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The Batter Thickens

A food blog balancing sweet treats & healthy eats.

Basil Olive Oil Shortbread with Chocolate

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Basil and Olive Oil Shortbread may sound a bit weird, I’ll give you that. But you’ll have to hear me out – these were pretty great. Sweet with a hint of savory, it’s a genuinely interesting flavor that keeps you coming back for more. At least, it kept me coming back for more. The original recipe called for rosemary instead of basil, and honestly, that sounds weirder to me!

I know many of you remember the basil saga I went through when trying to make some homemade pesto. I am thrilled to report that my basil plants have been thriving. They have grown up and out, and they’ve gotten even more dense. When my family was all here last weekend, my brother noticed that one of them has even started flowering! I didn’t even know basil flowered! 

(Photo courtesy of my brother)

Since having all this basil around, I’ve made pesto numerous times. But I wanted to make some more diverse food – I feel like I should become a master of basil!

I’ve done a bit of cooking with it (soon to come). But truly there is so much I just had to do some baking with it. And it’s been established that basil and chocolate go surprising well together. So I started searching for some more basil and chocolate options, and stumbled across this recipe. I was thoroughly intrigued. I didn’t think shortbread was possible without butter, much less with a liquid oil! So I knew I had to give it a try, for the sake of experiment.

These taste sort of exactly how you’d expect? (That is, as long as you expect it to taste good!) The basil and chocolate duo doesn’t disappoint, and the olive oil shortbread base has a subtle taste, but also has a lot of the same crumbliness and richness that butter shortbread does. 

I’ll end this with some stunningly profound thoughts: I am discovering, just like my nomadic ancestors, the beauty of agriculture. Plants are truly the gift that keeps on giving. Who knew?!

And unlike my nomadic ancestors, I have an insulated home that will hopefully keep my basil plant growing and thriving all winter long.  So my basil journey will continue, both savory and sweet. And I certainly enjoyed this discovery along the way.

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Olive Oil, Basil, Chocolate Chip Shortbread

  • Author: Audrey
  • Array: Array
  • Total Time: 0 hours
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Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced basil leaves, fresh
  • ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 tbsp coconut oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325°
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Add the olive oil and basil and stir to combine, using your hands if necessary.
  3. Gather the dough with your hands and press into a 9×9 tin lined with parchment paper.
  4. Optional: brush the top of the round with heavy cream (provides some browning). Sprinkle with a few generous pinches each of the course salt and sugar.
  5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 
  6. Immediately after removing the shortbread from the oven, cut them into bars, but let them cool without removing them from the tin.
  7. While they’re cooling, melt your chocolate chips and coconut oil. Once they’re cooled, you can separate them and drizzle or dip them in melted chocolate. Store in an airtight container for a couple weeks.

Notes

Adapted from Appeasing A Food Geek

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