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!
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos and a video tutorial.
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 tiptoe into a world of pastry perfection.
Since then, I mastered chocolate chip scones, apple cinnamon 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.
One reader, Rich, commented: “Sally, I would like to say thank you! These pastries were awesome. I was expecting a dry and pale flavor that I usually get from scones. These blueberry scones absolutely melted in our mouths. I can’t say enough about the recipe. One word for these—AWESOME! I am going to try more of your recipes, and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed. ★★★★★“
These Blueberry Scones Have:
- Crisp, 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, 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 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.
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 or pat of homemade honey butter is tasty, too!
More Essential Breakfast Recipes
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My 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, 2 forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. See video 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 the 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.
- 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 up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 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 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 the recipe the following day.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Box Grater | Pastry Cutter | Whisk | Silicone 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 use a spatula to press back into shape, then return to the oven to finish baking.
Looking to make smaller scones but I love this recipe. If I make 2 discs from the same batch and have 16 little scones what would you recommend for the bake time?
Hi Danielle, you can follow the baking time and directions from these mini rainbow scones as a guide. Enjoy!
I was looking for a fluffy blueberry scones, tried this and they are delicious, good crumbly,. soft texture, but it only spread wider than rising up, looks like a big fat cookies, so I wanted the scones look rather than a cookies, but I must say this recipe is very yummy.
This one didn’t work for me. I followed the notes and reviewed comments re:chilling prior to baking. I put them close together, but they still spread like crazy and looked nothing like the photos. I have successfully made other scone recipes before, but this one didn’t work out.
Hi Vharriet, I’m sorry you had trouble with this recipe; we’re happy to help troubleshoot. Make sure all of your ingredients are very cold. We recommend using frozen butter. You can even place your bowl of flour in the refrigerator. 15 minutes is the minimum we recommend chilling the dough but you can chill it longer–up to overnight. Expect some spread, but if the scones are over-spreading as they bake, remove from the oven and press back into its triangle shape using a silicone spatula. You can also try adding 2-3 extra Tbsp of flour to the dough as well. Hope this helps for your next batch!
Sounds like there was too much cream. The dough should be just shy of crumbling. I used a cheese cloth to form my disc and it was just wet enough to hold shape. Cut it into 8 triangles and they were perfect
I just made these and they came out just fine except I think the cinnamon is way too overwhelming
I am not much of a baker and had never made scones, but this recipe was great and mine were delicious! They did spread a little, but I did what was recommended and pushed them back into shape. I will chill them longer next time before baking. I did not use the icing as I don’t like it and they were still fabulous. Will make again. Would like to know the measurements/ingredients to make a heart scone: cheddar, spinach/feta, ham, etc.
Hi Aimee, we’re so glad you enjoyed these! For a savory scone, we’d follow these ham and cheese scones. You can definitely play around with the flavors, add-ins, cheeses, etc. Let us know what you try!
I rarely bake. Mine were not nearly as nice looking as these. The flavor however is fantastic and if you make them you need the icing. Sends them over the top
Hi! I haven’t tried the recipe yet but I’m wondering if you know how many minutes should I bake if I use frozen blueberries!
When i baked your dark chocolate & raspberry cake, I had to bake longer using frozen raspberries, which turned out sooo good!!!!
Thank you:))
Hi Eunsol, bake time should be just about the same, maybe a minute or two longer. Enjoy!
I made these with the blueberries and they were excellent so I tried raspberry and they spread out very flat. Then I tried them with raisins and they went very flat again. Could I be putting to much cream on top?
Hi Maggie, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. Make sure all of your ingredients are very cold. You can even place your bowl of flour in the refrigerator. 15 minutes is the minimum we recommend chilling the dough but you can chill it longer – up to overnight. 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 silicone spatula. You can also try adding 2-3 extra Tbsp of flour to the dough as well. Hope this helps for your next batch!
Can this recipe be doubled pretty easily? I want to make two kinds of scones (blueberry and butterscotch) with the same base and was hoping I could just double the recipe and split when adding the mix ins.
Hi Ana, for best results, we recommend making 2 separate batches rather than doubling.
Amazing detailed recipe. It turned out beautifully for my first time. Thank you! Wondering if you also have advice for making an egg-free version? Planning a party and have some kids with allergies.
Hi PJ, we’re so glad you enjoyed them! We haven’t tested an egg-free version of these scones, but let us know if you do any experimenting.
These blueberry scones were so much better than any I have ever had – either in a store or made by my scone loving Aussie friend. And they disappeared too quickly to get photos of. One hint, I put the box grater in the freezer with the butter and rested my metal bowl in a larger bowl with ice when combining the dough. 🙂
I’ve tried many scone recipes and haven’t liked any of them. This recipe though turned out so beautiful and the flavor and texture was wonderful! I used frozen berries and since your recipe called for an overly generous 1 cup of berries, I used 1 1/2 cups. Since they were frozen, I didn’t have a problem with smashing them as I folded them into the batter. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly and did put them in the refrigerator for 20 minutes so they didn’t spread in the oven. I sent a picture of the finished product to 2 friends and they both want the recipe! You did a great job with this recipe—thank you!!
I was not sure about the scones. Made then carefully reading the recipe. They WERE AMAZING. THANK YOU.
Great recipe, even though mine spread quite a bit. I’m baffled because I followed everything to a T and kept it all cold. Not too worried though as everyone still devoured them! My question is…If I wanted to make more of a smaller scone, like a 2-3 bite, would the baking time still remain the same or shorten? I would shape them into tinier triangles and worry they might over bake. Any suggestions?
Hi Carrie, for smaller scones, you will want to decrease the bake time a bit. You can use our sprinkle scones (which forms them into 16 scones rather than 8) as a guide. Glad they were a hit!
These look great and I’m anxious to try making some! My question is related to longer term storage of finished scones. Can they be frozen for some time and still be (relatively) good? Thanks!
Hi John, yes, absolutely. See Freezing After Baking instructions in the Notes. 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. Top with fresh icing.
Can you freeze the scone dough before baking? And then just bake them whenever
Yes, absolutely. See Freeze Before Baking in the Notes.
Just made these, today! Super light and fluffy on the inside, with a nice crunch on the exterior. I did not have heavy cream, so I substituted fresh liquid whey 1:1. I also added the juice of 1/2 a lemon, and baked at 400°F for about 18 minutes. My dough was pretty sticky, so i added about an extra 1/4 cup flour. Chilled for about 25 minutes prior to baking. The most challenging part of this recipe was trying to fold in the fresh blueberries without crushing them. 10/10 would make again!