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, I recently found your website and have loved your recipes! I was wondering when baking the blueberry scones, what do I do if the blueberries start to bleed onto the pan while in the oven? Should I take them out to clean up the mess surrounding the scones before they’re done or should I wait until the baking is done? My only concern is if the extra liquid leads to burning. Thank you for all the great recipes and tips!
Thank you, Karina! I’m so happy you are here! I don’t recommend opening your oven door during the bake time if you can help it. Doing so will let cool air in, which interrupts the baked good from cooking and/or rising properly. Just make sure you are using a silicone mat or parchment paper to line your baking pans.
Is it possible to use this recipe to make mini blueberry scones?
Hi Amy, happy to help! I make mini scones often. Prepare the dough, cut it in half to make two smaller disks, then cut each disk into 8 mini scones to have 16 mini scones total. The bake time is a couple minutes shorter. You can see my funfetti chip scones for detailed instructions. Enjoy!
I made these yesterday last minute for my friends. It worked out perfectly, but they didn’t brown on the top and side, just a bit on the bottom. They were delicious though, and I am sticking with your website Sally. Every recipe I try on this website works out so well. I want to make the cheesy spinach quiche and the perfect sugar cookies next. Thank you so much Sally! I will not change scone recipes.
Loved all the extra tips and tricks for keeping the dough cool and maintaining shape! I only had blackberries on hand, but followed everything else. Came out great!
Hi Sally,
Today, I made your scones, and I thought the flavor was amazing! Everybody in my family loved them! The only thing is, my dough turned purple and did not look as nice as yours, since the blueberries I used got all mashed up. I followed the recipe, but I added wild frozen blueberries which were really small, instead of using fresh blueberries, which may have contributed to the fact that the dough got watery and purple. Is it easier to add fresh blueberries instead? And if not, is there a trick to prevent the frozen blueberries from mushing together? Thank you so much, and I will for sure bake these again!
Hi Anna, I’m so happy they were a hit with your family! Fresh berries are easier to mix in the dough but frozen berries definitely work too. With frozen berries do not thaw them but your dough will still be be more purple.
Hi sally,
I’m in highschool and wanted a nice breakfast to make for my family and these are just perfect! I’m writing this as the first batch are in the oven, but the batter tasted amazing so I’m sure they’ll be great!!
Thank you for such clear steps
PS- I found your webpage during the and Plan to make you apple pie from scratch later today!
I have had great scones but more often than not dry and not very flavorful. I’ve often dreamed of the great ones and these are awesome! I added a little extra heavy cream as the mix was very dry. They stayed in the freezer for about an hour. The results were a little spreading but the crumbly exterior with the moist interior was the best scones I have ever had! Without thinking I added the fresh blueberries before mixing the dry and moist ingredients. Next time I will mix those then fold the blueberries in.
I made these today for a tea party with my kids. They turned out so good! I didn’t have cream so I used sour cream, and they were very yummy. I will definitely try them with cream though when I can get some.
I love the simplicity and ease to this recipe. One thing I would highly recommend is not using frozen wild blueberries, the very small ones. It makes the dough very wet (not thawed).
This is the best bluberry scone recipe ever. Everyone that has tasted it has gone nuts over it
for some reason, it won’t tell me how much to put in for some ingredients. For the blueberry scones
Hi Sally,
I just made these scones and they are Amazing!!!! I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful they are! The flavors of the cinnamon and vanilla extract come together very nicely. The texture is amazingly melt in your mouth wonderful. Thanks so much! 🙂
I was wondering if I could substitute dried blueberries instead of fresh ones? And would it still be a heaping cup?
Sure can! Use 1 cup of dried blueberries. (That’s a lot since they’re so small, but you’ll enjoy all those blueberries in each bite!)
Just made these…yummy for the tummy! They were light and very fluffy, and spread a bit (I’m going to try refrigerating them longer or freezing next time). I added one tablespoon chopped crystallized ginger and pecans on top. Perfect addition.
Very tasty recipe. Mine came out soft in the middle and spread out. I put them in the fridge for 15 minutes then the freezer for 15 minutes but still spread. Shared this with a reading group I am in and so far it’s a huge hit.
I’m so glad they are a hit with your reading group, Linda! If the scones are spreading as you bake them, see recipe note #5 on how to reshape them.
Hi, planning to make them tomorrow (20 Feb 2020) for an overnight recipe. Question on the blueberries…. If I incorporate frozen blueberries into the scones the night before and refrigerate the dough, will the blueberries bleed or become watery in that time overnight before the bake?
They shouldn’t– the scones will still be OK to bake as directed.
Folllow-up: the blueberries were a bit watery after sitting overnight in the fridge, however it did not seem to affect the bake.
I did find the scones to spread a bit and not look “ideal” at the end. And I also completely forgot to make the vanilla topping.
This all said, these scones were amazing! Everyone loved them and I definitely went back for seconds and thirds. I recommend this recipe for your solid ‘need to make some scones’ recipe. I loved that I could prep a day in advance to make it easy for the next morning.
I tried this recipe and it was a complete failure. It was a big crumply mess that would not form into anything resembling cohesiveness. I do bake a lot, so I have no idea what went wrong. I’m guessing it was the frozen butter. I watched a youtube video of Jamie Oliver making scones and he used room temperature butter, it was very soft and he did not seem to have any issues with it forming a disc. I am going to try his recipe to see if it works any better for me.
I had the same problem. Is it possible to get the dough too cold? More cream?
Can you sub the blueberries for raisins?
Yes, absolutely!
Made these this morning and they turned out perfect! I divided the dough in half and made blueberry and chocolate chip so they were smaller. Done in about 17 minutes! Will make again and again!
These scones are amazing! Followed your recipe exactly, and they came out great.
Keeping everything cold/frozen seems to be the key to having dough that can be shaped and not spread in he oven.
I gave some away to a friend and she enjoyed them as much as my husband and I. Will definitely be making these again.
Hey Sally, can I please clarify, if I would like to make it overnight and bake the next day – should I only brush the remaining the next day before bake? Thank you very much! 🙂
Hi Christina, I have done it both ways, brushed the cream on before and after refrigerating, and honestly I can’t tell the difference! Either way works the same.
Hi Sally! I made a batch of this 2 days ago and was really wowed by the taste and texture. So moist and unlike the scones sold in my local bakery. I decided to make another batch today. However, On both occasions, I found the dough too sticky to handle despite flouring the work top and my hands. It even sticks onto my bench scraper when I try to cut it. Should I try to reduce the cream? I used a 60g size egg (with shell). Thanks for your help and sharing your wonderful recipes.
Hi Stephanie, I’m so happy you enjoyed these scones! The dough is very sticky and if your final product turned out well then I wouldn’t change anything. Keep your hands well floured and the colder the dough the less sticky it will be so feel free to place it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you shape it.
These scones are to die for! They are crispy on top, soft and flaky on the inside. Grating frozen butter is a brilliant technique! Thanks for an amazing recipe.
OMG. I have made these blueberry scones three times so far (in the past 2 months) and each time they are scrumptious! The first few times, I used half n half/coconut milk because I did not have heavy cream. The scones were still delicious. I just made a batch for my daughter to bake for the morning. I used a plant-based avocado butter (which taste just like butter) and heavy cream this time, and they are better than Starbucks!
These scones are my new addiction. Thank you, Sally.
These scones were easy to make and came out delicious. I did not use the icing nor did I dust coarse sugar. Other than that, followed the directions as is and used fresh blueberries. Will certainly make again. Next time I will cut back on the sugar, I like my scones a little less sweet. Freezing the butter – genius.
I made one batch of these with fresh blueberries and all the blueberries squished making the dough so wet that i needed to add a lot more flour. They still taste amazing, but spread a lot and the dough was super moist. Any ideas? should i mix the wet and dry and then add the berries? Not sure how to not squish them.
Hi Erin! Be extra careful when adding the blueberries since they can break. Adding them last would be helpful and you can even use your hands to carefully work them into the dough.
Thank you! I made them last time with whipping cream and they were great! Just didn’t have any in the frig this time! I froze them before baking for the holidays and they were delicious
Can I use half and half if don’t have cream?
I do recommend sticking with heavy cream. The thinner the liquid the drier and more bland your scones will end up. Half-and-half is generally between 10 to 18 percent fat, while heavy cream falls between 30 and 36 percent.
Hi Sally!
I have an actual scone pan ( coated stone wear type)
Would you recommend using that or just shaping them instead.
Hi Amanda, I haven’t tested these on a speciality scone pan but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Let me know if you try!
Hi there I’m in the middle of making these scones and just realized I ran out of parchment paper. I also don’t have a silicone mat. Any tips for what to cover the baking sheet with?
I do not like big scones and typically when making them I will separate the dough into 2 rounds and cut those into slices. What changes would you recommend to bake times and temperatures should I make smaller scones?
Hi Gen Tsuji, I make mini scones often. Prepare the dough, cut it in half to make two smaller disks, then cut each disk into 8 mini scones to have 16 mini scones total. The bake time is a couple minutes shorter. You can see my funfetti chip scones for detailed instructions. Enjoy!