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Tender blueberry scones include lemon zest and a tart lemon glaze for a bright and flavorful scone that is as delicious with your afternoon coffee or tea as it is for breakfast.
You guys know that I love a good scone. If I have my choice between a scone and a doughnut (even a frosted one from Dunkin’), I’ll gladly get down with the scone any day of the week.
I’ve been making the same scone base for years because to me, it’s perfect.
One of my favorite things about scones is that they’re super customizable. From vanilla bean scones, cherry scones, glazed orange scones and bacon and cheddar Scones to these lemony blueberry scones – I’m pretty confident that you can create a scone with just about anything in your fridge.
Sweet or savory, scones are something you can eat for breakfast, snack with tea, or as dessert at the end of the day. Blueberries are starting to get perfect around here, and I just can’t refuse a fresh summer berry.
Plus, we all know that blueberries and lemon are pretty much one of the happiest marriages in baking land, and combined in a scone they are completely irresistible!
LEMONY BLUEBERRY SCONES
You know how much I love lemon and blueberries together. From lemon cupcakes topped with a tangy lemon-blueberry frosting to lemon blueberry bread and blueberry coffee cake with a hint of lemon, it’s one of my favorite flavor combinations.
So it just made sense to include some lemon in these perfectly tender blueberry scones, right?
I used my favorite trick ever and infused the sugar in these scones with lemon zest before making the scone dough.
Then, once the scones cooled after coming out of the oven, I topped them with a lemony glaze.
There is just the right amount of lemon to complement the blueberries and make for an incredibly flavorful scone. Trust me, you’re gonna want to take two.
HOW TO MAKE BLUEBERRY SCONES
In order to make the most of the lemon zest in these blueberry scones, start by rubbing the granulated sugar and the zest together in a bowl with your fingertips. Do this until the sugar is moistened and very fragrant.
This step helps infuse the zest into the sugar so that the lemon aroma and flavor gets into every bit of the scones.
Once that is done, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the sugar and whisk to combine.
Grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture, then use your fingers to work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream and egg until smooth, then use a fork to stir this into the flour mixture. You’ll end up with large dough clumps.
Fold in the blueberries, then use your hands to gently press the dough into a ball. Use the side of the mixing bowl to help you with this. It’ll be sticky at first but will come together – just be gentle and try not to overwork the dough.
On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough out into a circle about 7 inches in diameter and about ¾-inch thick.
Use a sharp knife or dough blade to cut the circle into 8 equal triangles and place these on a lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
Bake the scones for 15-17 minutes or until they are golden brown. Let them cool for 10 minutes, then whisk together the glaze ingredients.
Dip the top of the scones into the glaze or drizzle the glaze over the scones. You can glaze them once or you can let the glaze set for a few minutes before glazing them a second time.
Helpful resources for making these scones
- Make sure you know how to measure flour correctly before you get started. That will help these scones come out perfectly every time!
- Use the tips in the post on measuring flour linked above and use the same method for measuring your powdered sugar.
- If you run out of powdered sugar, I have info on how to make powdered sugar. You can use this substitute for the glaze.
- You can use your favorite brand of vanilla extract in the glaze or use homemade vanilla extract.
STORAGE AND FREEZING TIPS
Store glazed blueberry scones in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
If you’d like to freeze the scones, you can do so before or after baking.
Before baking, place the cut triangles on a lined baking sheet. Place the sheet pan in the freezer for an hour, or until the triangles are frozen through. Place them in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
When ready to bake, place as many scones as you like on a lined baking sheet (no need to thaw them) and bake according to the recipe instructions, adding 1-2 minutes to the baking time if needed. Glaze as directed.
If freezing after baking, place the glazed and cooled scones in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to a month.
When ready to enjoy, remove a scone from the freezer and microwave for 30-60 seconds to thaw and warm it through.
RECIPE FAQS
Can I use frozen blueberries instead of fresh?
I really love using fresh blueberries in these scones, but you can use frozen blueberries if that’s what is accessible to you.
Do not thaw the blueberries before adding them to the scones. This will help prevent the juices from bleeding and discoloring the scone dough.
Can I substitute whole wheat flour for the all-purpose flour?
I do not recommend replacing all of the flour with whole wheat flour. If you’d like, you can substitute up to half (50%) of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour, but keep in mind that it will slightly affect the texture and flavor of the scones.
Can I make these gluten free?
If you’d like to make a gluten-free scone, check out my gluten-free blueberry scones.
Can I use yogurt instead of sour cream?
You can absolutely use regular or greek yogurt instead of sour cream if that’s what you have on hand.
Both yogurt and sour cream can stand in for buttermilk (to learn more, check out how to make buttermilk), and since they have similar consistencies they can often stand in for each other in baking recipes like these blueberry scones.
Blueberry scones
Ingredients
For the Scones
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- zest of two medium lemons
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter frozen
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries not thawed if frozen
For the Glaze
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar sifted
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest; mix with your fingertips until the sugar is moistened and fragrant. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix until combined.
- Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream and egg until smooth.
- Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Fold in blueberries. Use your hands to gently press the dough against the bowl into a ball. The dough will be sticky first, but as you press, the dough will come together.
- Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place triangles onto prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and prepare the glaze.
- In a medium bowl, prepare the glaze by mixing together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth. Dip the top of the scones into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. At this point, you can leave them as is or choose to dip them again for a thicker glaze.
Video
Notes
- Make sure you know how to measure flour correctly before you get started. That will help these scones come out perfectly every time!
- Use the tips in the post on measuring flour linked above and use the same method for measuring your powdered sugar.
- If you run out of powdered sugar, I have info on how to make powdered sugar. You can use this substitute for the glaze.
- You can use your favorite brand of vanilla extract in the glaze or use homemade vanilla extract.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Amazing! They are so delicious. Love the lemon icing on the top, it really makes it. And the texture of the scone is delightful!
These look delicious! Can you substitute the blueberries for fresh strawberries? I’m thinking of making these to bring to a get-together tomorrow morning.
Absolutely the best scone recipe I have ever tried! They are delicious. Will try using other fruit and flavor combinations at some point, but the lemon blueberry is fantastic.
So glad you loved this recipe, Donna! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
Jamie
I pray to God it is not as difficult as it seemed to me. My arm cramped from grating the frozen butter. But I’m a senior. My powdered sugar was expired for two years. I’m eating them without glaze. If you’re ambitious it’s definitely a keeper.
I’m glad you gave them a try! If you have a food processor with a grater attachment, next time you can run the butter through there instead of grating by hand. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your feedback!
Jamie
If you have a coffee grinder you can make powdered sugar out of regular sugar too!
Why do you have to use frozen butter?
Frozen butter will grate a lot better without getting soft/mushy as you work with it! Hope this helps –
Jamie