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I had a go at a recipe my mum got from someone years ago. Worked quite well, although may not be as sweet as you're looking for.
[Makes approx. 24]
12oz plain flour
5oz butter
3oz lard/vegetable fat [I used Trex]
1 dessertspoon caster sugar
pinch of salt
For binding:
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 egg
Rub the fat into the flour and sugar, then add all the egg and lemon juice and mix. Form into a ball, stick it in the fridge for half an hour.
Baked them for about about 13-15 mins at 180 in a fan oven.

Better late than never..

Snowlight & Rday

Thanks ever so much. I shall practice this weekend and let you know the results

Hi Feathers I'm back. Try this pastry.
8oz. Plain flour. 4oz fat (margarine or butter) cold water or yolk of 1 egg to bind. 2 deesertspoons sugar and a pinch of salt.

Cream the fat with the sugar until soft and light in colour. Seive the flour and salt and add to the creamed fat, mixing with a knife. Gradually add enough water or egg and water to make a firm rolling consistency. Use you finger tips to feel the pastry. Bake in a hot oven 200C/Gas 6-7

The sweet shortcrust I used to use when my children were little was what was known as American Pie Crust. I've got it written down in my own cookery book, dust it down, and post the recipe later. The pastry you are on about can only be rolled out once as it is very 'short'. But you can try to roll it again. Talk to you l8er.

I had been having similar problems with short crust pastry, whereas my mum can knock it up in her sleep without any problems. I managed to get her secret from her, she uses self raising flour!

She says she uses half fat to flour, half the fat is lard, the other half butter or hard margarine. She only adds a tablespoon of sugar, and a pinch of salt. She always does her pastry in the food processor, so blitzes the fat and flour together til breadcrumbs, then adds the salt and sugar, then adds enough cold water to bind. Sometimes she adds an egg, but she said it didn't seem to make much difference. I tried it this way, and although it was not quite how she makes it, it was much better than my previous attempts.

I think to make it a more crumbly, shorter pastry, I would use just butter and no lard, it would moving towards shortbread, which is more like what you are after, Feathers.