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: For best results, use fresh blueberries. If you must use 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 blueberries
- 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
- Blueberries: For best results, use fresh blueberries. If you must use frozen, do not thaw.
- 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally,
If I wanted to make these with blueberries and chocolate, how much of each should I add? Thank you!
Hi Roxana! You can replace some of the blueberries with chocolate chips, keeping the total amount of add-ins to about 1 cup.
The Best scones! Do you have the nutritional information?
Hi Deborah! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
I made these tonight and they were perfect. Crisp top, not too sweet, light and slightly crumble inside. So good!
Love these scones. Will use a bit more cream the next time as the dough was dry. Didn’t want to work it too much. Can you tell me the nutritional value?
Hi Gail, thanks so much for giving these scones a try! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
My FAVORITE scones. Perfect balance of crispy on the outside and softer on the inside. We used lemon drizzle on top. This is definitely going in the family cookbook.
We’re so glad you love these scones, Ash!
I’m 15 years old (and not an extraordinarily experienced baker), and decided to try and make scones for my mother’s birthday tomorrow. I followed the directions as stated and they turned out amazing! I really like the trick with the grated and frozen butter, it prevented the dough from being too oily or sticky. I used fresh blueberries because I read reviews of everyone’s scones being purple if they used frozen ones. Thank you for this recipe!
Update: she loves them, thank you so much. I wanted to bake something for my mother and I’m so happy that these turned out well.
This is a fabulous recipe. The scones were the lightest I have ever had, a huge improvement over the ones bought in coffee shops. I used half and half in the recipe, but other than that, I followed her directions exactly and could not be happier with the results. The only problem is keeping myself from devouring them immediately!
Love these scones! I have started seeing many of Sally’s recipes lately, all delicious! I must admit to being a typical man in the kitchen, I like simple recipes, nothing too fancy. I didn’t grate the butter, just used it straight from the fridge. Didn’t freeze or refridgerate prior to baking. I pretty much mixed them up and put them in the oven. Despite my efforts to mess them up they turned out perfectly delicious!
Would I be able to replace the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour or a mix of the two? Thanks 🙂
Hi Alex, whole wheat flour will dry out these scones. We recommend starting with an even mix of all purpose and whole wheat.
Sally, ever since I found your scone recipe I’ve been making so many variations. Right now I have a cherry and chocolate batch baking. Crossing fingers they come out perfect, lol. Every variation I’ve made so far has turned out beautifully so as nervous as I am about these (they’re bursting with fresh cherries) I have hope, lol. I’ll come back to edit my comment as soon as I know how they come out. I know for me it’s helpful when others do the same…
Edit… Sally they came out beautifully!! Omgee. They are SO good. I did add a tsp of cinnamon to the batter. All 3 flavors come shining through. My cherries happened to be sour. With the sour cherries, the sweetness from the semisweet chocolate and the cinnamon coming through at the end? Oh, they’re lovely. I’m so proud of myself, lol. I’m not sure which flavor/s I plan to do next but I definitely have plans to do so, lol. Thanks for such an amazing recipe/base recipe…
Fantastic, and delicious recipe. Super easy to follow, and not time consuming. If you want delicious scones that look like they came from the bakery, you should definitely try this recipe.
May I know why my blueberries turned sour after baking?
I have always shied away from making scones. My past couple experiences were not very encouraging ……until now. These were easy and quick to make. They were buttery, didn’t spread and weren’t too sweet. The frozen blueberries did have the inside very purple. Perhaps next time we can use fewer? But overall, very delicious.
Hi Arlene, so glad you loved these! It is very difficult for frozen berries to not bleed their color. Make sure they are fully frozen (do not thaw) and fold them in very carefully!
These were wonderful! Easy to make, even with a 2 and 5 year old in the mix. I used half and half cream and it worked just fine.
Love your scone recipe in general and this is my first time trying with blueberries. After 25 min there was a lot of moisture bubbling around the scones! I wonder if it’s the blueberries? Or maybe I brushed too much cream on the top before baking? Thanks for all your great recipes!
Been making these since 2018, and everyone raves about your recipe. I just baked a batch for a housewarming party for my new next door neighbor.
First time and was a huge success. Came out perfectly and honestly the best scones I’ve ever had!
I used frozen blueberries and they turned the dough so purple! Not really ideal, but they taste good. I also don’t really love the ratio of dough to blueberries though, it is a bit much for me.
Fantastic scone! My first time making scones from scratch and these tasted like perfection! I followed the directions carefully only I chilled the dough overnight so they would be fresh baked in the morning and I also used 1-2 tbsp more heavy cream in the dough since mine came out a bit dry and crumbly. Used the vanilla icing drizzle on top – so good!
What is the best way to save the abundance of scones for a period of several days?
Hi Chris, you can keep them tightly covered at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days. Or, for even longer storage, see recipe notes for freezing instructions.
I’m 16 years old and I made these for mother’s day. It was my first time making scones. I was a little scared during the kneading process because my dough was very sticky/wet. I gradually kept adding flour and eventually it finally shaped up. These were so good and my mother loved them, thank you!
I have made these at least 15 times over and every time they are divine! Thank you for the wonderful recipe. It is a staple in our home and my 2 y/o and 1 y/o absolutely LOVE them!
I find using very large blueberries gives these an extra burst of flavor!
Thank you so much!!!
We’re so glad you love them, Jenna!
I’ve made this receipe numerous times, and it is delicious! However, my scones spread like crazy even with trying all your tricks. They were in the fridge for a half hour prior to baking. What could I be doing wrong? They still taste delicious!!
I leave my scones overnight to make them in the morning. They turn out delish!
Super. Refrigerating dough and grating frozen butter is key !! Wonderful. I did bake them a little longer
This is my favorite scone recipe and the trick with grating frozen butter ensures a nice pastry.
These scones are absolutely delicious! As a Brit, I usually split the scones and put butter on them but these don’t need that. They are so moist and go beautifully with a cup of tea!
Is there a trick to making to dough less moist with the berries?
Hi Tracy, you can try reducing the heavy cream down to 6 Tablespoons in the dough.
These were supremely delicious! I was expecting them to be a bit more crisp on the outside, but there were still sooo good!
I have been skeptical about scones for decades, but your enthusiasm and insistence that these are good made me adventurous and I decided to give it a try.
THESE ARE AMAZING. I can’t stop raving about them to literally everyone. I can’t wait to try them with literally every fruit I can get my hands on. Spices, too. Pumpkin. Chocolate Cranberries. EVERYTHING.
Thank you so much!
This is a great recipe Sally. I’ve never made scones before and now I can’t stop making them, lol. So far I’ve made them using fresh strawberries and blueberries. The batch of blueberries I used were bursting with so much flavor. I also made the cinnamon scones using the chips from Hershey’s. I used their recipe though. I just wanted to see if the texture was going to be different. Then yesterday I made scones using fresh cherries that I had frozen. I did use some cinnamon but only 1/2 tsp. I also used 1 tsp of vanilla and 1/2tsp of almond extract. I chopped up some baking chocolate to add as well. They were FANTASTIC!! So much so that I’m going to make the same flavor profile again. As for the cherries. I tried to get as much of the moisture out as I could before tossing/then letting them sit into 2tbsp flour and 1tbsp of sugar. That made dealing with the dough so much easier. The next flavor profile I’m going to take a stab at will be a coconut and pineapple scone. Can’t wait to see if/how those are going to turn out . Thanks again. You never let me down Sally…
These were my first try at scones and I followed instructions but they still kind of spread, plus I cut them unevenly. They are ugly but DELICIOUS! I absolutely loved them fresh out of oven with light drizzle of icing. Very excited to try again and share with family. This won’t last long in my house!