Olive oil and fresh red currants makes these bejeweled yogurt scones with rosemary light, fluffy and incredibly delicious. They are super easy to whip up and make for a special brunch, weekday breakfast or afternoon bite with tea.
Living in California means we have access to some very amazing produce.I forget how lucky we are until a friend from out of state comes to visit and part of the tour package is to our local grocery store!
But one item I rarely find here in San Diego are fresh currants. I found them for sale at my local Vons one morning 10 years ago. This was the first time I ever saw fresh currants and I was ecstatic!
So when I saw these gorgeous red jewels, they were calling my name, and I snatched them up. There is something mysteriously beautiful about ruby red currants.
They are luminous, brilliant, little jewels provided by nature. And they are really delicious and mildly sweet.
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Recipe highlights
- Versatile: I decided to use my basic olive oil scone recipe. It can be used with any fruit or berries.
- Simple: The scone recipe is simple and does not require butter or expensive ingredients or fancy equipment. No chilling of the dough is needed, either.
- 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 rosemary gives a wonderful herbal note to the scones.
Ingredients you need
- Fresh currants: I used these glorious red currants, but they also come in black. You can also use raspberries, blueberries or blackberries.
- Rosemary: When baking you should use fresh rosemary because dried is very tough and not as fragrant. You can also use fresh mint or basil, or skip altogether if you prefer.
- 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 the standard in baking.
- Pantry staples: granulated sugar, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt
Step-by-step directions
- Combine dry ingredients. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary and salt.
- Add oil. Using a fork, stir in olive oil until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Combine wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, milk and egg.
- Finish dough. 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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- Press dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a circle or rectangles, about ½-inch thick. Press half the currants into half of the dough.
- Fold dough. Fold the empty half of the dough over the red currant dough, pressing the two layers together. Press remaining currants over the top of the dough.
- Cut dough. Cut dough into 6-8 even pieces. Size usually depends on how hungry I am! This recipe can make 6-large scones or 8 medium sized scones.
- Bake. Sprinkle sugar over the scones. You can also top with more chopped rosemary, if you like. Place scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and bake at 400ºF until golden, about 12-15 minutes.
- Cool scones. 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.
These yogurt scones have tremendous flavor as they are, but you can also serve them traditionally with clotted cream. Here in the use, I like schmear a little cream cheese. You can also try it with my zingy and creamy olive oil lemon curd.
If you like these scones, also try my sour cream scones or my whole wheat scones. My blackberry scones are also baked with olive oil, while the blackberries are tossed in balsamic vinegar.
And if you have more fresh red currants on hand, you must try my red currant mojito recipe – yum!
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.
Absolutely! Scones made with extra virgin 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. I used blood orange olive oil for these currant scones and it offered a wonderful citrus note.
Yogurt Scones with Red Currants
Ingredients
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon rosemary fresh, chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup yogurt plain Greek
- ¼ cup milk low-fat
- 1 egg large
- 4 oz red currants fresh, divided
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary and salt.
- Using a fork, stir in olive oil until mixture 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 rectangles, about ½-inch thick. Press half the currants into half of the dough.
- Fold the empty half of the dough over the red currant dough, pressing the two layers together. Press remaining currants over the top of the dough.
- Cut dough into 8-10 even pieces. Sprinkle 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.
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!
This is now my go-to scone recipe. I adore scones but cant afford the full fat diary when made with butter and/or cream. Olive oil? I can do that. Honestly, these are BETTER than any scone I’ve made with ANY ingredients. Instead of currants (which I’m sure would be great), I use dried blueberries and the zest of one lemon. And I put raw sugar on top just before baking. Delicious.
Hi Kristie-
I totally agree with ya, but I’m biased! You can do some many variation with the base scone recipe. I barely use butter in my baking anymore since switching to olive oil. It’s easier and definitely budget friendly.
Thank your for kind words-
Laura
Hi, do you think I can you almond or coconut flour for these scones?
Coconut flour and almond flour have very different textures and react differently in baking. I have been dabbling with with both, but it is for sure not a one to one substitution.
Laura
Hello Laura!
Your Red Currant And Rosemary Olive Oil Scones looks so delicious. And all your pictures are looking great, well done Laura!
Lovely photos and recipe!
Thank you!
I’m on a hunt for red currants. I haven’t seen many things that look this good.
Gorgeous as always, and I love how you described them. Great writing friend.
I almost never see red currants! Well, outside of jam or jelly. 😉 I really need to track some down — these scones look amazing! Thanks.
Laura, these sound delish. I will try to find all of the ingredients so I can make a batch to take to Girls Weekend in Rancho Mirage next weekend. Hugs to your family.
Thank you, Deb!I hope everyone enjoys them. Oh, and have fun with the girls!
Your scones look wonderful Laura. You are right, red currants look like little jewels in the light. I wish I could grow one bush in the tropics too. =D
Ciao Laura, complimenti per il sito. Ti seguo da poco tempo. Ho sfogliato quasi tutti i tuoi post, mi piacciono molto le tue ricette e anche gli articoli non di cucina. Il tuo paese suscita in me una forte attrazione. Amo gli scone, questa versione con i ribes rossi è irresistibile. Un abbraccio.