This is my go-to scone recipe packed with blueberries and topped with sweet lemon icing. These lemon blueberry scones are crumbly, yet moist and perfect for brunch, tea parties, bridal showers, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and so much more!
I originally published this recipe in 2015.
It’s only been a couple years since my scone love affair began. Before that, scones were nothing more than a dry crumbly triangle. I mean sure, scones are meant to be dipped into (insert hot beverage of choice here) but a pastry reminding me of cardboard never quite did it for me. Meh.
How appetizing has my writing been so far? Let me switch gears.
What I’m trying to say is: not all scones are created the same and with the right recipe, scones easily compete with muffins, quick breads, and even cinnamon rolls. These are the most delicious breakfast pastries!
All of my scone recipes begin with the same master recipe for scones. A few ingredients change based on flavor, but the process remains the same. This a careful formula brings us chocolate chip scones, blueberry scones, pumpkin scones, and so many more. It promises the BEST flavor and texture.
These Lemon Blueberry Scones Are:
- Sweet with crumbly edges
- Packed with juicy blueberries
- Filled with fresh lemon zest
- Crunchy golden brown on top
- Soft & moist in the centers
- Topped with lemon icing
If you can’t get enough of my lemon blueberry muffins, you’ll definitely love these scones also!
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Scones
These lemon blueberry scones are actually pretty easy. First, mix the dry ingredients together. You need flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and fresh lemon zest. Second, cut cold butter into the dry ingredients. 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.
Next, whisk the wet ingredients together. You need heavy cream, 1 egg, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the blueberries, then gently mix together. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries—if using frozen, do not thaw. Form the dough into a disc on the counter, then cut into 8 wedges. Before baking, brush the scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. This is one of my little scone tricks. These extras add a bakery-style crunch and beautiful golden sheen. 🙂
To obtain a flaky center and a crumbly exterior, keep scone dough as cold as possible. I highly recommend chilling the shaped scones for at least 15 minutes prior to baking. You can even refrigerate overnight for a quick breakfast in the morning!
After that, bake the scones until golden brown.
Video Tutorial
If you’re interested, I have a 5 minute video demonstrating the scone recipe. I’m making blueberry scones in this video, but the base recipe and process is the same.
Frozen Grated Butter
Frozen grated butter is key to scone success. As with pie crust, work cold butter into the dry ingredients. The cold butter coats the flour, creating 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.
The lemon icing is even easier than the scones. Sifted confectioners’ sugar + lemon ju… I’m sorry, have I lost your attention? Is that pile of grated butter up there too beautiful to handle? 😉
Lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar produce a sinfully sweet & tangy lemon icing. The icing seeps into the tops of the scones making these summer-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 with your Mother’s Day spread?
More Lemon Recipes
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Creamy Lemon Pie
- Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
- Strawberry Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
- Lemon Bars
- 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
These lemon blueberry scones are bursting with juicy blueberries and delicious lemon zing! They’re buttery and moist with crisp crumbly edges and soft flaky centers. Read through the recipe before beginning. You can skip the chilling for 15 minutes prior to baking, but I highly recommend it to prevent the scones from over-spreading.
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 (120ml) heavy cream (plus 2 Tablespoons for brushing)
- 1 large egg
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 heaping cup (140g) fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)
- for topping: coarse sugar
Lemon Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Whisk flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. See video above for a closer look at the texture. Place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.
- Whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, the egg, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour mixture, add the blueberries, then mix together until everything appears moistened.
- Pour onto the counter and, with floured hands, work dough into a ball as best you can. Dough will be sticky. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. If it seems too dry, add 1-2 more Tablespoons heavy cream. Press into an 8-inch disc and, with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges.
- Brush scones with remaining heavy cream and for extra crunch, sprinkle with coarse sugar. (You can do this before or after refrigerating in the next step.)
- Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (if your fridge has space!) and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. After refrigerating, arrange scones 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s).
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes before topping with lemon icing.
- Make the icing: Whisk the icing ingredients together. Drizzle over warm scones.
- Leftover iced or un-iced scones keep well at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 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.
- Freeze Before Baking: Freeze scone dough wedges on a plate or baking sheet for 1 hour. Once relatively frozen, you can layer them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time. Or thaw 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 the recipe the following 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.
Hi Sally, I look forward to baking these in the morning for my British-themed reading group tomorrow, but I forgot to pick up parchment paper. Should I butter or grease the baking pan? Or do you have another suggestion? I do have waxed paper, but fear it’s not hearty enough for a 400 degree oven. Thank you! Joan
Hi Joan! I’m glad to help, though I know my reply is a couple days late. I’m just seeing your question now. You can lightly grease the pan instead. Do not use wax paper.
I just finished baking these scones and tried a little piece. I don’t know how long these will last! They are delicious!!
I was thinking next time I’ll cut up the butter, freeze it and let the food processor do the work.
Hello,
Can you use buttermilk instead of heavy cream?
No cream in the house and I didn’t want to go to the store again.
Thank you!
Yes! A 1:1 substitution.
I love this recipe. I was hesitant to turn my oven on during this summer heat…but it was soooo worth it! I had 4 pints of fresh blueberries so I was looking for something different to do.
The scones were much lighter than I expected and the lemon zest was a great addition. The lemon icing is key!!! They were delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hi Sally! I baked these scones today and they were delicious (they tasted just like the lemon blueberry layer cake )! I baked 8 regular sized scones and one mini scone with the leftover dough. I found that the mini scone was a bit dryer and harder (I prefer scones this way) while the regular sized ones were softer and moister (like muffins). Next time I make these scones I’ll try baking mini ones, but are there any changes to the recipe I can make that will make the scones harder and less moist? Thank you for your help!
Hi Puja, You can replace some (or all) of the heavy cream with plain yogurt. That will create a thicker base and a denser scone.
After trying a few other scone recipes from other websites I thought I would try this one. Oh my, that was the best choice I’ve made in a while. This will be my go-to scone recipe now! It was delicious, and the lower sugar level was perfect with the icing. I wasn’t able to chill the dough since I only have a mini-fridge at the moment, but they still turned out great!!
I can’t wait to try all the other scone recipes on your website!
Made these after reading a zillion recipes and very happy I chose this one! Sooo good! We added lemon zest to the wet ingredients and they are soooo yummy! Everyone had 2nds!
Yes, yes, yes!!! So delicious. Lemony deliciousness. Mmmmmmmmmm.
I’m looking to incorporate some fresh thyme into these scones, I think it would make them more savory. At what step do you recommend I incorporate the thyme and about how much should I add? Should I change anything else about the recipe?
Thanks,
Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth, fresh thyme sounds like a delicious addition! We haven’t tested the recipe this way, but I’d start with 1 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh thyme- increase to your taste preference. Add it when you’re combining the dry ingredients together. Let us know how they turn out!
My first time making scones and I picked the right recipe. They were delicious! Followed recipe to the letter. You definitely get an arm workout grating the frozen butter, but the end results were well worth it. Bravo Sally!! This recipe is a keeper in my household.
This is a great recipe, and the accompanying video was really helpful. I used frozen blueberries and was a bit worried at how purple all the dough turned when it came together, but the scones turned out perfect.
I love your scone recipes and would like to omit the blueberries, would you alter the recipe in any way?
Hi KellyLou, You can leave the blueberries out without making any other changes. You might also enjoy this Master Scones Recipe for other flavor combination ideas.
How do you avoid the butter melting while you’re grating it?
Hi Vanessa, Make sure your butter is completely frozen. When using a box cutter if you find your hands are melting the stick try loosening your grip and/or moving your hand to hold only the back of the stick as you grate it.
Finally tried out this recipe after testing a few others. I loved the method of grating the butter, super easy! I used frozen wild blueberries (smaller, less moisture). One thing to note, because I was making this batch for a customer, I prepped and froze the cut scones 3 days in advance; they still turned out beautiful, and I think it helped reduce spreading of the dough when baked. The only thing I would change is to possibly reduce the sugar to 4 tbsp (I like things slightly less sweet). Thank you!
I immediately wanted to try this recipe when I first saw it! I worried about there being too much lemon, but I was definitely wrong. These scones were a major hit in my family; they said they were absolutely perfect! I will totally bake them again :).
Easy & delicious
Delicious! and so easy. Thank you for the detailed directions.
Absolutely the best. Watch the video. Thank you Sally.
So delicious and easy to follow! Thank you!
Sally,
I have made many of your scone recipes, and love them! I was looking to make lime coconut scones. Any suggestions ? How would I adjust the recipe?
Hi Carla! A coconut lime variation sounds delicious. I haven’t tested it, but to the dough I would add zest from 1 lime and 1 cup of sweetened shredded coconut. Use lime juice instead of lemon juice for the glaze. Let me know how it goes!
So incredibly good! I used half and half instead of heavy creamed and it worked perfectly! Also, I only had salted butter so I just didn’t use salt and it was still amazing!
These were yummy, even though they turned out purple!! Is it possible to use dried blueberries in place of fresh or frozen blueberries?
These are delicious! I used fresh picked blueberries and dusted them with a bit of flour, they didn’t turn the dough blue. I cut them in a circle instead of triangles. These were the best scones, keeping this recipe!
These are absolutely light and delicious! I did not have heavy cream, but used slightly past date skim milk and still came out flaky and tasty! Thank you!
Sally, why did we end up with purple scones? How can we avoid crushing the blueberries when we put the dough together? Help!
Hi Bea, Did you use frozen berries? They can certainly turn your batter purple.
Best scones I have ever tasted!!! I have tried a couple of your recipes and they are always precise and DELICIOUS!!!! I plan on trying many many more I have been talking about you and your recipes to my whole family. You are amazingThank you❤
These were FABULOUS and easy to make. I used fresh blueberries, that I had picked and fresh Meyers Lemons as well. A keeper.
Took my first try at scones with your recipe, 100% amazing and delicious.
Admittedly, I cut the recipe in half with no issues and they still turned out perfect. Printing and keeping this one in the recipe box for sure. Thank you!!!
Pretty delicious. I used whole milk rather than cream because it’s what I had and the scones turned out well. It’s blueberry season here so the scones are bursting with flavor. I really appreciate the “why to grate” butter that taught me the importance of the small bits of butter within the recipe, thank you for that.
Made these for tea! First time making scones, they were fantastic!