These better-than-the-bakery blueberry scones are bursting with juicy blueberries. They’re buttery and moist with crisp crumbly edges and soft flaky centers. Crunchy coarse sugar and creamy vanilla icing are the perfect finishing touches!
Scones. You either love them or hate them. I used to fall in the latter category, passing on them in favor of muffins or quick breads. Scones can taste pretty dry, comparable to lackluster triangles of cardboard. No thanks.
But my opinion on scones took a total 180 a few years ago when I attended a cooking event in the Panera Bread test kitchen. Turns out that I’ve been eating all the wrong scones because when done right, these sweet treats sit tiptoe into a world of pastry perfection.
Since then, I mastered chocolate chip scones, ham & cheese scones, cinnamon scones, lavender scones, and strawberry lemon scones. I use the same master scone recipe for each flavor, a formula promising the BEST scone texture. By the way, I wrote an entire post devoted to my favorite base scones recipe. Today we’re making blueberry scones, which is definitely my favorite scone flavor.
There’s no denying these are the best blueberry scones on the planet. Strong statement, right? Trust me.
These Blueberry Scones Have:
- Sweet crumbly edges
- Soft, moist centers
- Crunchy golden brown exterior
- Buttery rich flavor
- An overflow of blueberries
- Mega vanilla icing drizzles
Let’s make them!
Blueberry Scone Ingredients
Nothing but basic ingredients coming together to produce something extraordinary. 🙂
- Flour: 2 cups of all-purpose flour is my standard amount, but set extra aside for the work surface and your hands.
- Sugar: I stick with around 1/2 cup of sugar for this scone dough. Feel free to slightly decrease, but keep in mind that the scone flavor and texture will slightly change.
- Baking Powder: Adds lift.
- Salt, Cinnamon, & Vanilla Extract: Add flavor.
- Cold Butter: Besides flour, cold butter is the main ingredient in blueberry scones. It adds flavor, flakiness, crisp edges, and rise. More on butter below!
- Heavy Cream: For the best tasting pastries, stick with 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 milk or almond milk—you’ll be headed down a one way street to dry, bland, and flat scones.
- Egg: Adds flavor, lift, and structure.
- Blueberries: Use fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen, do not thaw.
Before baking, brush the scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. These extras add a bakery-style crunch and beautiful golden sheen. Highly recommended!
Frozen Grated Butter
Frozen grated butter is key to blueberry scone success.
Like with pie crust, work the cold butter into the dry ingredients. The cold butter coats the flour. When the butter/flour crumbs melt as the scones bake, they release steam and pockets of air. These pockets add a flaky center, while keeping the edges 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. Remember, you don’t want to over-work scone dough.
I recommend grating the frozen butter with a box grater.
How to Make Blueberry Scones
Blueberry scones are a quick and easy breakfast pastry recipe. Since there’s no yeast, they go from the mixing bowl to the oven relatively quickly. First, mix the dry ingredients together. You need flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. 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. To avoid overly dense scones, work the dough as little as possible.
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. Form the dough into a disc on the counter, then cut into 8 wedges.
One of my tricks! To obtain a flaky center and a crumbly exterior, scone dough must remain cold. Cold dough won’t over-spread either. Therefore, I highly recommend you chill 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: Blueberry Scones
The scones are fantastic warm out of the oven, but taste even better with a drizzle of vanilla icing on top. The icing is totally optional, but you should never pass up the chance to accessorize! It seeps down into the cracks and crevices, adding even more sweet flavor. A dusting of confectioners’ sugar is tasty too!
More Essential Breakfast Recipes
PrintMy Favorite 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 better-than-the-bakery blueberry scones are bursting with juicy blueberries. 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
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, frozen
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream (plus 2 Tbsp 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 and vanilla icing
Instructions
- Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, 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 vanilla icing.
- Leftover iced or un-iced scones keep well at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- 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.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Box Grater | Pastry Cutter | Whisk | Rubber Spatula | Bench Scraper | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Pastry Brush
- 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.
Sally, these scones were amazing! … And the aroma from the oven as they baked was to die for! I can’t wait to make again.❤️ Thanks so much!
I used frozen blueberries and followed the recipe exactly! The hardest part was grating the frozen butter. My first attempt at making scones came out awesome! I will definitely be trying some of your other scone recipes. Thank you for all the great recipes with detailed instructions!
Ive never made homemade scones before, but I made these tonight and they were AMAZING! Super soft and not dry. I wish I could add a photo because they looked beautiful. I added lemon to my wet ingredients for some zest. Thank you for the easy instructions!
I tried this recipe and absolutely loved it! I am not savvy when it comes to baking and tend to mess up simple recipe’s but was so surprised this turned out well! The video did help so I appreciate it being there. Will absolutely be trying more!
Made as written, with a very generous cup of blueberries. Did not need more liquid or flour but I freaked out a bit when they spread like crazy in the oven. Place 3 inches apart is no joke! I was certain they were ruined but they turned out amazing. Texture is almost more muffin than scone. Delicious. Kids were nearly late to school because they hung around eating so many. This is a keeper!!
i’ve made these 3 times now, second time i made them vegan for my mom with Just Egg, coconut cream, and vegan butter and they turned out just as good!
You must have over measured the cinnamon, I’ve made these 2 times already they were perfect every time. I didn’t even taste cinnamon to be honest. If you don’t like cinnamon or have a sensitive pallet maybe that’s why but I find it’s the perfect amount.
How long does it take for the butter to freeze???
Hi Sarah, We usually freeze it overnight but a few hours would probably be ok. You want to make sure its frozen solid so that you can grate it with a box grater.
These were incredible. So crunchy and soft at the same time. I used frozen blueberries and followed the instructions as written. Will definitely make these again.
Hi,
This sounds amazing! I was wondering if i make them smaller in size, how long should they bake?
Hi Brandy, You can press the dough into two 5-inch discs and cut each into 8 equal wedges. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. You can see how we made rainbow sprinkle scones mini size!
I had no problem with frozen blueberries. I added 4 Tbsp of flour and mixed 1/4 cup of dry buttermilk to the cream. Added a smidge of lemon zest. Refrigerated as advised but did overnight, baked the scones next morning. They were great. Now I am going to do frozen cranberries with orange zest and top with cream cheese frosting. Thanks for the tips. PS you tipped flour in blueberries which I did.
These are better than the local bakery! I’m so addicted! I can’t wait to try the other varieties but I’ll have to pace myself or I’ll end up needing larger clothes! Just found your website and am loving it. Thank you.
Omg I made these this morning and they were AMAZING!! Best scones I’ve EVER had!
Can u use half and half in ave of whipping cream. My whipping cream is on its way out and I’m in the middle of recipe
Hi Sharon, half-and-half works in a pinch but the scones may spread a bit more.
It’s really tasty! But don’t know why the dough is very sticky before frozen, unlike yours. Is it because I have used buttermilk instead of heavy cream?
Hi Rebecca, this is certainly a sticky dough, but if you feel like it’s too sticky to work with, you can slowly add a bit more flour (1 tbsp at a time) to help it come together. What can usually be the issue is over-working the butter into the dough. Make sure the butter is extra cold– frozen & grated is best– so it doesn’t absorb all of the flour. Hope this helps!
This is an amazing scone. Grating and freezing the butter helped in not overworking the dough. I found wet to dry ratio just fine. Very moist in center, not overly sweet and perfect on outside. Next time I will make two smaller discs so to have more to eat and freeze. Going to try strawberry lemon next!
Your recipe turned out great … much lighter in the center as advertised. They were all eaten so quickly, not by me, that I’m making another batch today. Any reason why we can’t double or triple the recipe if we want to make them for a large group?
Hi John! For best taste and texture, we recommend making multiple batches instead of multiplying the recipe.
I’ll start by saying that I am a very comfortable baker and bake very often– I have never left a comment on a recipe…. but this recipe was a mess. The wet ingredient proportions are way off and I don’t think frozen blueberries should be used. My dough turned into a sloppy wet mess. I added more flour, tablespoon by tablespoon, and ended up adding almost an entire EXTRA CUP of flour and it still would not form into a dough. I managed to scrape them onto the baking sheet, and they melted into a puddle in the oven, wasting all of my ingredients. Very annoying.
I’m an inexperienced baker and this was a simple recipe.. it’s was a little to dry for me to form the scone and I put some more heavy cream in and it turned out perfect, it doesn’t get more easy than this.. just follow the directions lol.. my batch tasted way better than expected
Your scone recipes are my absolute favorite! Question about this one bc I simply love a blueberry lemon combo of flavors, could I sub the vanilla extract for lemon and maybe use some lemon zest with positive results? Thank you in advance!
Hi Melinda, here is our recipe for lemon blueberry scones. Hope you enjoy them!
I used fresh blueberries, and whole milk. Put them in the frig for 15 before baking. They turned out great.
Scones came out perfect! I’m gonna save this recipe. Thanks Sally!
The texture was not what I expected.
Can not wait to try this but I need the nutrition facts please
Hi Barbara, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients, and many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients. However, there are many great online calculators where you can plug in your exact ingredients like this one: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
These were delicious! Thanks for the tips. I chilled the disk for about 24 hours. Great recipe!
Hi. I am hosting a baby shower and want to serve a variety of scones. How would I shape and cut them into mini scones, and what would the bake time be? Thanks!!
Hi Lisa, To make 16 smaller scones, press dough into two 5-inch discs and cut each into 8 equal wedges. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
I made these Awesome Blueberry Scones tonite, turned out Perfect!!!
Used fresh blueberries, walnuts, also used buttermilk. I never made
Scones before, my neighbor gave my wife and I 4 scones when my wife
Was ill.. I had to make them, this old guy, 75 yrs old, very Proud Baker!!
Not sure what I did wrong. I followed the recipe to a T and my dough was too crumbly. I had a really hard time getting it to hold and form into a disk. Once formed in the the disk and cut I could not get them to come apart without falling apart. They are in the oven now so we’ll see but how can I get them to hold their form better.
Hi Lauren! How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. Thank you for giving these scones a try!
That exact thing happened to me too. My guess (based off other things I’ve baked) is that the amount of cream listed in recipe isn’t enough. The dough mixture was simply too dry and my dough came apart. I’m going to try it with more cream.
I’m experienced in baking scones, but these unfortunately did not work for me at all. I really made an effort to follow the steps (also the tips in the comments). The dough was very dry untill the blueberries started thawing the slightest, leaving the dough incoherent and soggy. All ingredients were frozen or chilled before starting. After coaxing the dough together the scones fell completely apart in the oven, with butter and blueberries all over. Maybe the recipe isn’t suited for frozen berries.
Hi Marie, frozen blueberries definitely let off more liquid and can make the dough seem extra wet. You can keep adding flour (about a tablespoon at a time) to help bring the dough together into a workable form. For next time, use an extra gentle hand when adding the blueberries and you can also try coating the frozen blueberries in 2 Tablespoons of flour should help prevent them from bleeding their color and bursting. Thanks for giving these scones a try!
I made them this afternoon, and they turned out fantastic. It is the first time I ever made scones, and rarely do any baking. There is one thing I did change though, and that was the amount of heavy cream I used. The mixture seemed too dry, so I added cream until it looked right to me. Great scones, thanks for the recipe!!!
Can I use evaporated milk instead of heavy cream?
Hi Percy, We haven’t tried it, but can’t see why not. The scones may spread a little more, but you could try adding another 1-2 Tbsp of flour to help.
My daughter has Celiacs so I had to make them with gluten free flour. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 flour and they were AMAZING! I’ve made them twice now and both times they came out great.
Sheri, I just happened to do the same thing as we’re simply trying to eat less gluten so I gave the BRM 1-1 a shot and you aren’t wrong. They are so good. I did use 1/2 less tsp of cinnamon and it’s still plenty. I love this recipe.
Excellent scones!