Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: A-mazing!!! 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!
Pros: Moist, fluffy, buttery, sweet, has an amazing blueberry glaze.
Cons: Nada!
Would I make this again? Absolutely.
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Today I bring you Blueberry Scones… for breakfast, brunch, or really any time of the day. I often find scones to be rather dry, but these are perfectly moist and tender. Joe said these were one of his FAVORITE treats that I’ve ever made!
You might want to make a double batch of this blueberry scone recipe. These NEVER last long in our house.
What makes these scones so flaky, tender, and moist is the cold butter and buttermilk.
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. Trust me. 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 to making scones that are flaky yet moist. More on buttermilk just below.
- Keep the Butter Cold. The butter must be COLD from start to when the dough enters the oven. The cold butter melts upon entering the heat of the oven, and the water content in butter evaporates in 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 flour mixture or 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 absolutely the preferred liquid for scones. It helps result in 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, which is so perfect in these blueberry scones. I highly recommend using real buttermilk instead of a substitute. If you aren’t able to use buttermilk, you can also 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. I like to do this especially if it’s a hot day.
- 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 scones 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 way 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 scones!
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. If you wish, you can also omit the freeze-dried blueberries in the icing to allow the lemon to shine.
Fresh vs. Frozen Blueberries in Blueberry Scones
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:
- Homemade Blueberry Pie
- Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins
- Blueberry Cobbler
- Lemon Blueberry French Toast Casserole
More Scone Recipes You’ll Love:
- Classic 35-Minute Scones
- Shallot, Jalapeño, Goat Cheese, and Honey Scones
- Pumpkin Scones
- Cranberry Orange Scones
- Chocolate Chip Scones
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Blueberry Scones
Ingredients
For the scones:
- 3 cups (381 grams) all-purpose flour
- 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 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 recently updated with new photos and a complete recipe overhaul. Photos by Joanie Simon.
May 2022 Baking Challenge
This recipe was the May 2022 selection for our monthly baking challenge! Every month you can join the challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes! Learn more about my monthly baking challenges here. Check out everyone’s scones:
This Bluberry scone recipe was excellent and easy to make. I followed the recipe exactly, weighing all the ingredients and I can’t wait to make it again. It turned out moist and tender. I might add a little lemon zest and sprinkle sugar over the egg wash next time.
I did not have lemon or powdered sugar.
I sprinkled sugar over the egg wash instead.
Delicious!
Thank you for the recipe!
Can you make this recipe in the biscuit shape instead of the triangular?
Hi Kary! We haven’t tried shaping these any way other than the classic triangle, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work just fine 🙂 Let us know what you think of these scones once you have given them a try!
I amped up the lemon flavor for lemon blueberry scones…delicious! Very spring. Had to reshape scones on pan.
These scones are so good this is a recipe I’m going to make over and over. I do have a question and this is a problem I’ve had making numerous scone recipes but when I mix everything together the dough never seems moist enough. I always have to wet my hands or add a little water to make the dough pliable. Why is that? Thank you!
Hi Wendy! How do you measure your ingredients? By volume (using cups), or by weight (using a digital kitchen scale)? When measuring by volume, it’s so easy to mis-measure ingredients (particularly flour) and throw off the entire chemistry of a recipe – resulting in scones that seem dry or don’t come together easily. Check out Tessa’s article here, where she talks about how to best measure ingredients to ensure accuracy every time. I hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂
OMG……I made these this morning and they were DEEEELICIOUS!!!! So light and moist. I did put them in the freezer while the over was preheating and they puffed up and were really light and fluffy. I only put a lemon glaze on top and it was just enough.
This recipe is definitely a keeper!!!
Thank you!!
Diane
Hi Tessa,
Thanks for the recipe!
Perfect for the afternoon coffee time.
I made these twice over Easter weekend! first batch I refrigerated over night and cooked in the morning, it ended up being more of a hassle than it was worth. so the second batch I made right before we went over to my inlaws house and those went much fast and the texture came out better! Both times they were moist and delicious. I definitely need to get myself an oven thermometer because they took too long to cook and I think it is because the temp wasn’t exactly right
Flavor was just ok, and despite prepping these the night before and storing in the refrigerator, the butter oozed out and made a mess while baking. Not sure what happened?
Hi Maryanne! Hmm, it sounds like your oven might be running a little cold. This is likely why the butter melted out, despite the scones being cold upon baking. Ovens are almost always lying to us abut the temperature they’re actually at! Check out Tessa’s article here about ovens, full of tips!! If you don’t have an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is at the temperature it says it is, invest in one now! They are inexpensive and really help your baking so much! This oven thermometer is one of Tessa’s favorites. I hope that helps 🙂
I noticed that you changed the recipe from the one you had earlier ? I really like the one you had earlier is there a way to get the recipe for the other ones ?
Hi Anna! Send us an email at [email protected] and we can send the previous version your way! 🙂
Ok sent it thank you !