This is my go-to scone recipe bursting with fresh blueberries and zingy lemon zest, and topped with a sweet lemon icing. These glazed lemon blueberry scones are soft and tender in the middle, with crisp-crumbly edges, and simply perfect for brunch, tea parties, bridal showers, or really any time at all!
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and success tips. These have become such a fan favorite that I included the recipe in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
When you think of breakfast treats, do scones come to mind first? In a bakery-case lineup of cinnamon rolls, donuts, muffins, croissants and other pastries, the humble scone doesn’t always get the prime spot or the most attention… but it absolutely should. With the right recipe, scones easily compete with muffins, pastries, and—yes!—even cinnamon rolls.
This lemon blueberry scone recipe in particular has received so much love over the years from readers who have tried it, that I wanted to shine the spotlight on it once again. Here are just a few of the many glowing reviews readers have shared after making these scones:
One reader, Andrea, commented: “Literally the best scone recipe! Grating the frozen butter is a game changer. Everyone comments on how wonderful these scones are… ★★★★★”
Another reader, Susan, commented: “I’m so glad I found this recipe! Absolutely delicious scones. Exactly what I was looking for, as I wasn’t satisfied with other scone recipes I’ve tried. This will be my forever scone recipe! I loved the tip about freezing and grating the butter. What a good idea! ★★★★★”
And one more reader, Claudia, commented: “Easy to make and came out perfectly! This was my first time making scones and these came out so good! Easy-to-follow directions and can be made ahead or frozen! ★★★★★”
If you can’t get enough of my lemon blueberry muffins, you’ll definitely love these scones, as well!
These Lemon Blueberry Scones Are:
- Soft & tender in the center, with crumbly edges
- Packed with juicy blueberries and fresh lemon zest
- Topped with coarse sugar and lemon icing for a sweet finish
All of my scone recipes begin with the same base recipe for scones. A few ingredients change based on flavor, but the process remains the same. This careful formula brings us chocolate chip scones, blueberry scones, pumpkin scones, apple cinnamon scones, and more. It promises the BEST flavor and texture.
Why the Ingredients Promise the Best Results:
- Flour: 2 cups of all-purpose flour is my standard amount, but have some extra on the side for the work surface and your hands.
- Sugar: Scones aren’t meant to be super sweet, so we’re using just enough granulated sugar to lightly sweeten and balance out the tart lemon flavor. You can top them with coarse sugar and icing if you want a sweeter scone, or leave them plain on top to keep these lightly sweet.
- Baking Powder: Adds lift.
- Salt & Vanilla Extract: Add flavor.
- Lemon Zest: You need a full Tablespoon of lemon zest, which is about 2 lemons. Zest the lemons for the scone dough, then juice them to make the lemon icing.
- Cold Butter: Besides flour, cold butter is the main ingredient in scones. It adds flavor, flakiness, crisp edges, and rise. More on butter below!
- Heavy Cream: For the best-tasting pastries, use a thick liquid such as heavy cream. Buttermilk works too! For a nondairy option, try using full-fat canned coconut milk. Avoid thinner liquids such as regular milk or almond milk—you’ll be headed down a one-way street to flat, dry scones.
- Egg: Binds ingredients together.
- Blueberries: For best results, use fresh blueberries. If using frozen, do not thaw.
In Photos: Making Lemon Blueberry Scones
You’ll start with the dry ingredients. Whisk those together with the lemon zest, then cut cold butter into the dry ingredient mixture. You can use a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or your hands. A food processor works too, but it often overworks the scone dough. We want to avoid that.
Success Tip: Use Frozen Grated Butter
Frozen grated butter is key to scone success. As with pie crust, work cold butter into the dry ingredients to create tons of flour-coated butter crumbs. When these crumbs melt as the scones bake, they release steam, which creates all the scone flakiness we love. The exterior becomes crumbly, crunchy, and crisp.
Refrigerated butter might melt in the dough as you work with it, but frozen butter will hold out until the oven. And the finer the pieces of cold butter, the less the scones spread and the quicker the butter mixes into the dry ingredients. I recommend grating the frozen butter with a box grater. Use the side with the larger holes.
After cutting the frozen, grated butter in with a pastry cutter, you’ll have a bowl of tiny flour-coated crumbles:
Place the bowl of dry ingredients in the freezer while you get your wet ingredients together. We want to keep things as cold as possible when it comes to making scones.
Now, whisk the wet ingredients together, then pour into the dry ingredients. Add the blueberries, then gently mix together:
Form the dough into a disc, then cut into 8 wedges.
Before baking, brush the scones with heavy cream mixed with water, and sprinkle with coarse sugar. This is one of my little scone tricks. These extras add a bakery-style sparkly crunch and beautiful golden sheen. 🙂
I know I sound like a broken record, but to obtain the desired flaky center and a crumbly exterior, you really have to keep the scone dough as cold as possible. I highly recommend chilling the shaped scones for at least 15 minutes before baking. You can even refrigerate overnight and then bake in the morning, for a quick and easy breakfast treat!
After they’ve chilled, bake the scones until just turning golden brown on top.
Video Tutorial
If you’re interested, I have a 5-minute video demonstrating the scone recipe. I’m making regular blueberry scones in this video, but the process is the same.
2-Ingredient Lemon Glaze
Lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar produce a sweet & tangy lemon icing. The icing seeps into the tops of the scones making these sunshine-y treats almost more than you can handle. They’re so good!!! Vanilla icing or lemon curd would be equally fabulous topping choices, too.
How lovely would a plate of these flavorful scones look on your table of Easter Brunch recipes, or for a special afternoon tea?
More Lemon Recipes
- Lemon Blueberry Cake & Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
- Lemony Blueberry Galette
- Lemon Bars
- Lemon Blueberry Babka
- Homemade Lemon Cupcakes
- Lemon Meringue Pie
- Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 large scones
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is my go-to scone recipe bursting with fresh blueberries and zingy lemon zest, and topped with a sweet lemon icing. These glazed lemon blueberry scones are soft and tender in the middle, with crisp-crumbly edges, and simply perfect for brunch, tea parties, bridal showers, or really any time at all! Read through the recipe before beginning; it’s imperative to keep the scone dough as cold as possible. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
- 6 Tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon zest
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, frozen
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon (135g/ml) heavy cream, cold and divided
- 1 large egg, cold
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 heaping cup (140g) fresh blueberries
- 1 Tablespoon (15g/ml) water
- optional for topping: coarse sugar
Lemon Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45g/ml) fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt. Using the large holes of a box grater, shred the frozen butter. Add the butter to the flour mixture and use a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers to blend until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. Place the bowl in the freezer before you continue.
- In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together 1/2 cup (120g/ml) of the heavy cream, the egg, and vanilla extract. Remove the flour mixture from the freezer. Drizzle the cream mixture over the flour mixture and add the blueberries. Gently mix together with a spatula or wooden spoon until everything appears moistened and the ingredients are just combined.
- Lightly flour a work surface. Pour the crumbly mixture onto the surface and, with floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can. The dough should be sticky and shaggy. If it’s too sticky, sprinkle a little more flour on top. Press the dough into an 8-inch disc, about 1 inch thick. Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut the disc into 8 wedges.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1 Tablespoon cream with the water, then brush it on the scones. For extra sweetness and a little crunch, sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar. (You can do this before or after refrigerating in the next step.) Place the scones on a plate or a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 24 hours. (If refrigerating for more than an hour, lightly cover the scones.)
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Arrange the chilled scones 2–3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 22–25 minutes or until lightly browned on top and golden around the edges. Cool the scones on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before icing.
- Make the lemon icing: In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle the icing over the scones.
- Store leftover scones covered tightly at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Box Grater | Pastry Cutter | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester | Bench Scraper | Brush | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper
- Sugar: These scones are sweet, but feel free to increase to 1/2 cup (100g) of granulated sugar for sweeter scones.
- Blueberries: For best results, use fresh blueberries. If you must use frozen, do not thaw.
- Freeze Before Baking: Freeze scone dough wedges on a plate or baking sheet for 1 hour. Once relatively frozen, they won’t stick together, and you can layer them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time. Or thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then bake as directed.
- Freeze After Baking: Freeze the baked and cooled scones before topping with icing. I usually freeze in a freezer-friendly bag or container. To thaw, leave out on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes.
- Overnight Instructions: Prepare scones through step 4. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Continue with step 5 the next day.
- Over-spreading: Start with very cold scone dough. Expect some spread, but if the scones are over-spreading as they bake, remove from the oven and press back into its triangle shape (or whatever shape) using a rubber spatula.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Came out super good! But I stored in a ziplock bag and they got soft 🙁 any tips?
Hi Bianca! Scones will lose their crispness over time. You can try wrapping them individually in plastic wrap before placing them in the zip top bag.
I just finished making these scones. The term “pour” on counter is impossible because the 1/2 cup cream is no where near enough to remotely bind the dough. I’ve been baking for over 34 years so I fully understand recipes. I had to keep adding more cream. They are in the oven now. We’ll see what turns out.
It was delizzzzzzzzzzzzz, my family loves it and it is my first time to make it, and I bromg some to my co-worker and they loved it. Thank you for the great recipe
Do you know the calorie count or nutrition facts on these?
Hi Michelle, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Great ! Thank u for the link… Do you know if stevia will have the same affect as sugar , on the step that says to brush with heavy cream mixture and sprinkle with sugar? I am so excited to make these today!
Hi Michelle, we wouldn’t recommend Stevia for sprinkling on top of the scones. You really need a coarse sparkling sugar with larger crystals/granules.
I’ve used this recipe for a while now and it’s incredible!!! I use Mexican vanilla for a hint of spice and make my own lemon curd for these; hits every single time.
I’ve made these several times with great results! I’ve also used orange peel and dried cranberries instead of the lemon blueberry combination. Then glazed them with orange juice and rind mixed with powdered sugar! Delicious!
These are delicious warm from the oven after they have been glazed. The next time that I bake these, I will probably add more lemon zest. The glaze is delicious, and I used the max recommended lemon juice.
I’ve made pastry and biscuits, but this was my first time making scones. They turned out just great! I made two small changes to the recipe. I added an extra 1/2 Tbsp of lemon zest to enhance the lemon flavor. I also just cut my frozen butter into tiny cubes instead of grating, then made sure to cut it into the flour thoroughly. I thought this would be easier than grating. Otherwise I made no changes, and the recipe was excellent. Honestly better than any scones I’ve had in a bakery!
A great recipe!!! Just sweet enough to satisfy the desire for something sweet, but not too sweet. I share these with a friend who recently had surgery and it just hit the spot. thank you
These are absolutely amazing. And any recipe that doesn’t require me lugging out my heavy standing mixer is a plus. Delicious and perfect with tea for breakfast!
So good! Was just looking for nutritional information too!
Hi Amanda! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I’ve made these amazing gems before! How do you double or triple this recipe?
Hi Brian, we’re so glad you enjoyed the scones! For best results, we recommend making separate batches rather than doubling/tripling, to prevent over or under working the scone dough.
These were delicious and surprisingly super easy to make! Will doubling the recipe allow me to make more at a time or will it ruin my scones all together?
Hi Colette! We recommend making multiple batches instead of multiplying this recipe. So glad you love them!
They were absolutely delicious, but they did not take an hour to make. More like 2 and a half hours, and grating that much butter was torture. If you’re up for the challenge though, they’re worth it.
I used my food processor to grate the butter. It was quick and painless! I made several batches of scones, so time was of the essence. Of course, then you have to clean it….
Absolutely perfect!!!
This Lemon Blueberry Scone recipe is definitely my new favorite ! Thank you
Hi! Can you omit the egg if we have an egg allergy in the house?
Hi Maggie, we haven’t tested an egg-free version of these scones, so we’re unsure of the best substitute. We wouldn’t omit it completely without a substitute, as it helps bind the dough together. Let us know if you give anything a try!
I took my time and kept everything cold before combining. Perfect balance of flavors. Thank you!
So delicious! I made them as mini scones and they turned out so well!
Hi – I have all the ingredients on hand except the heavy cream. Would half and half work ok? Anxious to try on this rainy day. Thanks
Hi Kim, that will work!
Hi can you make this without a pastry cutter? I don’t have one but have all the ingredients. Thanks !
Hi Cecilia, you can use two forks or your fingers instead!
I’ve never made a scone in my life and I really don’t like to bake, but these looked so good! This non-baker found this recipe very beginner friendly and they turned out great! Even though I couldn’t get my flour and butter to make “pea-sized” clumps it still worked great. Easy and clear instructions. Thank you!
awesome so good!! Best recipe
The edges were toasted and crumbly as advertised. Then your next bite is a tender, juicy ahhhhhh some delight. The lemon zest and vanilla play together really well. I’ve baked for a long time and never had scones growing up. The tip about freezing the butter and grating into the flour mixture was an angel’s singing moment!!!! Finally, I baked a scone that tasted and look exactly like the picture. Thank you for making me a better baker.
Can I substitute the sugar with honey or maple syrup
Hi Michele, that substitute would take a bit of recipe testing to perfect. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a scone recipe that is specifically formulated for using honey. Let us know if you find one you love!
These are delicious! Light and perfectly textured—my new favorite scone recipe! I only used about 1/4 of the glaze and found it to be plenty sweet but not cloying. I hate grating frozen butter, but my hack is using the KitchenAid grater attachment so I don’t have to do it by hand. Thanks for another winning recipe, Sally!
I have made these several times – one of the best scone recipes out there and I make scones quite often. Just delicious.
One tip. It is much easier to grate cold butter than it is frozen butter, so I grate cold butter and then freeze it. It takes a lot less effort.
Very very good, unfortunately they taste nothing like lemon even though I added lemon and lemon juice! But they do taste like amazing blueberry scones
Do I need to change the baking time if I want to make 16 small scones instead of 8 large ones?
Hi Sarah, for smaller scones, you can follow the baking time and directions from these rainbow scones as a guide.
Look no further if you’re looking for a delicious scone recipe! These are absolutely delectable. You’ll want to eat up every crumb.
Absolutely delicious. Followed the recipe and they came out perfect! Made these for work but my husband begged me to keep some her him…. they didn’t last 5 minutes!!
Hi Sally! Love everything of yours!
Question, can I use half and half instead of heavy cream? It’s all I have available to me at the moment. Thanks!
Hi Valerie! These scones really need the full fat heavy cream for best results.
Hello! I made the lemon lavender scones…they were fabulous! If I just wanted to make a lemon scone without blueberries would I need to change anything to the recipe?
Hi Wendy, you can leave out the blueberries!