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
I absolutely loved making these it was fun, easy and best of all it was delicious.
This was delicious! Thanks for a great recipe. We made one batch dairy free and one batch as written and both were delicious. We grated the butter for each recipe and they turned out perfectly.
Hi, I was hoping for some help because I have now made these twice and both times were failures. I am following the recipe closely but for some reason every time I go to bake them, they spread a lot. I did notice that some of my blueberries are bursting but I’m not sure how exactly to fix this. Help, please!
Hi Eliza, I’m glad to help. Make sure all of your ingredients are very cold. You can even place your bowl of flour in the refrigerator if needed. 15 minutes is the minimum I 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 rubber spatula. You can also try adding 2-3 extra Tbsp of flour to the dough as well.
Sally,
I place my flour in the freezer while I mix my liquid ingredients and prepare the parchment along side my grated butter. Seems to really help with spreading. Thanks for this fabulous recipe.
Just pulled these out of the oven and OMG these are perfection. Melt in your mouth perfection. I’m in serious trouble!☺
My husband I really enjoyed them. I have some left over and wondering if it matters how I store them. Ziplock bag? Thanks
Hi Elise, glad these were a hit! I usually store them in a covered container but a ziplock bag works too. The icing may get a little messy though.
These scones were fantastic!!! Your recipe was very well written, easy to follow and yielded great results. I look forward to trying more of your recipes. Thank you.
These are the BEST!!! Never thought I liked scones till I made these. Sooo yummy. How many calories do you think each scone is?
I was just furloughed, so I decided to baked! This recipe was easy to follow and I cannot wait to make it again! My inner fat kid salutes you!
I’ve never made such a mess in my life! I was the image of Lucy and Ethyl, covered in sticky dough and flour….but I managed, YAY! They are delicious! Now I must ask Sally, please say you edited out your mess!!
Delicious! I’ve made this particular scone recipe MULTIPLE times during quarantine, and we’re never let down by the finished product – great flavor and texture! I’ve made it with the egg so far, but I know a few recipes omit egg, so I may try it without next time to compare. Any advice or explanation on the difference between egg vs. no egg?
Hi Brianna! Feel free to leave out the egg for a flakier scone. I like to add it because it adds a little richness and moisture. I’m so glad you love these!
I’ve made these twice and they were amazing both times. I took them to work and even one person who initially said “I don’t like scones” LOVED them! For this round, I’m considering making 16 small rather than 8 regular to have more to share. Seems like it should work as is, any thoughts?
Hi Tonya, so glad you love these scones! Making mini scones is really easy. You can follow this recipe but follow the shaping and baking instructions for mini scones in my Funfetti Chip Scones recipe.
I love this recipe! I used fresh blueberries. I froze half the batch and even after defrosting and reheating, they’re just as tasty as when I first baked them. Will be the only scones I make from now on!
These flattened out like a pancake, and I had to toss them. I chilled them and followed the recipe closely. Do not recommend.
My youngest Daughter shared your recipe with me. I put it together, placed in fridge overnight, baked on parchment paper this morn, and they turned out looking beautiful and tasted as good as they looked. They made this Mother’s Day breakfast for my Wife a real hit! I’ve shied away from making scones, thought they were beyond my skills, but, this recipe is easy and fantastic. Thank You
These turned out delicious, a nice crust with a soft center. A great way to use my leftover fresh blueberries. I grated my refrigerated butter i didn’t have time to freeze it. Also I used self rising flour and added 1 and a half tsp baking powder and they turned out scrumptious!!
Wow!!! These are amazing! My 16 year old said to me last night, “Mom… For your next baking adventure can you make scones?” I had just placed an online grocery order and was able to add the few extra items I needed. I made this recipe exactly as listed and they are perfect! My husband, who doesn’t really like scones, also said that these are amazing.
Can I use plain yogurt instead of heavy cream in the Blueberry Scones Recipe? Should I add milk to thin it a bit? I am going to try these as a Mother’s Day gift to myself!
Hi Dianne, heavy cream or buttermilk would be best. Half-and-half or whole milk in a pinch. Do not use yogurt. Happy Mother’s Day to you 🙂
Have loved these scones since the baking challenge last year! As a lot of people are, I’m baking during quarantine and freezing until I’m back to work and can share the treats! Do they stay fresh longer in the freezer if I freeze pre or post baking? Thanks!
Hi Brittany, Honestly they both work! For a group of people I do like freezing these before baking so that they can be as “fresh baked” as possible when I serve them.
Can I use heavy whipping cream instead of heavy cream?
You can, Lauren. Enjoy!
If I do not have blueberries can I substitute chocolate chips?
You can. Or follow my recipe for my Chocolate Chip Scones 🙂
My first time making sweet scones and they turned out delicious!! Thank you for this treat recipe
So excited to try this recipe! I dont have heavy cream at the moment – Do you think substituting half and half for heavy cream would work?
Hi Sara, half-and-half works in a pinch but the scones may spread a bit more.
Awesome recipe, super duper easy to follow!!!! The scones turned out amazing! I was amazed that I could make them – I haven’t baked in a long time. I used frozen blueberries so the scones turned out quite purple, but they taste great! Thanks so much for this great recipe. I will definitely make them again!! 🙂
Wow! This recipe is perfect. I made scones yesterday, a different recipe, and they turned out terrible. Today I turned to you! I’m so glad I found you. The taste and texture were exactly what I am looking for in a scone. Thank you!
Sally! I forgot to add the cinnamon! And I already have them in the fridge ready to bake. Will that make a huge difference? I’m so sad I forgot!!!
Hi Nadya, No problem! Sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon onto each before baking. They’ll turn out great! 🙂
Good flavor and not to sweet if you don’t put the sugar on top. I thought the inside was a little dense. I was expecting it to be a lot more fluffy.
I made these scones this morning using frozen blueberries. The dough is very sticky, I added flour and now placed in fridge on a plate. The dough seems really moist. Any tips? Thank you!
Just made these and they are delicious! I did have a problem with them over-spreading though. I chilled the prepared dough in the fridge for an hour and a half before baking. Any tips to stop over-spreading?
Hi Allison, Make sure all of your ingredients are very cold. You can even place your bowl of flour in the refrigerator if needed. 15 minutes is the minimum I 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 rubber spatula.
I put my scones bake in the freezer for 30-60 minutes before baking instead of the refrigerator.
Hi Sally,
I have been into making blueberry scones recently. Your recipe and instructions are almost identical to mine, only I use 1/3 cup sugar and very lightly sprinkle a little extra on top. I add the zest of one lemon to the dry ingredients. I also add about one tablespoon fresh lemon juice to my liquid mixture of one beaten egg and half cup sour cream. Also, I have found it helps to add the blueberries last; after I have pressed out the dough, I layer some blueberries over half the dough and fold the other dough over and press and flatten. I repeat this step trying not to overwork the dough. Otherwise, I have found it difficult to try to mix fresh blueberries into my dough (due to consistency) prior to pressing it out without squishing the berries. I look forward to trying out your recipe soon. Your blueberry scones look delicious! Thanks
This recipe is amazing. This was my first time making scones and they are LOVELY. Perfect. Flaky, crunchy, just sweet enough. I added lemon and vanilla to the icing and it’s delicious. I followed the recipe exactly and even placed the scones in the chiller for a few hours before cooking. ❤️❤️❤️
How do I avoid turning these bright purple when using frozen blueberries?
Hi Jess, 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, then embrace the pretty colors 🙂