Introducing Lemon Blueberry Scones. They’re crumbly and fresh. Full of ripe blueberries, zesty lemon adds fun. You’ll enjoy a bit of tang with a lemon glaze. Perfect for warm spring and summer days.
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved scones. Back when I was just nine, I’d always pick the chocolate chip ones. No surprise, right? Any nine-year-old would jump at the chance to eat chocolate! But these days? I’m all about the fruity ones.
I first attempted to make these Lemon Blueberry Scones when I was a college senior dreaming of owning a bakery. Getting it just right took me countless tries in my tiny kitchen. But, eventually, I perfected the recipe!
After several trials and mixing numerous elements, I discovered my ideal scone formula. Same mix I currently utilize for nearly all my preferred scone preparations. Definitely, it’s one to keep. ☺️
More Reasons to Love This Recipe:
- it’s made with fresh blueberries and fresh lemons
- it uses simple ingredients, most of which are probably already in your pantry
- Scones are an ideal choice for breakfast, brunch, or as an afternoon snack. In fact, they are versatile enough to be enjoyed at any time of day
- they’re so moist! Scones are notoriously dry and these ones are perfectly moist and flaky.
Ingredients For This Recipe:
Scone Dough
- lemon zest: lemon zest is a really important way to get real lemon flavor without adding any extra liquid.
- granulated sugar
- all purpose flour
- salt
- heavy whipping cream: this gives the scones a nice rich texture
- baking soda
- cold unsalted butter: unsalted butter lets you control the salt content in your baked goods
- egg
- fresh blueberries: Don’t worry if you don’t have fresh blueberries on hand, frozen ones work just as well. Add them straight from the freezer into the scone mix. Why? It helps prevent too much juice flowing into your dough.
Glaze:
- lemon juice
- lemon zest
- powdered sugar
How to Make These Lemon Blueberry Scones From Scratch:
- Prep:Pull out all ingredients for this recipe and preheat the oven.
- Sugar and Zest: Combine the sugar with the lemon zest. The zest lets out loads of taste when directly blended with sugar. This boosts the lemony kick in the scones.
- Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients together (including lemon sugar).
- Cold Butter: Start by chopping the butter into tiny squares. Then, with a pastry cutter or a stand mixer, blend it with the dry ingredients. Keep going until the butter looks like small, rough crumbs.
- Wet Ingredients: Mix the egg with the thick cream. Next, merge the dry components with the liquid ones. Stir it until your dough is lightly formed.
- Blueberries: Blend in ripe blueberries with care until they’re linked with the dough (it’s okay if the berries burst while you’re combining them).
- Scones: Unroll the dough onto a dusted surface. Don’t worry if it feels a bit crumbly. Shape it into a disk. Slice into triangle portions. Lightly coat the top of every scone with rich cream. It enhances their toasty brown appearance.
- Bake.
- Glaze: Whisk lemon juice, lemon zest, and powdered sugar together. Drizzle over the scones.
Baking Tips to Making Homemade Scones:
How to Avoid Dry Scones:
- Excess flour: Too much flour can make scones too dry. Make sure you level and measure your flour.
- Too little butter: Not enough butter can change the texture of your scones. You need the right amount of butter (and cold butter!) to make flaky, tender scones.
- Not enough liquid: If you don’t have enough heavy cream, your scones won’t be moist.
- Glaze your scones! It adds extra flavor and locks in moisture.
How to Avoid Wet Scones:
- Excess liquid:Excessive liquid can result in overly moist scones. Exercise caution when incorporating the blueberries into the dough, aiming for a gentle mixing. If you’re too forceful, the blueberries may become overly crushed, leading to an excessive release of liquid.
- Warm Butter: You really want to work with cold butter. The warmer the butter, the wetter and flatter your scones are going to be. Cold butter makes puffy, flaky layers.
- Over Mixing: Be careful not to over mix your dough. Working the dough too much will warm the butter and it will make for flat, wet scones.
Storage and Freezing Tips:
How to Freeze Scones:
- With these lemon blueberry scones, you have a couple of choices:
- Here’s a tip: pop your dough in the freezer before you bake it. Transform the dough into triangle shapes first. Next, scatter them across baking sheets that have parchment paper. Flash freeze these babies for about 45 minutes. Then, shift them into a container that’s freezer-friendly. They’ll be okay in there for up to 3 months. Feel free to bake them straight from the freezer. But, if you prefer, you can wait until they’re room temperature first.
- Once baked, you can freeze scones even without glaze. Just place these doughy delights in a container that’s safe for freezing, and they’ll last for 3 months. Try flash freezing, too, it’s a nifty trick that stops the scones from gluing together. Want to enjoy them warm? Pop them in the oven or heat them up in the microwave.
How to Store Scones:
- Here’s a simple storage guide for your baked scones. Use a sealed container, and you can leave them out for a day or two if your home is cool. If not, put them in the refrigerator. Serving them? They’re good chilled, as they are, or warmed up.
FAQ’s
Can I substitute milk for the heavy cream?
- Regrettably, it’s not possible. The recipe requires heavy cream. Milk just isn’t thick enough, so the scones won’t come out with the correct texture.
Can I use lemon extract instead of lemon juice?
- No, lemon extract is too strong. It tastes like fake lemon oil, like how lemon cleaner for wood smells. Use just lemon zest and lemon juice instead.
Can I Use Frozen Blueberries?
-
- For sure! Fresh blueberries are my top choice if available, but the frozen kind works too. My advice is to add them straight from the freezer into your scone mix. Doing so stops them from releasing too much liquid into the dough. You see, once thawed, frozen berries hold more water than their fresh counterparts.
Final Baking Tricks and Tips:
- Parchment Paper:Place parchment paper on your baking sheets—it ensures a quick clean-up! Expect the blueberries to pop open during baking, which can leave tough stains on baking sheets.
- Fresh lemon zest and juice:For a rich lemony flavor, never neglect the lemon zest. Shun the use of lemon extract; it delivers an artificial taste. Stick to lemon juice alone.
- Brush scones with heavy whipping cream before baking in the oven. It gives them a golden brown crust!
- Let the glaze harden on top of the scones completely before serving.
Other Scone Recipes to Try Next:
Lemon Blueberry Scones
Dive into the yummy tastes of ripe blueberries and tangy lemon bits in these crumbly Lemon Blueberry Scones. Topped off with a zingy lemon topping, these scones are a perfect munch for lively spring and summer days.
Ingredients
Scones
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest (seems like a lot, but very necessary to get lemon flavor)
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 cup fresh blueberries (or frozen in the winter months)
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, plus more for brushing
Glaze
- 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- 1.Preheat oven to 400 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 2.Mix granulated sugar and lemon zest together until combined.
- 3.In the bowl of a standing mixer (or a large bowl if you don't have a standing mixer), mix flour, baking powder, and salt together. Next, add in the lemon sugar.
- 3.With a pastry cutter, a fork, or your standing mixer, work the cold butter (a few pieces at a time) into the flour mixture, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- 4.Mix heavy whipping cream and egg together, and slowly drizzle into the scone batter while stirring gently. Stir just until combined.
- 5.Lastly, add in the blueberries and fold in gently. (Some of the blueberries might open up as they're mixed; that is fine.)
- 7.On a floured surface, turn out the dough and pat into a 1-inch thick circle. Cut the dough into eight equal triangles.
- 8.Carefully place each scone on your baking sheet and brush with additional heavy cream (just a little bit--it gives the scones a nice golden color).
- 9.Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until scones are golden brown on top.
- 10.While the scones are cooling, mix together lemon juice, powdered sugar, and zest. Once combined, drizzle the glaze over the scones.
- 11.Allow the glaze to set before serving. Enjoy!
