Extra Virgin Olive Oil Scones; light and tender quick breads with deep fruity olive flavour and the slightest hint of vanilla.
I was out of butter margarine (yuk! but that’s what I get when I ask father-in-law for ‘Zibda‘) when I wanted to bake something to have as a sweet treat along with our afternoon coffee. I’m no stranger to using olive oil in baking – see Twabaa but I wanted something even quicker, scones!
A quick google search gave me this recipe. After a little alteration to the ingredients and method these delicious extra virgin olive oil scones were on my coffee table within the hour.
Scones: quick, easy to make and the flavour possibilities are endless.
The original recipe calls for a teaspoon of lemon zest and I would have gladly added this if I had any at the time. Truth is, the extra virgin olive oil gives heaps of flavour to the scones. With that hint of vanilla adding a touch of familiarity we all love in baked goods, especially those that are homemade.
I want to talk about the appearance of these scones. Yes they aren’t the tallest you’ve ever seen or the most even in colour.
I have made this recipe a total of 3 times and while they aren’t tall, these extra virgin olive oil scones have a soft moist crumb structure that they really don’t need any fillings. That saves us the extra calories. If you really must, a smear of apricot jam would be nice.
The uneven colouring of the scones comes from the genius that is the Algerian oven! I don’t know if other Mediterranean gas ovens are made like the ones here. The flame comes from the base instead of the back of the oven, which means you have to watch your baked goods like a hawk, so they don’t burn underneath. They are good for pizza though.
When your baked good is sufficiently burnt browned underneath it will be as white as a sheep on top. Nothing that a quick flash under the broiler/grill will solve, except again the unevenness of the browning!
So we have established the taste is all that counts and these vanished from my table a lot quicker than they took to make. ++ in the case of my 8 yr old who normally hates the taste of olive oil on salad etc, now will gladly oblige when a little sugar is included.
Light and tender quick-breads made with extra virgin olive oil
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon citrus zest optional
- 4 1/2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract (halal)
- approximately 1/2 cup milk
for topping:
- Milk
- Granulated or Demerara Sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and citrus zest if using.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vanilla and 1/2 cup milk.
- Add liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix with a fork to form large crumbs.
- Using your hands and adding more milk if necessary form the mixture into a rough ball.
- Turn the dough ball onto a work surface, flatten with hands or a rolling pin to about 1.5cm thickness. Using a floured 7cm round cookie cutter stamp out scones, re-roll dough and cut until you have 7 or 8 scones.
- Using a pastry brush, brush some milk on the top of each scone, sprinkle with sugar.
- Place on a non-stick baking sheet, bake in a 425f / gas mark 7 /220c oven for 15-18minutes.
- Scones can be stored at room temperature for three days.
Notes
The amount of vanilla depends on the quality of vanilla you are using and how much you want the flavour to come through in the scones. If cooking in an Algerian gas oven you may need to adjust the cooking time. Cook in the upper portion of your oven for approx 10 mins and then lower to the middle part if/when you have to broil the tops for the last 5 minutes.
