Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Amazing! Perfectly sweetened buttery pastry filled with little bursts of blueberries, and a sweet icing on top.
Texture: Tender and moist on the inside with a slightly crisp outside.
Ease: Pretty easy. Perfect for a fun weekend breakfast or Mother’s Day!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Moist, fluffy, buttery, sweet, has an amazing blueberry glaze.
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I often find scones to be rather dry, but these Blueberry Scones are perfectly moist and tender, and make the BEST breakfast, brunch, or snack!
These scones owe their flaky, tender, and moist texture to the cold butter and buttermilk in this recipe.
You might want to make a double batch of this Blueberry Scone recipe. These NEVER last long in our house. Joe said these were one of his FAVORITE recipes I’ve ever made!
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This recipe is truly loaded with blueberry flavor. Both from fresh (or frozen) blueberries in the dough and from a blueberry glaze made with crushed freeze-dried blueberries. It creates the most beautiful natural color and tons of sweet and slightly tart blueberry flavor.
There’s just enough lemon zest in the dough and lemon juice in the glaze to help brighten the blueberry flavor. If you’re after a proper Lemon Blueberry flavor, check out my tips on this below.
Make these Blueberry Scones for your next brunch gathering and your friends and family will love you forever. Or just enjoy as a fresh and flavorful breakfast right at home with a cup of coffee or tea.
I’ve shared all my tips for making perfect Blueberry Scones right at home in the Sprinkle of Science tip box, just below.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Blueberry Scones
How Do I Make Moist Scones?
- Use Real Buttermilk. Buttermilk is a key ingredient in making scones that are flaky yet moist. More on buttermilk just below.
- Keep the Butter Cold. The butter must be COLD from the start until the dough enters the oven. The cold butter melts upon entering the heat of the oven, and the water content in the butter evaporates as steam. As the steam escapes, it bursts up and creates that beautiful tall, flaky, fluffy texture. Tips for keeping your butter cold below.
- Weigh Your Flour. Too much flour will yield dry, hard, crumbly scones. If you don’t have a digital scale, use the spoon-and-level method.
- Avoid Overmixing. Whatever you do, do not overmix the dough or allow it to get too warm. Doing so will result in flatter, tougher, and less flaky scones. My favorite tool for making biscuits or scone dough quickly and easily by hand is this OXO bladed pastry blender.
Why Use Buttermilk in Scones?
Buttermilk is the preferred liquid when making scones. It helps create tender, tall scones because of how its acidity reacts with the baking powder and tenderizes the dough overall. It also adds a lovely tang to create more depth of flavor.
I highly recommend using real buttermilk, not a substitute. If you aren’t able to use buttermilk, you can use heavy cream – just note the final texture will be different. Learn more about buttermilk here.
How to Keep Butter COLD for Blueberry Scones
- Cube the butter and pop it in the freezer first while you prepare your other ingredients and tools.
- Use a marble pastry board to help keep the dough cool. If at any point you notice the butter become greasy and melty, pop the dough into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes before proceeding.
- You can also pop the baking sheet of shaped unbaked Blueberry Scone in the fridge or freezer while the oven preheats to ensure the butter remains nice and cold.
How Do You Make Scones Rise Higher and Get Ultra Flaky?
LAMINATE your scone dough! A little bit of lamination gets the scones to rise high with tons of flaky layers. Don’t worry, it sounds more complicated than it actually is. And if this seems like too much work, just skip this step. You’ll still have delicious Blueberry Scones!
How to Laminate Your Blueberry Scone Dough:
- Fold blueberries into dough.
- Turn the craggly mass of dough out onto your work surface.
- Shape it into a rectangle.
- Fold the rectangle horizontally in thirds, like you’re folding a piece of paper to go into an envelope.
- Flatten it out into a rectangle again.
- Now fold it in thirds once more, but going the opposite direction. This will also help you to gently ‘knead’ the dough so it comes together into a more cohesive disk without overmixing it. Overmixing leads to rubbery and tough scones and biscuits.
I actually demonstrated this during a live Zoom class exclusively for HTH Baking School students (doors are currently closed). Take a look at Benjamin’s un-laminated vs. laminated Blueberry Scone!
Can I Make These into Lemon Blueberry Scones?
Yes! If you want to up the lemon flavor and make these into Lemon Blueberry Scones instead, simply increase the lemon zest to 2 tablespoons. Feel free to also omit the freeze-dried blueberries in the icing to allow the lemon to shine.
Fresh vs. Frozen Blueberries
We have successfully tested this recipe using both fresh and frozen blueberries. Both work beautifully! Don’t thaw if using frozen blueberries, otherwise they’ll stain the scones. I don’t recommend using dried blueberries in this recipe.
Where to Find Freeze-Dried Blueberries
- Freeze-dried blueberries are often available with the dried fruit (like raisins) at the supermarket – or buy them online here.
- Please note, dried blueberries won’t work in this glaze; it needs to be freeze-dried blueberries.
- If you can’t find freeze-dried blueberries, or don’t wish to use them, simply make a glaze of 1 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice or milk, adjusting ingredients to achieve your desired consistency.
How to Make Blueberry Scones Ahead of Time
The shaped unbaked Blueberry Scones can be covered and refrigerated overnight. Bake from the fridge as the recipe directs. If you need to prep these further in advance, check out the freezing instructions just below.
Can You Freeze Blueberry Scones?
Yes! Place the unbaked shaped Blueberry Scones in an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month. Bake from frozen, brushing on egg wash before placing in the oven. Add about 2 minutes to the baking time.
More Blueberry Recipes:
More Scone Recipes You’ll Love:
Blueberry Scones
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Ingredients
For the scones:
- 3 cups (381 grams) all-purpose flour, measured correctly
- 1/3 cup (66 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 cup (237 grams) buttermilk
- 2 large eggs, divided
- 1 1/2 cups (200 grams) fresh or frozen blueberries (don’t thaw if frozen)
For the glaze:
- 1 cup (125 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 cup (20 grams) freeze dried blueberries, finely crushed and sifted*
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat to 400°F. Line two baking pans with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, lemon zest, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- Add the butter and cut with a pastry cutter or a fork until the butter is the size of large peas.
- In a measuring glass, whisk together the buttermilk and 1 egg. Make a well in the middle of the flour/butter mixture and add the liquid mixture. Mix until partially combined. Use a spatula to gently fold in the blueberries to the scone dough. Take care not to break the blueberries or their color will bleed. If using frozen blueberries, keep frozen and don’t thaw before using.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and divide into 2 equal parts. Gently knead each into 3/4-inch thick, 6-inch diameter rounds. Cut each round into 8 wedges and place on your prepared baking pans. Space them out about 2 inches apart.
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Brush over the scones.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Make the glaze:
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar, crushed and sifted blueberries, and lemon juice with a fork until a smooth and thick glaze forms. Add more powdered sugar to make the glaze thicker or thinner with lemon juice, to your desired consistency. Drizzle or dip each scone with the glaze. Let set before serving. Scones are best served the day they’re baked.
Recipe Notes
This post was originally published in 2015 and has been with new photos and a complete recipe overhaul. Photos by Joanie Simon.
I use frozen butter and rub it through a coarse grater for pie crust or scones and the like — saves time and makes the butter close to the right size.
Hi Tessa,
Hello from France 🇫🇷
Thank you for your work ! I love your blog !
I have a question about measurement, what the equivalent in grams fort 1 cup of buttermilk ?
Sorry for my bad english !
Thank your in advance
I can’t wait to try your recipe !
Thanks for your feedback, Victoria! I’ve just added the gram measurement of buttermilk to the recipe. Let us know what you think when you give them a try 🙂