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.
Super yummy recipe. I did make a small error (definitely recommend reading the full recipe before starting ) and added the blueberries in half frozen and too early, so my dough was pretty blue… but the butter being cut through the dough actually reduced this through the bake! Thanks Sally!
at 400F these scones were almost burnt
I’ve tried this recipe twice with zero success. Grated my frozen butter, measured super carefully – both times ending up with triangles of barely risen dough swimming in butter in the pan, smoke filling the kitchen. Weird texture. Edible because, well…butter, sugar, blueberry lemon but that’s it. Not making these again. Waste of time.
These were great. I used buttermilk and frozen blueberries. I did add way more lemon juice in the glaze than what it called for. Next time I also might add a teeny bit more lemon zest in the recipe as I personally like more lemon flavor. Thank you for the recipe!
These are super lemony and delicious. I didn’t glaze them and they were just perfect. I made small scones using 2 dough balls, good thing there were so many because I had to give half to my son and DIL lol. I’ve tried several varieties of Sally’s scones and each was delicious. I’m going to use her basic recipe and add walnuts, chopped dates and grapefruit zest (I love grapefruit so much, I think this might work. I hope so anyway, grating frozen butter is not easy!)
Same thing as another reviewer – frozen fruit is a nightmare. Way too much moisture, they spread and got purple. I had to throw them out – really disappointing, I would probably not make these with heavy cream – a waste of fat. I would use yogurt, but honestly, I will never make these again.
Best scones ever. I have made these over and over for a few years now. They are so yummy .
I have made these scones multiple times and enjoy them every time! Make sure you are intentional about mixing so that everything is combined before you turn it out onto the counter! Such a good recipe that I always enjoy!
This is my go-to scone recipe. I use this as the basis for any flavor i’m making because this is such an adaptable recipe. I’ve done cranberry orange, coconut lime, dark chocolate chip, chocolate cranberry, strawberry lemon-aid and I will be trying a matcha green tea and almond version. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes!
Can you use freeze dried blueberries? I’ve tried fresh, today I tried frozen. Still purple. They are baking so they aren’t as rough as my first try but still purple. I covered the blueberries lightly in flour and put back in freezer too. I feel like the moisture messes my recipe up. You’re amazing, I’d love to perfect this 🙂
Hi Heather! Fresh berries will bleed a lot less color than frozen – just make sure to handle with care! We haven’t tested freeze dried blueberries, but fear the dry texture wouldn’t be the best in these scones.
These scones are amazing!!! I’ve made them several times since I came across the recipe. Just made a batch to share with my mom for her birthday. We all LOVE them.
I’m considering trying a batch with lemon and raspberry – has anyone tried this?
Hi Lisa, We are so glad you enjoyed this recipe! You can use raspberries here in place of blueberries. Just remember that over-handling the dough will cause the delicate raspberries to break, making your dough much too wet. Always handle with care. Or follow our recipe for raspberry almond scones!
if you dust your frozen blueberries with flour and put them back in the freezer until you need to add them to the batter, they less likely to bleed and turn your batter purple.
I LOVE your scone recipe – it gets me rave reviews every time I use it. All of your recipes are wonderful. I’m so thankful to you and your blog!
I recently moved to New Mexico which is pretty high altitude. The scones kind of spread more than rise… Any adjustment suggestions for high altitude baking?! Thank you so much, Sally! Happy Holidays 🙂
Hi Paul! I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Love these. Used frozen berries this time but worked out fine. Still in season prefer fresh. Great tip with grating butter
Thank you Sally for a great scone recipe! They got rave reviews with my family at Thanksgiving! I made them ahead of time, put them in my deep freezer and then baked them from frozen on thanksgiving morning. Took about 30 minutes in my oven. I loosely covered them with foil for the last 5 minutes so they didn’t burn. I was worried about baking from frozen as I had always just done the fridge but I think they were my best batch and I’ll freeze them from now on every time. Thanks again!
I’m sure there’s a comment about thins but I can’t seem to find lol. This is my fave recipe ever and so I’m making a batch for my painting class. I’m planning on making before and freezing before baking. How long do these last in the freezer?
Hi Cali, see recipe notes for freezing instructions — they’ll last for up to three months in the freezer. Hope they’re a hit with your class!
Another amazing recipe from Sally! I made these scones for the office, and they are always a big hit. I doubled the recipe, added a dash of nutmeg, and 2 extra tbsp of butter. Amazing with some tea!
This is an excellent recipe. I press the dough into an 8” tart pan, cut into 8 sections, wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next morning I recut the dividing lines, remove the tart ring, and slide the pieces onto the pan. The scones then have a decorative edge and it’s easy to mold the dough in the pan.
I know this is a few years old, but goodness, everyone loved these!!! I am not often a successful baker but your recipes always seem to work for me. My only substitution on the scones was using milk instead of heavy cream – fridge was empty. I worried this would affect the bake but they turned out great! Delicious.
Hi! Do you have an eggless version of these scones?
Hi Snehal, we haven’t tried an eggless version of these scones, but let us know if you do.
Wondering if I can substitute Casava flour for wheat flour or another gluten free flour in this recipe?
Hi Mary, we haven’t tested these scones with any gluten-free flours, so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you give anything a try!
Love this recipe. However I have to use 2/3 cup of heavy cream and the dough barely comes together. Other than that it’s the best scone recipes and I have tried so many recipes.
Berett
You can use frozen fruit, been doing it for years in other baked goods and breads. The secret is to keep frozen till the last minute toss fruit with a couple of spoonfuls of flour right before you mix into dough. It helps to keep juices in place if they pop open. It really works.
These are the perhaps the best scones I’ve ever had. The grating the frozen butter technique was pure genius! 10/10
These turned out great! I love the lemon and blueberry flavors together. I used buttermilk instead of heavy cream just because that’s what I had on hand and I don’t think it affected the recipe at all. The flavor was perfect. For the icing I actually used a cream cheese glaze and added some lemon juice to it instead of the traditional vanilla (4 oz cream cheese, 4 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 c. powdered sugar, and about 2-3 tbsp of lemon) and it was AMAZING! I think next time I might make smaller scones just so I don’t eat as many!! 😀
Simply Sublime! Thank you so much these are a hit happy baking ✌️
For your lemon cream cheese glaze- did you melt the butter? or just use softened?
Hi Sally, I have to make mini scones for 22 people this weekend can I double the recipe?
Thank you.
Angie Corrado.
Hi Angie, Yes! You can double the scones recipe or make 2 separate batches. Bake time will be shorter for mini scones. Enjoy!
Mine showed signs of burning with 8 mins left! 🙁 I’m in central coastal california so there isnt usually any elevation considerations for us.
Luckily I prepared two batches, second batch I lowered the oven to 350 and out of caution started with 15 mins. I ultimately ended up taking them out at 24 mins. So to conclude my adventure everything worked according to the recipe and time, but the oven temp needed to be 350 for Monterey CA. 🙂 Other than this issue, they’re amazing! 🙂 Thanks!
Made these a couple weeks ago, and I’ll make them again this weekend. These are the best scones I’ve ever had. I love love love lemon, so these were perfect. A particularly good way to use up blueberries. Moist, flakey and crispy edges, filled with blue goodness.
I love baking treats for work so I wanted to make these as mini scones . Do you know how many discs/size and baking time!
Hi Sharon, we make mini scones often. Prepare the dough, cut it in half to make two smaller disks, then cut each disk into 8 mini scones to have 16 mini scones total. The bake time is a couple minutes shorter. You can see these funfetti chip scones for detailed instructions. Enjoy!
All I can say is WOW! These turned out beautifully and were absolutely delicious! I will definitely be making these again! Can’t wait to try the other scone recipes!
I’m new to this “comment function”, so forgive me for not creating a new comment, but replying to this one. “Read through the recipe before beginning. “—-How I wish I had done this! It’s a bit ironic, that a person who typically does NOT first read through an entire recipe, does not notice this sentence, at the beginning of the recipe. Lesson learned!
On another note, I made the icing a blueberry-lemon icing, by crushing a few blueberries through a sieve, and adiing it to the lemon icing (a bit of extra sugar was needed as well, to thicken the glaze)