Shortcrust pastry pies - the simplest and most delicious recipes

Classic recipe for shortcrust pastry pie with jam

To prepare high-quality baked goods based on shortcrust pastry, you need to choose the right basic products and follow certain rules. Many parameters should be taken into account: from temperature conditions to the use of special additives. If you do everything according to the rules, you are guaranteed to get a tasty, crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth product with a golden crust.

Basic components of shortcrust pastry

The dough is prepared from a standard set of products:

• Butter with a mass fraction of fat from 72 to 82.5%.
• Sour cream with fat content from 15 to 20%.
• Sugar (you can add vanillin).
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice.
• Wheat flour of the highest or first grade.
• Table salt.

This composition of ingredients is suitable for making cookies.

The base for baking closed and grated pies must be supplemented with the following components:

• chicken egg;
• a substance that imparts friability;
• margarine (instead of butter).

Baking algorithm

When preparing shortcrust pastry, it is important to follow a certain sequence of actions:

1. Mixing the mixture of flour and butter (you can use either butter or margarine).
2. Cooling the oil mixture.
3. Add granulated sugar to the cooled butter base and beat the mixture.
4. Forming the finished mass (adding pre-beaten chicken eggs, vanillin, flour, sour cream, lemon juice, table salt and baking powder), mixing the mixture until elastic.
5. Place the finished dough in the refrigerator for a period of 0.5 to 1 hour (the bowl with the dough must first be wrapped in cling film).

Only after all the above manipulations can you begin to form the pie. To do this, place the dough in a special container with sides and, if necessary, fill with filling.

Learning to cook: the correct recipe for shortcrust pastry

Our grandmothers, and many mothers, were fluent in the culinary arts. This was especially true for dessert dishes and sweet pastries. Rare factory-made cakes, rolls and pastries were tastier than those baked in home kitchens by gray-haired craftswomen. And the smell was such that the neighbors on parallel streets were salivating.

Types of dough

Based on the composition of the components and the method of preparation, the dough can be divided into yeast, unleavened, and puff pastry. In fresh, there are such “subspecies”, shortbread and biscuit. Making shortcrust pastry is much easier than other types. However, in order for it to turn out to be of high quality and not let down in the finished product, the pastry chef needs to know several rules. Firstly, there is the so-called basic, or classic recipe. Secondly, egg dough is placed in a separate group. Thirdly, the dough is made with sour cream. Let's take a closer look at each shortcrust pastry recipe.

№1, standard

To make the knead, we will need: premium wheat flour - 2 cups (400 gr.). Sift the flour in advance. A pack of butter or baker's margarine - also 200 g. Oil is always better: it has more fat, which means the baked goods will turn out tastier and crumbler, crispier, but not too hard. Sugar is added to our shortcrust pastry recipe depending on the baking purpose. The required minimum is a tablespoon. In general, you can vary from one glass to two thirds. Or one and a half - for those with a sweet tooth. Water is used as a fastening “material”, always cold, in the amount of 4-6 tablespoons. And definitely a little salt.

No. 2, egg

Here is a recipe for shortcrust pastry that uses eggs. It consists of 3 glasses of flour, 300 gr. butter/margarine, sugar - 1 cup or a little less/more, 2 large eggs, a little salt, a pinch of soda. To eliminate the taste and smell of soda, vanillin is added to the dough. Everything is thoroughly mixed, the dough should be quite tight, but without excess. Otherwise, the baked goods will turn out too hard.

No. 3, sour cream

The recipe for shortcrust pastry with sour cream recommends doing this: add butter to flour (3 cups) (200 grams is enough), one and a half cups of fat sour cream, half a spoon of dessert soda and 3 spoons of sugar, and knead it all well. As you can see, the differences in ingredients are small. However, this makes it possible to combine the structure of the dough and get exactly the one that is more suitable for a particular baking. That is why some shortcrust pastry recipes are more suitable for cakes, others for cookies and shortcakes, and still others for cakes.

Delicious cookies
In order not to be unfounded, let's prepare these cookies from shortcrust pastry: “Berry figurines”. The calculation of the products is as follows (you choose the number of servings yourself): for every 2 cups of flour there is half a cup of sour cream, a glass of sugar or powder (powder is better, thanks to it the cookies will turn out crumbly), 100-130 grams of butter (margarine). By the way, you shouldn’t skimp on butter, it also makes the baked goods soft and crumbly. Next, half a spoon of tea soda to make the dough rise, and a bag or two of vanillin. Mix all the ingredients, knead the dough thoroughly, roll into a ball, cover and take to a cool place to cool and set. Then we cut off a piece from the ball, roll out thin layers (no thicker than half a centimeter!) You can use molds, the edges of a glass, or otherwise cut out small geometric shapes. Prick the blanks with a fork. Carefully line a baking sheet with paper, grease well (with vegetable oil), and place cookies on it. You can put raisins or jam berries in the center of each cookie. Brush egg on top and bake in oven until done.

Baking a pie with jam

Shortbread pastries with sweet fillings have a very harmonious taste. To get a closed pie, the dough is placed in a container, then a layer of berry or fruit jam is placed on top (you can level it with a spoon).

The other part of the dough, which should remain in the freezer until the closed part of the pie is prepared, is used to decorate the top layer of the pie (grid and sprinkle on the pie).

The sweet pie is placed in an electric oven for 20 minutes. Before baking, the device must be heated to 200 C.

Pie dough

The classic recipe for shortcrust pastry for a pie allows you to well retain the moisture that is released from the fruit during baking. At the same time, the pie remains crispy on the outside, and to prevent it from leaking, you need to put a little starch in the filling.

The minimum version of such a test looks like this. Let's take as ingredients:

• 235 g flour;
• 115 g butter;
• 115 ml water.

Preparation:

1. Place all food and equipment in the refrigerator for ten minutes.
2. Using a knife, cut the butter into small cubes and then chop it with flour.
3. Add ice water to the fine butter crumbs and gather the dough into a ball.
4. Wrapping it in film, place the dough in the refrigerator for half an hour.
5. Place it on the table, roll it out, add the filling and put it in the oven.

If you do everything using this technology, the dough will turn out crispy and will not form bubbles during baking.

The pie can be decorated open or closed, on a baking sheet or in a mold. As a filling for such a pie, you can use strawberries, cherries, wild berries, and apples. You can simply sprinkle the filling with sugar, or you can pour gelatin dissolved in yogurt over the berries or fruits. This delicacy will be appreciated by everyone.

Shortcrust pastry pie made from meat and mushrooms

The amount of dough and filling is enough for a pie, which will be baked in a mold with a diameter of 25 cm. Cooking time is 1 hour 20 minutes.

Ingredients for the dough:

• cold butter - 100 grams
• flour - 200 grams + a little for sprinkling
• salt - half a teaspoon
• egg - 1

For filling:

• minced meat - 200 grams
• fresh champignons – 200-300 grams
• onion - 1 large
• hard cheese - 100 grams
• egg - 1
• pepper, salt, a sprig (or two) of rosemary

Unsweetened shortcrust pastry recipe

Kitchen appliances:

measuring container, glass, kitchen scale, knife, dough board, tablespoon, cling film.

Ingredients

Step-by-step preparation of puff pastry

Once again, I would like to point out that when cooking, kneading technique is extremely important. I offer a classic recipe for unsweetened shortcrust pastry for a pie, where I will reveal the secrets of its proper preparation.

Did you know?

Correct kneading is characterized by heterogeneity of texture - layering with a pronounced marbling effect. The prepared mass contains unmixed pieces of butter and crumbling layered inclusions of flour and water. It is this effect that will give the finished dish friability.

This shortcrust pastry recipe is suitable for making pie with berries and baking with meat filling.

Video recipe

Be sure to watch the master class with step-by-step preparation of shortcrust pastry. The plot demonstrates two variants of the batch - correct and incorrect. Moreover, the second case fully answers the question - why the pie, positioned as crumbly, ended up being a bit harsh.

How to make shortbread pie

To knead the shortbread dough, pour the sifted flour onto a work surface and add salt. Put in the oil. And use a knife to chop it into small pieces directly in the flour.

Make a small well and crack in the egg.

Knead into a thick, smooth, homogeneous dough. Put it in film and send min. for 20 in the refrigerator.

At this time, make the filling. Cut the onion into thin half rings.

Wash the mushrooms and cut into small pieces.

Coarsely grate the cheese. In a bowl, lightly beat the egg.

Add cheese and stir.

Remove the shortcrust pastry from the refrigerator and roll it out on a floured surface into a layer one centimeter thick.

Transfer to the pan and spread along the sides with your hands.

Place the dough in the oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees so that it dries a little (do not overdry, it still needs to bake).

After removing from the oven, immediately spread the filling onto the dough. Spread the minced meat evenly in the first layer.

Salt and pepper it. Sprinkle with rosemary leaves.

Place mushrooms on top of the minced meat in one layer.

And the shortbread pie is completed with a cheese and egg layer.

On a note:

It's okay if the cheese doesn't cover the entire surface, it's not a pizza, it's a pie.

Place in the oven to bake for half an hour (temperature 180 degrees).

It is better to serve a hearty shortbread pie immediately, from the oven, hot and fragrant.

By the way, the filling for such a pie can be anything: only mushrooms, onions and cheese; only minced meat and onions, vegetable or fish filling.

Apple pies

Apple pies are a classic. And there are plenty of opportunities here. And charlottes and cupcakes, but in this article we are talking about shortcrust pastry pies.

Apple pie made from shortcrust pastry

I baked apple pie using this recipe back in the 90s, when my daughter was little. The dough is easy to make and was very helpful during those difficult years.

Products for the test:

• 200 grams of butter (then I used Ramu)
• 3 eggs (only yolks go into the dough)
• 1 cup sugar (now this is very sweet for me, so I take half)
• 2 cups of flour,
• 0.5 teaspoon soda

Preparation:

• From the listed ingredients (except for proteins, we will still need them), we prepare shortcrust pastry, divide it into two parts, one of which is slightly larger than the other. We put the smaller part in the refrigerator. Distribute the remaining dough into a mold with sides. If you couldn’t get the dough together (this happened to me once), it’s okay. Distribute the resulting mass according to the shape and compact it. Peel the apples, cut into slices and place in a mold.
• Then (remember we still have egg whites left?) take them and beat them (0.5 tbsp. sugar) or powdered sugar to reduce the beating time. Pour the resulting mixture over the apples.
• We take the remaining dough out of the refrigerator and grate it over the apples and egg whites. Place all this beauty in a preheated oven for 30-45 minutes, temperature 180-190 degrees.
• Have you tried this pie made from apples and shortcrust pastry? A very original, tasty combination and looks beautiful.

Tarte Tatin with apples

In my cookbook, tar tatin is the French name for apple pie. I don’t even remember where it came from. For a long time I didn’t dare to cook it, but somehow I came across a delicious photo of tar tatin on the Internet and couldn’t resist. It takes much more time than all of the above, but it's worth it. This is a lighter version of tar tatin. In this classic recipe, you first need to caramelize the apples separately on the stove. In this recipe we will do it right in the oven.

We will need:

75 grams of margarine (or butter) and sugar, 1 packet of vanilla sugar, an egg, a pinch of salt, 200 grams of flour, about a kilogram of apples, 50 grams of butter (this is not a repeat), 100 grams of sugar.

Grind margarine (75g), sugar, vanilla, egg and salt until white. Quickly add flour and place the resulting dough in the refrigerator for one hour.

1. Peel the apples, cut into quarters and remove the core. Then cut into equal slices.
2. On a round baking tray or non-stick frying pan with a diameter of 26 cm, melt the butter (50g) in the oven.
3. Take out the baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar (100g), and place apples on top.
4. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, temperature 180 degrees.
5. Then bring to 240C, cover with a layer of dough on top and leave in the oven for another 20 minutes.
6. Bake for another 10 minutes, covering the top with foil or baking paper. Leave the baking sheet on a wet towel for 5 - 10 minutes, and put it in the oven for another minute.

The pie is best served warm.

Sweet shortcrust pastry pie

Did you know that rhubarb and meringue are a classic pie combination? Even if you’re hearing about this for the first time, it doesn’t stop you from making a stunningly delicious pie with rhubarb and a lattice of whipped cream. And the dough, as you already guessed, will be shortbread.

Ingredients for a mold 27 cm in diameter. Time - 40 minutes + 2 hours cooling dough

Dough ingredients

flour - 250 grams yolk - 1 butter - 125 grams sugar - 125 grams

For filling

rhubarb - 350 grams sugar - 100 grams protein - 2

Making rhubarb shortbread pie

Cut the butter into very small pieces.

Sift flour onto a work surface. Put in the oil. Add yolk and sugar. Knead the dough. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in film and put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Then roll out on a floured surface (don't add too much flour, just so it doesn't stick). Place in the pan, straighten with your hands and make holes with a fork. Place in the oven to bake until golden brown at 200 degrees.

Wash and dry the rhubarb. Cut into small pieces. Place on the hot pan and bake for another 20-25 minutes.

Pies with cottage cheese

Today I will tell you about my favorite versions of sweet shortcrust pastry pies for tea. The combination of cottage cheese with shortcrust pastry reminds me of the taste of childhood - my grandmother baked us such pies. Although, in my opinion, they are more like cookies - tasty, crumbly and melting in your mouth.

Sochniki with cottage cheese made from shortcrust pastry

Sochniki, or sochni with cottage cheese, were always in our school canteen, and during recess we rushed to the canteen to have time to buy them and eat them (there were always a lot of people willing, but there might not have been enough).

What are the Sochniks like? This is a small flat cake in which cottage cheese is wrapped.

They used to be prepared on Christmas Eve - hence the name. Sochniki according to GOST are prepared with the addition of sour cream or kefir to the dough. With this addition, the dough becomes more elastic and softer.

I have already talked about the recipe for shortcrust pastry with sour cream. You can follow the link and find out more details. Now I’ll just recall the main points.

What you will need for the test:

• Flour 180 grams;
• Butter 75 grams;
• Sugar 50 grams;
• Sour cream 75 grams;
• Yolk of one egg.

Grind flour, butter and sugar, add sour cream and yolk - the dough is ready.

What is the filling made of?

• Cottage cheese – 200 grams
• Sugar – 2 tbsp.
• Sour cream – 1-2 tbsp.
• Vanilla sugar
• Flour or starch - 1 tbsp. l. (incomplete)
• Yolk for lubrication

Preparing the filling

Take soft cottage cheese, if yours is grainy, rub through a sieve to soften, add sugar and sour cream and mix thoroughly so that there are no lumps. Add vanilla sugar at your discretion. To prevent the filling from leaking, add flour or starch to the mixture. It is better to take corn starch; it has no odor and does not give off a taste.

1. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 4-5 mm and cut out circles using a notch. If there are no special cuttings, you can use a glass of a suitable size. My cookie cutter fits perfectly here. You can use cake pans. In this case, you will get curly edges on the juicier.
2. Place the filling on half of the juice and fold it in half. The filling should look like it’s coming out of a pocket.
3. Place the resulting juices on a baking sheet with parchment and brush with yolk diluted with a small amount of water using a brush. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes. I hope you didn't forget to preheat it. Oven temperature 180 degrees.

This recipe for sochniki with cottage cheese tastes like cookies, and even if your children don’t like cottage cheese, they simply won’t notice it in this baked goods.

Bulk pie with cottage cheese

This is probably the simplest recipe for bulk cottage cheese pie. Here, even with the dough, you don’t have to be tricky for long.

For the test we will need:

• Wheat flour – 600 grams
• Butter or margarine 250 grams
• Sugar -100 g (can be reduced or increased depending on your taste preferences)
• Salt a little
• Baking powder – 1 tsp.

The butter should be cold and cut into pieces. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients into crumbs; no need to stir until smooth. It takes very little time.

Curd filling:

• Cottage cheese – 500 g
• Powdered sugar or sugar - 100 g
• Vanilla sugar – 1 sachet
• Chicken egg – 2 pcs.

It is better to take country cottage cheese, it is richer. Dry is not suitable for this version of the pie. The result, of course, will be, but not the same. You can use curd masses with the addition of raisins and dried apricots. If you take sweet masses, then sugar is not needed.

The filling is very simple to make - mix all the ingredients into a single mass and that’s it.

Now let's assemble the pie:

• Pour half the crumbs into a mold (you can take a springform one, I prefer to use glass forms and serve it in them), press down a little and distribute the filling on top. Try not to let the filling reach the edges of the pan by about a centimeter.
• Then pour out the rest of the shortcrust pastry from the crumbs and put it in the oven for 35-45 minutes at 190-200C. Be sure to preheat the oven before baking the cake. That's all, you can try the bulk pie with cottage cheese.

Pie with cottage cheese from shortcrust pastry

My former childhood neighbor shared the recipe for cottage cheese pie. This is not the first time she has done this. If you've tried her Korabliki cookies, you already know that she won't recommend anything that tastes bad. So what do we need?

For the test

• One stick of margarine or butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 3 tbsp. l. Sahara
• 1 tsp. soda

Filling

• 3 packs of cottage cheese,
• 1 tbsp. Sahara
• 1 tbsp. sour cream
• 4 eggs

Preparation:

• The filling is easy to prepare – mix all the ingredients thoroughly into a solid mass and that’s it.
• You probably already know how to prepare the dough. Combine all the ingredients into one lump, let it sit in the refrigerator (but if you really want it faster, you can skip this moment).
• Place some of the dough into a baking dish, don’t forget to make sides, top with filling, then cover with the remaining dough.
• There are two options here. Roll out the top and cover as usual for making pies, or place the dough in the freezer for 10-12 minutes to harden and grate on top of the cottage cheese.
• Preheat the oven to 180 - 200 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.

Shortbread pie with sand topping

This version of the pie will be very helpful if you need to quickly create a delicious pie for the arrival of guests. The option is a win-win - the dough always turns out, the filling can be made from what you have on hand (frozen or fresh fruit, jam or marmalade).

Ingredients:

flour - 350 grams eggs - 2 sugar - 150 grams vanillin - half a teaspoon butter - 150 grams

For filling:

frozen cranberries - 200 grams sugar - 100 grams (or to your taste) walnuts - 70 grams