Name: Blueberry Lemon Scones
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 2 ⅓ cups All-purpose flour, (plus 1 teaspoon for blueberries); ¼ cup sugar; 2 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp lemon zest; ¼ tsp baking soda; ½ cup unsalted butter (4 ounces), very cold, (Cut into ½" pieces); 1 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed; ¾ cup buttermilk, very cold; 1 cup blueberries; 2 Tbsp heavy cream; 2 Tbsp coarse sugar, optional; ½ cup powdered confectioners sugar; 1 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed; ¼ tsp vanilla extract

Blueberry Lemon Scones cooling on a rack

Blueberry Lemon Scones are soft, crumbly and bursting with flavor. I adore scones but most tend to be dry so I experimented over and over to develop a recipe that would be perfect.

Blueberries and lemon pair perfectly together but this recipe is very flexible so you can use almost any fruit you have on hand. I love them with coarse sugar sprinkled on top or drizzled with a bit of icing.

Qualities of the best scones:

Soft and a bit crumbly
Golden brown tops and edges
Moist and soft on the inside
Slightly sweet and packed with flavor

Lemon Blueberry Scones in a basket — **Lemon Blueberry Scones**

How to make the best Blueberry Lemon Scones:

Scones are easy to make but there are lots of small tricks that go into making the best scones. The colder the ingredients the better the results, so keep your scone dough cold.

I suggest starting with frozen butter because it helps make the scones flaky. If it’s very warm in your kitchen you may want to refrigerate all of your ingredients before you start.

Lemon juice, lemon half, zest and zester — **Freshly squeezed lemon juice, zest, plump blueberries, and cold butter**

Pastry cutter, chunks of butter, and blueberries — **Freshly squeezed lemon juice, zest, plump blueberries, and cold butter**

Whisk all dry ingredients together, including the lemon zest.
Scatter cold butter pieces into the flour mixture and mix together with a pastry blender or the back of two forks. I don’t recommend using your hands to blend because the temperature of your hands is too warm and it will cause the butter to start softening.
Blend in the butter until the pieces are the size of peas. Too much blending will develop the gluten and make the scones less tender.
Add in the cold buttermilk, lemon juice, and blueberries and blend very gently. The dough will still be shaggy, which is OK.

Roughly mixed shaggy scone dough — **Gently mix the dough. It should still look a little shagg**y

Scone dough with lemon and blueberry — **Gently mix the dough. It should still look a little shagg**y

Lightly flour your work surface, turn the dough out, and gently knead for about 30-seconds,
Shape dough into a large 1 1/2″ thick disk.
Cut scones into 8 triangle wedges. Place onto a baking sheet, brush with cream, and place the tray in the refrigerator for 15-minutes before baking

Blueberry scone dough cut into triangle and rolling pin triangles — **Cut Blueberry Lemon Scone dough into 8 wedges**

Scones for baking with Blueberries — **Cut Blueberry Lemon Scone dough into 8 wedges**

Bake about 25 minutes. Scones should be lightly browned and easy to pull up off the baking tray.
Cool and drizzle with icing.

Lemon zest icing drizzled on scones — **Once cooled drizzle scones with lemon glaze**

Blueberry scone with lemon icing on wood board — **Once cooled drizzle scones with lemon glaze**

Tips and Tricks for perfect blueberry lemon glazed scones

Start with very cold butter and buttermilk
Gently mix the dough by hand. The butter should be pea-sized after mixing the flour. The key to flaky scones is to not over blend the butter.
The dough shouldn’t be too wet and should be able to stand up on its own.
If you use frozen blueberries (or any fruit) do not thaw them before adding. Blending the berries with a teaspoon of flour will help them keep their shape during baking.
Use fresh lemon juice and zest for a bright tangy flavor
Chill the scones for 15-minutes before baking to get fluffy scones and avoid them over spreading in the oven.
Make scone dough ahead of time, cut into shapes and freeze. Add about 3-5 minutes to the cooking time.
If you want smaller scones, form dough into a rectangle, and cut into smaller wedges

Blueberry Lemon Scones with lemon curd — Blueberry Lemon Scones with Lemon Curd

This can be your master scone recipe

Use the basic recipe below and add or omit flavors for any type of scones. The process for making the scones will be the same each time. Some favorites are:

Cherries and almonds
Strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries
Currants
Dried apricots, pineapple, cranberries
Chocolate chips or chocolate chunks

Need a buttermilk substitute?

In case you don’t have buttermilk on hand it’s easy to make a substitution:

The ratio: 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to every 1 cup of regular milk.
Mix together and let stand for a few minutes

More breakfast or bread ideas?

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5 from 5 votes