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
Print
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
Scones came out tasting pretty good but they spread out and flattened during baking. I followed all instructions and didn’t over work dough, any ideas on what I did wrong?
Hi Nicole, I’m glad you enjoyed the taste of the scones! Make sure you dough is as cold as possible – don’t skip keeping the dough in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes after you cut it into wedges. If it’s still over-spreading as they bake see recipe note #5 for my tips on how to fix it!
I made these for the first time, and they have a really good flavor to them. The only thing I have a problem with is moving them from the pastry mat to the sheet I cook them on. The ends always fall apart. Is there any way to fix this?
Hi Jen! Use a thin spatula to help transfer the un-baked scones to the baking sheet. That’s how I always transfer them. Then you can reshape them a bit with floured hands.
This blueberry scone recipe was deliciously awesome!! The video was very helpful. Not having heavy cream on hand, I used half and half and coconut milk, and yet the scones were perfect. Now I’m making the recipe again with raspberries instead. Thanks, Sally!
These were amazing! Thank you so much for another delicious recipe!
I am lacking the heavy cream. Do you think full fat plain yogurt would work? Thanks!
Hi Maryann, whole milk or buttermilk would be best. Do not use yogurt.
Wowza! Mine definitely spread! So glad that I checked them at 15 min mark and saw the note about pressing them back into shape. I really liked the techniques used in this recipe, esp the grated butter, as it made it pretty beginner friendly. Like the other notes said, these turned out huge. They are pretty tasty and had a nice crunch on top which i enjoyed. Id be interested in trying the savory sryle of these with cheese yum! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Sally.
How long do we freeze the butter for? Do you leave yours in the freezer overnight or just a few hours? Not sure how frozen the butter should be. Recipe looks great!
Hi Neta, I 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.
Would sour cherries work in place of blueberries?
I don’t see why not! Yum!
Sally, I have been using your Master Scone recipe for just about every variation imaginable, ever since finding you. They are such a huge hit, I am being volunteered to host scones at virtually every social gathering. hahaha! I have experimented with the recipe, using plain yogurt in place of the cream for a more dense scone, and it worked like a charm… thank you! I must share, I tried something very different: Blueberry & Rose! I used 1 c. frozen blueberry, and 1/4 c. organic food-grade rose petals crushed. Used 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp food-grade rose water. Topped with course sugar. I must say — They are amazing! A very tasty, savory surprise that everyone loved!
Now, I have a question — I am absolutely perplexed with this one: Every batch has been sheer perfection, in taste, texture, density…. and rise…. until the last two batches, and I cannot – for the life of me – figure out whats different! 🙁 The taste and texture is still phenomenal, but for some inexplicable reason, the batches are suddenly spreading far more than previously, and I haven’t changed a thing. Ideas? Does baking powder lose it’s luster that quick? I just cant imagine whats happening. I’ve noticed the problem seems exaggerated if I use a biscuit cutter, rather than the traditional triangle method. But I’ve been spacing them equally, so I’m at a loss. Thanks in advance for any direction you might be able to help with.
Hi Dee! I’m so happy you love these blueberry scones. They’re definitely my favorite too. The recent excess spreading could be a variety of factors, most notably the baking powder– try purchasing a fresh container to see if that makes a difference. If using a biscuit cutter, try freezing the shaped un-baked scones for 30 minutes prior to baking. Adding an extra 1 Tbsp of flour can help bulk up the dough to reduce excess spreading too. And, lastly, I always prefer to use fresh blueberries here. I hope all of this helps!
Wonderful! I made this for my Holiday Tea Party, and they are delicious! I used Paleo Baking Flour which is a combination of almond, tapioca and organic coconut flour & arrowroot starch. I did this due to being on a Keto diet – which is a low carb and zero white sugar diet. I also replaced 1/2 the sugar with Swerve (I thought it best not to replace all the sugar, since the texture of granulated sugar might be important, but I am not sure). Do you know of any reason I can’t sub all the sugar out for Swerve?
The only problem I had is these scones baked really large. I was too busy to watch them bake, or I would have taken them out to press back down. Grating the frozen butter was a challenge for me as well, but the moistness of the scone makes it well worth it. One of my guests had only eaten scones once, and she said those were very hard and dry. She loved these blueberry ones, and said they were totally different and delicious. My husband and I have been eating the leftovers every morning…thus I need to try your other scone recipes, and try switching out the flour and sugar to make them keto friendly and guilt free. Any advice in this would be greatly appreciated.
Bravo to you, your recipe helped me host a wonderful tea party! My friends are still thanking me and complimenting me on the food…
I made this new years morning (what you do on new years you do all year). I followed the recipe exactly. I liked the concept of grating the butter stick. I put the stick of butter in the freezer for 15 or 20 minutes while I organized the ingredients and mixed the dry ones. Everything came together well and I did not overwork the dough. I have made scones before, so I was a bit surprised when these lost their shape and spread out a bit. I didnt check them or try and reshape them during the bake. I read that later, and should’ve picked that up as a red flag. They still tasted great, with vanilla icing drizzled on them.
These came out huge, if I try this recipe again I would probably make the dough into two separate rounds and then cut them. I added the extra flour because the dough was very wet and sticky but the scones still came out pretty moist. More of a muffin consistency. Very delicious but not that crumbly scone texture. And I completely agree with the post above about the grated butter, wonderful idea but wear a glove or something, Came close to grating my finger off a few times.
Great recipe!! They turned out soooo good! I used 1/4 cup of sugar because my husband and I don’t like things to be too sweet. Will definitely be making this recipe again very soon!
I’d like to make these for my boss who loves blueberry scones for a Christmas gift, but I’d also like to make a blueberry scone jar to add to gift. Sally, do you have suggestions on how to use your recipe for a jar gift so he can make his own after eating the ones I make?
Hi Shaila! You can add all of the dry ingredients to a jar with a note or tag listing the remaining ingredients the recipient must add as well as the instructions.
Excellent recipe! I found the frozen butter hard to grate, so grated it from the fridge then froze it. These are huge, so for a party I cut each one again into three. Cooked them frozen, same timing, no spreading, came out perfectly. Thank you!
Mine turned out purple. Next time I ll wait to add the frozen blueberries
OMG I followed your recipe and instructions exactly for these blueberry scones. I baked yhem for 20 minutes. Let me tell you these things are to die for. They are better than the ones I had in England for high tea.
I made these last month using a food processor to cut in the butter, and they were very good. I though freezing and grating the butter sounded like too much trouble.
Made again today using frozen grated butter, and WOW, what a difference! Might also have to do with working the batter less overall (mixed in wet ingredients in until barely combined and kneeded a few times on the board to totally incorporate) but these were the most perfectly light, delicious scones I’ve ever made! I usually don’t like them warm because they are too heavy, but I see now that’s because they were too heavy in general. You made me a hero with my family, Sally, thanks!!!
Amazing!!!
So fun using this recipe! First attempt came out delicious and just in time for holiday sharing. I will be making these for all of my friends and family.
I am a pastry Chef doing this for 12 years and my son needed a recipe for scone and this is by far the best one and easiest to make! Thanks
I baked these yesterday and they were PERFECTION. It was a hit, and I just received text messages how perfect they were for breakfast this morning! This recipe is a keeper!
Thanks so much for this awesome recipe! Came out perfect. Going to give your cinnamon ones a go next!
I didn’t think I liked scones. Apparently I just don’t like bad scones.
These are delicious!
Best blueberry scones ever. Amazingly delicious. I did use GF flour (Cup4Cup), so added an extra 1/4 cup of heavy cream for the right consistency. Perfection.
A lot of work for very sticky and bland scones. I will never make these again.
Sally:
When I make biscuits, I chill the buttermilk in the freezer for 10 – 15 and then I add the cooled melted butter and stir until clumps form and then add to the flour mixture. This way I don’t have to cut the butter into the flour. Would this method work in your scone recipe?
Hi Fran! I haven’t personally tried it, but you can certainly give it a go. Have extra flour handy in case the dough is extra wet. Let me know how they turn out!
Fabulous flavor, incredible texture. Excellent in every way!
These are AWWWWMAZING…
Lighter than the scones I get at the bakery. Crisp edges soft buttery centers.
I didn’t have heavy cream so I used vanilla coffee cream instead and omitted the vanilla extract.
For the glaze I used about 1/4 cup confectioners sugar and a drop of lemon oil with grated orange rind. Mix with more vanilla coffee cream until you reach desired consistency.
So good…I ate 1/2 of them myself…shhhh don’t tell my husband;-)
Made this for my first ever batch of scones and they have a been a huge hit at work this morning, I am super pleased with how they turned out! My question is – would there be any reason I couldn’t make 2 discs of dough and cut each into 8 for 16 smaller scones? Or even 3/24? People had to share today (which is fine – it’s not like anyone is starving lol) but I like the aesthetic of minis.
Hi Tonya, I’m thrilled that they are such a hit! Yes, I make mini scones all the time by doing just that. The bake time will be slightly shorter. Enjoy!
I made these today with organic whole wheat pastry flour and a monkfruit xylitol substitute for the sugar, but otherwise followed the recipe to a T. They turned out great!
It was my first time making scones and your video was soooo helpful for following along.
I am loving your blog Sally! I love the way you explain the purpose of the ingredients and why you’re suggesting certain steps – I’m not just completing recipes, I’m learning and becoming a more confident cooker!
It’s encouraging me to try so many new things!