Blueberry Lemon Scones

5 from 2 votes

Blueberry Lemon Scones

Perfect flaky and fluffy scones are easy with a few simple techniques. You can't go wrong with a classic flavor combination of sweet juicy blueberries and bright zesty lemon. Use this base recipe for your favorite mix-ins such as fruit, nuts, or chocolate.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: scones, blueberry, lemon

Servings: scones

Calories: 385kcal

Author: Kaity Farrell

Ingredients

280 g all-purpose flour 2 cups
66 g granulated sugar ⅓ cups, plus more for the tops of the scones
12 g baking powder 1 tablespoon
2 g kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon balm chopped, optional
113 g cold unsalted butter 4 oz./1 stick
75 ml buttermilk ⅓ cup
1 large egg
Zest of 1 lemon about 8g
4 g vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
170 g blueberries 6 oz., fresh or frozen

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a half sheet pan
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and optional chopped lemon balm in a mixing bowl
Cut the cold butter into small cubes and mix it into the flour mixture using your hands. Press the butter chunks between your fingers to cut them into the flour mixture lifting your hands up as you go to aerate the mixture. The resulting mixture should be sandy and resemble coarse breadcrumbs.
Mix the buttermilk, egg, lemon zest, and vanilla extract together in a separate bowl then pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, leaving behind about 2 tablespoons of the wet mixture to brush the scones with later.
Use your hands to mix the dough. It should be dry but hold together when squeezed. If it is too dry, mix in 1 tablespoon more buttermilk at a time until it holds together.
Lightly flour the piece of parchment paper and dump the crumbly scone dough out onto it. Bring the dough together and press it into a large rectangle. A bench scraper is helpful here.
Reserve a quarter of the blueberries to use later, then add another quarter of the blueberries to the dough so that they evenly cover the bottom half of the rectangle.
Use a bench scraper to help fold the top half of the dough over to cover the berries. Then turn it a quarter-turn (90˚) and press it back out into a larger rectangle. Lightly flour the dough, surface, and your hands as needed. The purpose of this technique is to gently fold in the fruit and create flaky layers in the scones.
Repeat layering the blueberries and folding the dough 2 more times until 3/4 of the berries are incorporated. So the dough will be folded a total of 3 times with 1/4 of the berries being folded each time.
Press the dough into a circle about 8” wide and 1” thick. Gently press the remaining blueberries into the top and then cut the circle into 6 wedges.
Transfer the scones on the parchment paper to the sheet pan and space them about 1" apart from each other. Brush the tops with the saved wet mixture. Sprinkle about ½ teaspoon of sugar onto the top of each scone.
Bake at 425˚F for 25-30 minutes until the scones are golden brown and feel crusty on the outside but still soft in the middle when pressed.
Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes then serve warm.

Video

Notes

Scones are best eaten the day they are made, but leftover scones will keep wrapped or sealed at room temperature for up to 24 hours.
Buttermilk can be replaced with any milk in the same amount plus 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar to sour and thicken the milk.
Make sure that the butter is cold which will result in a flakier scone.
Frozen blueberries may be used but their color might bleed into the dough as they thaw and turn the dough purple.
The scones can be frozen after they are cut into wedges and before brushing them with milk and sugar. Freeze the cut scones on a sheet pan then transfer them to freezer-safe bags to store them in the freezer. They might need extra time in the oven because they are frozen so check them at 25 minutes and add more time if needed.

Nutrition