Dotted with juicy blueberries and scented with lemon, this Lemon Blueberry Scone Recipe is one of the best! Tender and delicious, it makes a bulk batch so you can freeze extra for later.
If you love Lemon Drop Scones and Easy Blueberry Pie, then it’s a safe bet that you’ll fall in love with this scone mash-up of the classic lemon blueberry combo. They are a great addition to your favorite Tea Party Food Ideas.
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These Lemon Blueberry Scones rock. Yes, I said it.
Made with fresh blueberries that are bursting with juicy goodness, these easy scones boast a lemon flavor that comes through quite nicely. If you want to gild the lily, you could drizzle on a glaze, but I don’t think you need it. Just a cup of tea or your favorite joe and you’re good to go.
Why Make This
They are delicious. These scones are definitely worth your while. They beat whatever your local bakery can dish out. Take them over the top with a drizzle of Lemon Sauce.
They’re easy. You can mix up a batch of these in just a few minutes, no baking experience required.
They’re freezer-friendly. Make extra to freeze so you can enjoy these anytime.
Ingredients
flour: While some experts recommend using cake flour in scones, that hasn’t been my experience. I’ve used all-purpose, self-rising, white whole wheat, and whole wheat pastry flour in a variety of scone recipes and always been pleased with the results. That said, this recipe has been tested with unbleached, all-purpose and that is what I recommend or this.
leaveners: This recipe calls for salt, baking powder, and baking soda to give it some lift. You can’t find a substitute for salt or soda, but you can make your own baking powder if you run out.
butter: Keep your butter cold for this recipe. You want to cut the chunks of butter into the flour as you would do for pie crust.
cream, etc: I like to use cream, half and half or buttermilk in my scones. I call for half and half here but either of the other would be a fine substitute.
You can use milk or a plant milk if you prefer, just be sure to substitute 1 tablespoon of white vinegar for part of the liquid. This will help the baking powder react and give the dough a lift. Alternatively, you can substitute half the liquid with sour cream or yogurt and the rest of the liquid with milk.
blueberries: These add excitement to your scones. For best results, use fresh blueberries. If you’ve got extras, bake up a batch of Lemon Blueberry Cookies.
lemon zest: The zest of the lemon adds a subtle flavoring that is just perfect in these scones. You can use fresh or dried zest, though fresh will give it a better flavor. Remember you can freeze lemons, so if you don’t have an immediate use for the rest of the lemon, slice or juice it and freeze for later.
Variations
In lieu of blueberries, you can stir in raspberries, blackberries, or chopped fresh cherries. You can also swap the lemon zest for lime or orange for a slightly different flavor. Other mix-ins include: chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or candied ginger.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Making homemade blueberry scones is really quite simple, but in the middle of the process in can feel a little overwhelming, especially when the dough gets sticky.
Note: this recipe produces a fairly shaggy dough, but trust me it works out.
To prepare the pans. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. This makes it easy to work the dough and reduces the chances of the scones sticking to the pan.
1. Combine the dry ingredients.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine the flour, cubed butter, cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse until coarse crumbs are formed, then transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
Alternatively, you can use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dry ingredients.
2. Add the liquid.
Fold in the half and half with a few turns of a rubber spatula, until a shaggy dough is formed.
3. Add the berries and zest.
The dough will not be completely mixed yet, so this is a good time to add the berries and zest. The less you stir, the less likely the berries are to break and smear purple through the dough. You want the dough to stay a bit shaggy.
4. Knead the dough lightly.
Turn the dough ball out onto a lightly floured surface. I simply do this on the prepared parchment, sprinkling it with a bit of flour. Knead just until the dough holds together. I use the parchment paper to fold and knead the dough. This way, it doesn’t all stick to my hands.
5. Shape the scones.
Pat the dough into a large, 2-inch thick circle and cut into 12 wedges. Separate the wedges carefully and arrange them on the parchment, about 2 inches apart. If you need a second baking sheet, that is fine.
You can freeze the scones at this point if you like. See notes below.
Brush the scones with milk or half and half and sprinkle heavily with sugar.
Bake the scones. Bake in the oven until golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on a rack and serve.
Freezing tips
Serving these scones fresh from the oven is the best. That’s why I love to freeze scones to bake for later.
You can make them as a mix, but that is just not as much fun as popping flash frozen, unbaked scones in a hot oven and having them ready to eat in less than 20 minutes.
To freeze: prepare the scones according to the recipe, but do not bake them. Instead slide the tray of scones into the freezer and let them freeze solid. Once firm, you can transfer them to a ziptop freezer bag or container. Be sure to label the package with the date, recipe name, and baking instructions. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
You can also freeze baked scones. Cool completely and wrap well for freezing. Use within 6 weeks.
FAQs
A scone is a quick bread of Scottish origin. In the US, a scone is like a sweetened American biscuit. Originally scones were made with oats, triangular-shaped, and baked on a griddle. Nowadays scones are made with wheat flour, cut into any number of shapes, and baked in the oven.
I’ve based this recipe on a classic cream scone, albeit using half and half. If you prefer, you can substitute buttermilk for the half and half, or if you want to use sour cream, substitute half the liquid with sour cream and the rest milk.
You can use frozen blueberries in scones, however, be sure not to thaw them. The excess juice will dye your batter a purple-blue-gray. Instead, fold the frozen berries in gently, not stirring too much so you don’t get too much juice mixed in with the batter.
Recipe costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- flour – $0.75
- sugar – $0.17
- baking powder – $0.06
- baking soda – $0.02
- salt – $0.01
- butter – $1.38 (based on $3.69/lb)
- half and half – $0.74
- lemon zest – $0.25
- blueberries – $1.97
These are non-sale prices at a mid-range grocery store in Southern California. Your mileage may vary. But, as an estimate, a batch of 12 large scones costs $5.35 or 45 cents a piece!
Conversely, a blueberry scone from Starbucks costs $2.75 and a grocery store mix for lemon blueberry scones that makes 8 costs $6.99. No matter how you mix it, homemade it best. Cheaper and guaranteed better tasting!
How to save even more
You can save even more when you work the Good Cheap Eats System:
- Shop the kitchen – Use what you have. This is simple to do with the extensive substitutions we’ve listed above. Don’t have blueberries? Use raspberries or cranberries or nuts or chocolate instead.
- Make a plan for leftovers – Food waste equals money waste. If you end up wasting the rest of the lemon or the half and half, you cancel out any savings from baking homemade. Find recipes in our archive to help you use up these bits.
- Visit the store with the best prices – Not all stores are created equal, nor do they offer the same prices. Do some comparisons to see what store is the best place to spend your grocery dollar.
- Check the sales and clearance – butter is the biggest line item in this recipe. Wait for a sale and stock up. Butter freezes beautifully, so you can always have some on hand for baking. Likewise keep an eye out for when blueberries are on sale.
- Freeze extra for later – Chances are you won’t eat all 12 scones in one sitting. Be sure to freeze or share the extra scones to save time as well as avoid food waste.
More Great Blueberry Recipes
Tell us what you think!
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Lemon Blueberry Scone Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter cut into cubes (1 ½ sticks)
- 1 ½ cup half and half plus extra for brushing
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 ½ cup blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender. Or use the food processor in batches to cut in the butter quickly. Gently mix in the half and half, just until mixed. Fold in the berries and lemon zest.
- On a lightly floured surface, pat dough into a 2 inch thick rectangle. Cut into 12 squares or triangles, depending on how big you want them.
- Place the scones on the prepared tray, keeping the scones about 2 inches apart. These will spread a fair amount.
- Brush them with the extra half and half and sprinkle with the extra sugar. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on a rack before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on August 17, 2010. It has been updated for content and clarity.
lisa s
My daughter had a tea party, so we thought we would try scones for the first time (both eating and making). These tasted so good, but alas, looked nothing like your pretty triangles. I will try them again as I didn’t use the food processor and tried doing them all by hand which was not as successful as I would have liked. I looked at my crumbly mess of a dough and when kneading before berries did nothing to help, I could not see any way to get fresh berries folded in without squishing them. So I gently tossed them amongst the crumbles, and dumped the whole hot mess in the parchment lined large jelly roll pan and baked it bar cookie style and called it scone cake. Lol! Worked out okay and still tasted great, so if you are having the squished berry issue, know that this can be a tasty alternative.
Jolene
It’s been awhile, but, have made these and they’re quite yummy! If you want to kick up the lemon flavor a notch, mix powdered sugar and the juice from the lemon to make a glaze. So good!
Jessica Fisher
Yes! My daughter has been doing that recently. She loves it.
Jennifer
This is a delicious recipe – love it! I’ve made it two times now and the only thing I’m struggling with is understanding how in the world you made yours looks SO nice! lol Despite trying two different techniques, I have managed to ‘pop’ (or squish) my blueberries each time I knead, no matter how gentle I am. The dough starts out pretty dry, but doable, until I knead it a few times to bring it together. Despite using frozen blueberries both times (and the 2nd time, I waited until the very last min. before I took them out of the freezer hoping that this would help), my scones end up being not only super gooey/wet but also blueish purple (and not the appetizing kind lol) due to the squished blueberries. I only have a hint of your nice tan colored dough as it weaves and swirls along with various blues & purples throughout my scones. The wetness is no matter in how they turn out, though. They cook just fine and are very yummy. I would just like to find a way to make them look a bit more presentable/less scary. lol Any suggestions? (PS: I’m using the frozen blueberries from Costco and they tend to run a bit large; ideally, I think the wild/smaller blueberries would work better (and perhaps this is the issue??), but until I can find them cheaper, that’s not feasible for me right now. Also, I used a handheld pastry cutter to cut in the butter…) Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
Gosh, it’s been awhile since I made them. I’m not sure why that’s happening, but I saw that blueberries are on sale next week at Sprouts, so I will try to remember to make them. I wonder if you tossed the berries with a little of the dry mix before mixing them in. That might absorb some of the berry juice and prevent it from spreading everywhere.
I, too, have had purple scones or muffins in my time. It happens to all of us, I think.
Asha
Just made these and they are delicious! I cut the butter into the flour in the food processor and then mixed the wet ingredients in by hand. Will definitely make again.
annie
the julia child baking cookbook on my shelf gave me the best scone making advice ever. the secret is in the kneading. after pinching the butter into the flour, stir wet and dry with a fork just until incorporated. dump the glop onto a flour dusted surface, and knead 12 or less times only. a scone knead is not the same as a bread knead. fingertips like playing piano scales. hope that helps. will make these soon myself!
rachel
These are on my list for making this week… although the week is almost over so maybe it’ll be a next week To Do item. Looking forward to them as the lemon-blueberry combo sounds amazing. 🙂
Rhoda Carter
I made these today with 3-2 white to wheat flour. Smaller or even frozen berries would have held together better. I didn’t add them to the mix till I turned the dough out on the counter (hoping to keep as many in tact as possible). I ended up with 16 scones from this recipe. They are a little thick because I didn’t want to crush anymore berries. A glaze is nice to cut the crumble, but totally a preference thing like the difference between cake donuts glazed or unglazed.
Jessica
Yes, I typically use frozen berries for this. That does help a lot in mixing them. Now, I wish we had blueberries.
Holly
Could you use whole milk instead of half and half? We have a 1 year old and have the whole milk on hand, and I’m trying to cook with what we’ve got.
Jessica
You could. I would use less since it may have a thinner consistency. Just add until the dough comes together easily.
Holly
@Jessica,
Made with whole milk and had no problems.
Also tried it with orange zest instead of the lemon & blueberries and added a glaze made with melted butter, powdered sugar and orange juice. Delicious! Thanks for the inspiration.
Lisa
I’m loving the flash-frozen dough idea! I would love to have a freezer full of biscuits ready to go like that. Do you think that would work?
Jessica
Yes, I do it often.
Rebecca
I did a version of these using mashed banana and dried blueberry (and just a dash of lime juice). They turned out really yummy.