Shortcrust pastry is a timeless classic. This sponge cake recipe is incredibly easy and makes for tender, moist cookies. With the addition of powdered sugar and vanilla, they are perfect for a snack or coffee. A few ingredients are enough to enjoy delicious homemade pastries!

Ingredients:
250 g wheat flour (preferably cake flour)
125 g butter (room temperature)
100 g powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla sugar
A pinch of salt
(optional) Addition: chocolate chips, nuts, jam, granulated sugar for dusting
Preparation:
Preparation of the dough:

In a bowl, beat the butter and icing sugar until fluffy. You can do this with a blender on medium or by hand with a whisk.
Add the egg and vanilla sugar and mix to form a homogeneous dough.
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, then gradually fold into the butter mixture. Mix everything together until a smooth dough is formed. At this point, the dough will be soft but elastic.
Shaping the biscuits:
Place the dough on a floured work surface and knead lightly until smooth and homogeneous.
You can roll out the dough to a thickness of about 5 mm and cut out the cookies with cookie cutters (e.g. round or heart-shaped). You can also form small balls and flatten them slightly.
You can also add chocolate chips or nuts or make a small well in the middle where you place the jam.
Cook:

Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with baking paper with a slight spacing as they can spread easily as they bake.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 12 to 15 minutes until the biscuits are lightly browned around the edges. The baking time may vary depending on the thickness of the cookies; So keep an eye on them to prevent them from burning.

Cooling: