The great thing about shortcrust dough is that it's a simple recipe that's easy to remember, yet you can vary it in many ways. Let me show you how I tweaked it to make 5 different types of cookies.
Basic Linzert Dough Recipe
30g flour
20g butter
1 egg yolk
10g powdered sugar
Zest of half a lemon
Instructions
To make the shortcrust circles, pour the flour into a large bowl and add the butter, then crumble it together. Add the egg yolk, powdered sugar, and lemon zest, and quickly knead the dough. Shape it into a ball, wrap it in parchment paper, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface and cut out various shapes. For half of the cookies, use a smaller cutter to make a hole in the center.
Place the shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the shortcrust cookies in a preheated oven at 170°C (340°F) for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Once baked, you can fill them with jam to your liking.
Chocolate Linzer Dough
30g flour
20g butter
1 egg yolk
8g powdered sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
Zest of half a lemon
The process is the same as with the basic dough. Cocoa powder can be a bit harder for the dough to absorb, so you may need to knead it a bit longer to make it smooth and even.
Marbled Cookies
For these, roll out both the regular and chocolate dough into small logs, then alternate placing them side by side to form a larger log. Put it in the fridge to firm up again. Once chilled, slice the log into pieces about the size of your finger, and you will have beautifully marbled cookies. Then, bake them as usual.
Isler (Jam-Filled Sandwich with chocolate Cookies)
From the basic dough, cut out circular shapes using a round cutter, then bake them. Once cooled, spread some jam on half of the cookies. Melt 100g of chocolate, adding a teaspoon of oil, and dip the tops of the cookies into the melted chocolate.
Checkerboard Cookies
From the regular and chocolate dough, form long rectangular logs—two of the chocolate dough and two of the regular dough. Place them side by side like a chessboard, then press them together, and wrap the block in parchment paper. Refrigerate it until firm.
After about an hour, take it out and slice into small squares, a bit smaller than a finger's width, then bake as usual.
Chocolate-Dipped Cookies
Using the regular dough, cut out circular shapes and bake them as usual. After they cool, melt 100g of chocolate with a teaspoon of oil, and dip the tops of the cookies into the chocolate. Optionally, you can top them with crushed nuts, pistachios, or any other decorations.
I made three times the amount of dough listed above, and that gave me plenty of cookies—enough to share with the neighbors!
For hosting guests, it's best and easiest to offer a variety of cookies.
-1 Dough, 5 Different Cookies-