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. More on that here.
- 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
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:
I made these last night and I used frozen blueberries, unthawed, and they still bled. Even lightly touching them with my fingers made my fingers all purple. Maybe next time I’ll give them a quick rinse first so I don’t end up with purple scones again! Or I’ll just use fresh, that’s probably a better option. My dough was much wetter than yours, and my scones spread and flattened like giant cookies. They look ridiculous, but taste amazing. I’m wondering if the frozen blueberries had too much moisture. I’ll try the same recipe again with fresh to see if that makes a difference.
I made these over the weekend for a friend at work who loves blueberry scones…and she LOVED these delectable blueberry scones! I taste tested one fresh out of the oven and the blueberries burst in my mouth…it was so scrumdelicious that I was a happy, happy girl! I will be making these again.Thank you for this delicious blueberry scones recipe! 🙂
Just put these in the oven! They smell delicious and can’t wait to try. I have no idea how you cut them so perfect, mine were a bit messy. For my first homemade scones this was a pretty easy recipe to follow. Thanks!
I just made these today and the flavor is hard to top. However, the dough was so wet (I followed the recipe, I swear!) they were difficult to work with and came out more like muffin tops than scones. Maybe I overworked the gluten or the butter wasn’t cold enough, but I really couldn’t believe how wet they were. Still, a great flavor!
Wow these look ierrstistible, will be giving these a go for sure. Simon
i just made this recipe and am really excited they turned out great! My dough was quite wet. Is this normal? I attempted to add more flour but was unsure if it would ruin them. They still came out great! Any suggestions. Respectfully, mari
Just made these for the first time (have never made scones before). They came out amazing! I doubled the recipe and substituted part maple sugar for the cup of sugar.
I made these scones today, and they are by far the best scones I have ever made!! I love how flakey they are. Definitely a recipe I will be repeating!!
When I was planning on making these, I had everything except sour cream… So I substituted it with Greek yogurt. They turned out super delicious! So if you want to save yourself some fat and add protein, use Greek yogurt (chobani vanilla is 0 fat and 20 grams of protein)
Yum! My husband decided he wanted to make blueberry scones at about 10 PM a few nights ago. He put all of the ingredients into the kitchen aide and blended them for 10 minutes (much to my chagrin). They turned out a little flat, but were still soft and tasted so good! I made round two tonight following the recipe instructions, and they turned out a little fluffier (not quite like the photos), still just as tasty. Maybe it’s the frozen blueberries? Anyway, great recipe, we really love it. We’ll keep experimenting!
I made these just now because I was going to go get my usual Starbucks coffee and scone 🙂 and then I thought how much I hated paying the money for them! So…I made my own and will take them there to have with there coffee and my friends 🙂 My friends will thank me because they are over $3.00 there!
I did substitute coconut greek yogurt for the sour cream though, it’s all I had. They are fabulous!
Just swallowed a bite fresh out of the oven! These scones are amazing. I need no other recipe for BLUEBERRY SCONES! Thank you for the wonderful, scrumptious recipe!