These blackberry scones are made with olive oil instead of butter, giving them a light and tender crumb. The balsamic-tossed berries add a pop of sweet-tart flavor in every bite.
I am addicted to scones. Actually, I am addicted to fresh baked goodies, but I have a special place in my heart (and in my belly!) for scones. I love that they are mildly sweet and typically studded with fruits.
And they pair beautifully with my morning tea, which I can NOT do without. Ever.
My 10-year old daughter has developed a hankering for scones, as well. That’s my girl! And since I began baking scones with extra virgin olive oil and NOT butter, we have been enjoying scones more often.
I make a lot of scones and all of my recipes include olive oil. Red currants are the star in my yogurt scones and blueberries shine in my sour cream scones. My whole wheat scones are studded with pomegranate. I even made savory scones that include cherry tomatoes.
Today I am sharing olive oil scones that are bursting with blackberries that were bathed in balsamic vinegar. And the beauty with balsamic vinegar (unlike it’s olive oil counterpart) is that the older it is, the better!
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Recipe highlights
- Versatile: I decided to use my basic olive oil scone recipe. It can be used with any variety of fruit or berries.
- Simple: The scone recipe is simple and does not require butter or fancy equipment. No chilling of the dough is needed, either. It’s a one bowl recipe that only requires your hands and a fork!
- Texture: By using olive oil and yogurt instead of buttermilk or butter, you end up with a moist, tender and the perfect scone texture.
- Flavor: These scones are fluffy but not like a cake, and just sweet enough that it needs no icing. The balsamic vinegar is tossed with the berries, which gives it a wonderful sweet and sour flavor to the scones.
Ingredients you need
- Blackberries: Fresh is preferred, but you can use frozen. Just thaw completely and strain out excess water/juice.
- Balsamic vinegar: Thick, syrupy balsamic vinegar works best, but you can use cheaper varieties that are not as thick. You can use plain or any flavored balsamic vinegar as long as it compliments the blackberries.
- Extra virgin olive oil: When baking with olive oil, you need to use a quality extra virgin olive oil. Choose one that has a nice flavor when you taste it by itself. It can be peppery (if you like it) or mild. You can even use a flavored olive oil, but remember it should compliment the other flavors you are using.
- Greek yogurt and milk: I frequently use this combination instead of buttermilk as I always have milk and yogurt in my refrigerator. You can substitute with ½ cup of buttermilk.
- Egg: Large eggs are a staple in baking.
- Pantry staples: granulated sugar, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt
Step-by-step directions
- Prep the berries. In a small bowl stir together blackberries, balsamic and sugar.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a fork, stir olive oil into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Mix yogurt. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, milk and egg. Pour yogurt mixture into flour mixture and mix with a spoon or a fork until a rough dough is formed. Do not over mix the dough.
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- Form dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a circle or rectangle, about ½-inch thick.
- Add berries. Pour balsamic berries (and juice) over half of the dough and gently press in.
- Fold dough. Fold the empty half of the dough over the berries, pressing the two layers together. Pour and press remaining berries over the top of the dough.
- Cut into pieces. Cut dough into 8-10 even pieces. Sprinkle remaining 1 teaspoon sugar over the scones. Place scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Bake. Bake at 400ºF until golden, about 12-15 minutes. Transfer scones to a cooling rack to cool to desired temperature. Serve warm or room temperature.
Recipe tips and FAQs
The beauty of scones is that you can cut them into any shape you desire. They can be round, rectangular or triangles. Just try to make them similar in size for even baking.
Scones also bake quickly, usually only requiring 15 minutes or less. Because of this, scones make excellent vessels for any type of fruit, no matter how fragile. The fruit softens during the baking process, but still holds its shape.
Balsamic vinegar is heavenly in baked goods, especially when you use a flavored balsamic vinegar. For these blackberry scones, I used a vanilla balsamic. For my grape upside down cake, I used a fig balsamic.
Don’t have a flavored vinegar? A plain balsamic will still work beautifully, like the one I used for my strawberry balsamic jam.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store cooled scones lightly covered in foil on the counter for up to 3 days if the room is cool. If you live in a humid environment, I suggest refrigeration. Scones will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze scones. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
Yes, you really can. Scones made with olive are are slightly softer than their butter varieties. The dough can be chilled before baking, but it is not necessary. The trick is to mix the oil with the flour mixture first then add just enough wet ingredients without turning the dough to mush.
You should choose a quality extra virgin olive oil for baking. There are a number of different flavor profiles of olive oil for you to choose from: peppery to mild, infused with flavors or plain. The flavor you choose should compliment what you are baking.
Blackberry Scones with Olive Oil
Ingredients
- 4 oz blackberries fresh
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar red
- 3 teaspoon granulated sugar divided
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup yogurt plain Greek
- ¼ cup milk low-fat
- 1 egg large
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a small bowl stir together blackberries, balsamic and sugar. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk together flour, 2 teaspoon sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Using a fork, stir olive oil into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, milk and egg.
- Pour yogurt mixture into flour mixture and mix with a spoon or a fork until a rough dough is formed. Do not over mix the dough.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a circle or rectangle, about ½-inch thick.
- Pour balsamic berries (and juice) over half of the dough and gently press in.
- Fold the empty half of the dough over the berries, pressing the two layers together.
- Pour and press remaining berries over the top of the dough.
- Cut dough into 8-10 even pieces.
- Sprinkle remaining 1 teaspoon sugar over the scones.
- Place scones onto the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden, about 12-15 minutes.
- Transfer scones to a cooling rack to cool to desired temperature. Serve warm or room temperature.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
Had a hankering for baked goods today and although I knew the scone would be different from the recipes I’m used to making because of swapping oil for butter, we were not disappointed. This is so quick to throw together and the macerated berries are wonderful in this soft, melt-in-your-mouth scone recipe!
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it! I love my olive oil scones especially because they are so easy to throw together!
Thanks for sharing!
Laura