Raspberry Almond Olive Oil Scones

These protein and fiber packed raspberry almond olive oil scones are moist and easy to whip together for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

I don’t know about you, but my Facebook feed is starting to fill up with “first day of school” photos. My kids return to school next week. Eeek! It’s a bittersweet moment. I’m sad to see summer break coming to an end.

With the end of summer and the return of school I am looking forward to getting some real work done without the usual distractions and noises of the kids being home.

Back to school also means back to school recipes. And the recipe I am sharing today is one of my daughter’s favorites, olive oil scones.

Why this recipe is so awesome

As you may or may or not know, I’m a bit of an olive oil expert. When I wrote my cookbook about cooking with olive oil, I really fell in love with baking with olive oil and now I almost always swap butter for olive oil whenever I bake.

When you make scones with butter, the butter must be very cold and the easiest way to make the crumbly batter is to mix it in the food processor. Well, I’m a lazy baker and the thought of bringing out the food processor and cleaning it just to make scones always seemed like too much work!

Scones are a rustic cake, that are meant to be crumbly. They are a no fuss treat with your tea or coffee, so it seems silly that it would require a food processor to make them. So, I chose scones made with olive oil.

Olive oil scones are easier to mix. You only need a fork and a bowl. You can mix them up anywhere (hello, I include an olive oil scone recipe in my camping cookbook, too). And you still end up with a scone that is crumbly on the outside and moist on the inside.

And the added benefit of baking with olive oil instead of butter, is that these scones include the brain healthy polyphenols and antioxidants that come from extra virgin olive oil. Heart healthy and delicious? Have I convinced you yet?

Ingredients you need

• Extra virgin olive oil: The key to a delicious olive oil scone is to choose the right olive oil. Choose an extra virgin olive oil that tastes good. Extra virgin olive oils come in a variety of flavor profiles, from pungent and peppery to mild and butter. I prefer a mild, butter olive oil when I bake. You can also choose an infused oil, one infused with lemons or oranges, if you want to that additional flavor in your olive oil scone.
• Almond meal: For an extra kick of protein and more almond flavor I add almond meal.
• Egg: Use a large egg in this scone recipe.
• Buttermilk: You can also use 2 TBS plain yogurt mixed with 2 TBS milk instead of buttermilk.
• Almond extract: This adds more almond flavor to your scones. You can substitute with vanilla extract.
• Raspberries: I prefer fresh fruit in my scones. So use fresh raspberries or try blueberries, blackberries or any other favorite fruit.
• Almond slices: I top the scones with crunchy almond slices. You can omit them or use almond slivers or another chopped nut.
• Pantry staples: all purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt.

Step-by-step directions

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together with a fork flour, almond meal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix olive oil into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. It is very important that the first liquid you add is olive oil.

2. In separate bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk and almond extract.

3. Pour buttermilk mixture into flour mixture and mix with spoon or fork until rough dough is formed. Do not over work the dough.

4. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface and shape into circle or rectangle, about ½-inch thick. Do not knead dough.

5. Press half of the raspberries into half of the dough. Fold the empty half of the dough over the berries, pressing the two layers together. Press remaining raspberries into top layer of dough.

6. Cut dough into 8 even pieces and sprinkle over top of scones with sugar. Gently press almond slices onto the top of scones.

7. Place scones onto prepared baking sheet and bake at 400F until golden, about 12-15 minutes. Transfer scones to cooling rack. Allow scones to rest at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm or room temperature.

Recipe tips and FAQs

These raspberry almond olive oil scones are also packed with protein, without being dense bricks. I added almond meal and almond slices for extra protein that keeps my kids’ tummies full so the brain can concentrate on some serious learning. The almond slices also add some additional crunch to go with the soft and sweet raspberries.

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.

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