Vegan shortbread with olive oil recipe

Vegan shortbread with olive oil is a delicious twist on a classic crumbly buttery biscuit. 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 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.