Vegan shortbread with olive oil recipe

Vegan (opens in new tab) shortbread with olive oil is a delicious twist on a classic crumbly buttery biscuit (opens in new tab). Using olive oil in place of butter both infuses it with the bright and peppery flavour of olive oil, and makes it suitable for vegans! A hint of lemon zest and lemon thyme really compliments the olive flavour and makes these lovely rich biscuits so moreish. This vegan shortbread (opens in new tab) takes a Scottish staple and gives it a Mediterranean feel and a warm yellow hue. It goes down well with good cup of Earl Grey tea - we served ours with lovely loose leaf tea from Jing Tea, but also love the plastic free teas from We Are Tea. Make sure you use a good quality extra virgin olive oil when making this vegan shortbread, it makes a huge difference to both the flavour and colour of the end results.

Ingredients

• 75g golden caster sugar
• 200g plain flour
• 50g semolina
• 125ml good quality extra virgin olive oil, we used Belazu
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 sprigs thyme, leaves only

Method

1. Heat oven to 160C/Gas 2. Combine the sugar, flour and semolina in a food processor, then gradually add the olive oil until it reaches a crumb like consistency. Be sure to scrape up any dry flour from the bottom of the processor.
2. Mix in the lemon zest and thyme, then press the mixture into a 20cm fluted tart tin and bake for 1hr-1hr 15 mins, until pale golden. Remove from the oven and cut into 8 triangles.