pastry

Whipped shortcrust pastry is a variant of the classic pastry, lighter and fluffier, excellent for making cookies and small pastries. Here’s how to prepare it:

Ingredients

• 250 grams of soft butter
• 100 grams of powdered sugar
• 1 packet of vanillin or seeds from a vanilla pod
• A pinch of salt
• 1 whole egg (about 60 grams)
• 400 grams of type 00 flour

Preparation

1. Start by creaming the soft butter with powdered sugar, salt, and vanillin in a large bowl or in the bowl of a mixer with a whisk until you get a creamy and fluffy mixture.

2. Add the egg to the mixture and continue to work until it is completely absorbed.

3. Then incorporate the sifted flour, a little at a time, continuing to mix until a smooth and elastic dough is obtained.

4. Transfer the dough into a piping bag with a star nozzle and form the cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, leaving space between them as they will spread during cooking.

5. Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely before storing them in an airtight container to maintain their crispness.

Trivia

Whipped shortcrust pastry gets its name from the way it is worked, as the butter is whipped with sugar and other ingredients until it has a very soft texture. After baking, the cookies are particularly crumbly and light, with a pleasant buttery and vanilla note.