Blueberry scones come together quickly and easily, as well as being oh so satisfying at any time of the day. Filled with blueberries, they’re buttery sweet perfection.
These tender, moist scones—studded with juicy blueberries—are wonderful when eaten hot, split in half, and slathered with butter. With a more delicate crumb, they’re less sturdy than other scones and best enjoyed right from the oven, although they do freeze well. If you love these, give these cranberry and white chocolate scones a try.–King Arthur Baking Company
What’s the secret to making good scones?
Like any butter-heavy pastry, a secret to making these blueberry scones light, fluffy, and crave-worthy is to keep everything cold. Chill your butter and, if possible, your bowl and pastry cutter as well. Even more helpful is to chill them before baking—a half an hour in the fridge should do. Next, don’t overmix that batter. Not only will you break up those precious bits of butter, you’ll end up developing the gluten. You want the batter to just come together and be quite fetchingly lumpy. Finally, when baking, keep them close together and don’t overbake.
☞ Contents
Blueberry Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for the work surface
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 6 tablespoons (3 oz) unsalted butter cold, cut into pieces
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup plain whole milk yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (preferably organic) or 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
For the butter topping (optional)
- 2 tablespoons (1 oz) butter melted
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the sweet glaze (optional)
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk fresh lemon juice, or water
Directions
Make the scones
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder together. Use your fingers to work the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse oats.
- In a medium bowl, stir the eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and lemon zest or oil together. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Gently stir in the blueberries. The dough should have the consistency of a wet drop-cookie dough.
- Liberally flour your counter and your hands. Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on the counter. Pat it into a 1-inch (25-mm) thick circle or rectangle.
- Cut into 8 or 10 wedges or rectangles. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches (5 cm) between the scones.
☞TESTER TIP: It’s easier to cut rectangles from a rectangle, or wedges from a circle.
Top the scones
- Brush the scones with melted butter, and sprinkle with sugar, if using.
- Bake until lightly browned and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into a scone comes out dry, 20 to 25 minutes.
Make the sweet glaze (optional)
- In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and milk, lemon juice, or water. Drizzle over the scones.
- Scones are best enjoyed fresh from the oven, or within several hours of baking.
Show Nutrition
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
What a delicious blueberry scone this recipe makes! I’ve never made scones before because I never really enjoyed them. They’re often dry and dense. But these scones are light, not dry, and have that buttery decadence that every scone should have.
We tried them hot out of the oven and even the next morning – they were great at either time. I loved the lemon flavor and the pops of juicy blueberry. They come together so quickly too. I can see myself making these often.
These blueberry scones were really fast to make and the taste was good. Unlike some scone recipes, this one produces very moist scones and they are closer to a flatter muffin.
Personally, I would like even more blueberries. (The recipe could probably take 1/4-1/2 cup more blueberries and still be okay.) The topping was a nice touch (a little crunchy).
These were delicious and easy–I was able to wake up early to make these, and not wake anybody up because of a noisy mixer, so that was a bonus! These blueberry scones are very delicate and tender.
I prefer using lemon zest, and so I did, but the amount was a bit subtle for me. I might double it next time. Served, preferably warm, with some tea and some salted Irish butter. Doesn’t need more than that.
Tender, moist, and flavorful, to say the least. Easy to put together, ingredients you’d either have on-hand or have easy access to. I’ll add this to my recipe box.
I used freshly grated lemon zest and fresh blueberries. The dough was a bit thicker than a drop cookie, soft yet manageable. It was easy to shape into a 8.5-by-7 inch rectangle. Instead of the suggested 10 pieces, I made 8 blueberry scones. After seeing how much they puffed up, I realized you could easily make anywhere from 8 to 12, depending on the size you wanted. You’d just need to adjust the total baking time.
I had chilled them in the fridge before baking for about 30 minutes (because my oven was already being used) then baked them for 24 minutes. (I also forgot to lower my oven temp and ended up baking them at 400°F degrees instead of 375°F but they were quite forgiving and turned out fine!)
My husband looked at the tray coming out of the oven, pointed with excitement and said, “I know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow.” He’ll likely warm one in the toaster-oven, slather it with butter, and enjoy with his coffee.
As the headnotes describe, these blueberry scones are tender and moist with mouthfuls of fresh blueberries. Easy to make, delicious to eat. I used whole milk yogurt, it’s interesting that it is so hard to find these days and I wondered what the difference would be if you used Greek yogurt.
I used fresh blueberries and lemon zest, and was so happy that I keep lemon zest in the freezer all the time!
HUNGRY FOR MORE?
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
I don’t have yogurt, but I have heavy cream, buttermilk, or sour cream. What is the best sub? Thanks, Lee
Lee, I’d try sour cream. Do let us know how they turn out.