Pasta Frolla: Italian Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
Pasta Frolla is the Italian version of sweet shortcrust pastry, which is a staple Italian pastry dough made simply with flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. This versatile dough can be used to make a variety of delicious baked goods, such as tarts, cookies, tartlets, and more. It has a lovely crumbly, buttery texture that is great with either fruit or cream fillings.
Servings: 1 double crust pie or 2 single crust pies
Calories: 2802kcal
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter 1½ sticks, cold, cut into cubes
- 1 egg large, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup ice water plus more as needed
Instructions
- Add the flour, sugar, salt and cold butter to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times until the butter is broken up into bits the size of peas.
- Add the egg, vanilla zest and water, then pulse 5-6 more times until the mixture comes together and resembles coarse sand and holds together when pressed with your fingers. Add more water 1 tablespoon at a time if needed.
- Transfer to a work surface and use your hands to gently knead a few times until it forms a ball. Be careful not to over work the dough or it will become tough.
- Split the dough into two pieces, form into a disc and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. Freeze for up to 3 months for longer storage.
- When ready to use, remove from the refrigerator, then dust a work surface with a little bit of flour. Place the unwrapped dough on the work surface, then dust it with a little more flour.
- Dust a rolling pin with flour, then roll it out to slightly larger than your pie
Notes
- This recipe makes two pastry crusts to each fit a 9-inch pie plate. It can be used to make two single-crust pies or one double-crust pie.
- I keep my pasta frolla very simple so it can be used with a wide variety of fillings, but you can alter the flavor however you like by swapping out the vanilla extract for almond extract, lemon zest or orange zest.
- Be sure to keep all ingredients cold at all times for best results.
- The amount of water needed to form the pie dough will always vary based on humidity. Always start with less and add more a little bit at a time.
- I like to run my hands under cold water and/or hold on to some ice cubes prior to kneading the dough to ensure it doesn't get warm.
Nutrition
Calories: 2802kcal | Carbohydrates: 339g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 144g | Saturated Fat: 88g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 37g | Trans Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 525mg | Sodium: 1255mg | Potassium: 444mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 101g | Vitamin A: 4436IU | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 15mg
