These soft and tender homemade scones are filled with bright lemon flavor and juicy blueberries bursting in every bite!
Before I made scones for the first time years ago, I was always intimidated by the thought of making these delicate little treats but I'm here to tell you it is so easy! The most important thing you need to be aware of when making scones is that you need to be extra gentle and not over-work the dough because that will result in a tough, dense brick of a scone. Be super gentle and you'll have tender, perfect slightly crumbly scones every time.
This recipe creates bakery-style scones made right in your own kitchen! Homemade scones are so much better than store bought, and not to mention a whole lot cheaper.
Jump to:
Why you'll love this recipe
- These lemon scones have the perfect scone texture - dense and slightly crumbly but soft and tender at the same time.
- The sweetness of the blueberries and the tartness from the lemon compliment each other so well.
Ingredients for Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Unsalted butter: Frozen butter works the best for scones because it stays extra cold (for extra puff in the oven!) and doesn't melt as easily in your hand while grating.
- Blueberries: Fresh or frozen dork great in this recipe. If using frozen berries, do not thaw.
Lemon Glaze
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed for the best lemon flavor!
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions.
Substitutions & Variations
- Use oranges in place of lemons for Fresh Orange Scones.
- Use a different kind of berry such as raspberries and add white chocolate chips and sliced almonds to make White Chocolate Raspberry Almond Scones.
- For lemon poppy seed scones, substitute blueberries for 1-2 tablespoons of poppyseeds and fold into the batter before baking.
Jessica's Recipe Tips
- My #1 tip is to be very gentle while making the dough. Over-mixing will overdevelop the gluten resulting in dense and dry scones. 🙁
- Grating butter that is frozen works like a charm for scone recipes because you want the butter to stay as cold as possible for extra puff in the oven. Also, it doesn't melt as quickly in your hand as you grate it!
How to make scones
Storage
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Freezing
- Prepare scones up until ready to bake. Place scones on parchment lined baking sheet or plate and freeze for 1-2 hours. Once frozen, place scones in a resealable, freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. To thaw: Place on a parchment lined baking sheet 2-3" apart and thaw in refrigerator covered in plastic wrap overnight. You can alternatively pop them in a preheated oven straight from the freezer, you will just need to adjust bake time as needed.
Recipe FAQs
Can you make scones ahead of time?
Sure, up to one day in advance! Prep them up until ready to bake. When ready, just pop them in the oven straight from the refrigerator.
More scone recipes you'll love
Did you make this recipe?
Please leave a ⭐️ review below and tag @sprinkle_some_sugar on Instagram!
📋 Recipe
Lemon Blueberry Scones
These soft and tender homemade scones are filled with bright lemon flavor and juicy blueberries bursting in every bite!
Ingredients
Lemon Blueberry Scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tbs lemon zest
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup unsalted butter frozen
- 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen - do not thaw
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tbs unsalted butter melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbs lemon juice freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest. Set aside.
- Grate frozen butter into flour mixture. Using your hands, work in the butter until the texture resembles a coarse meal.
- Fold blueberries into dry ingredients.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until completely smooth. Gently stir into dry ingredients until just combined being careful not to squish the blueberries. Be sure not over work the dough. Form the dough into a ball. It will be sticky and crumbly at first but will come together as you form it.
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and lightly pat into an 8" circle about ¾" thick. Use a very sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles (like a pizza). Transfer triangles onto prepared baking sheet placing them 2-3 inches apart.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the tops begin to golden slightly. Don't take them out too early or the texture will be too soft. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes on the pan before transferring onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Lemon Glaze
- Stir together powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla and lemon juice until smooth. Once scones are completely cooled, go ahead and either dip the tops of the scones into the glaze or drizzle it on top with a spoon.
Notes
Storage Instructions: Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Freezing Instructions: Prepare scones up until ready to bake and freeze on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 1-2 hours. Place frozen scones in a resealable, freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight on a parchment-lined baking sheet or bake from frozen and adjust bake time as needed.
Nutrition
Calories: 393kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 5gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 71mgSodium: 248mgPotassium: 84mgFiber: 1gSugar: 26gVitamin A: 616IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 2mg
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tried this recipe?I'd love to hear about it! Leave a comment below & tag @sprinkle_some_sugar on instagram!
Kathryn Wade says
Hello! Any tips for this recipe I found it to be dry and hard to form into a dough I added in 1/2 a lemons juice and about 2 tablespoons heavy cream. They turned out great.
Jessica says
The dough does take a bit to come together. Be sure all dry ingredients are measured properly as even an extra tablespoon of flour can alter it. I'm glad they turned out for you!
Kristo says
Do they freeze well?
Wanda Smith says
These are the best! My family simply loves them.
rebecca foutch says
These were delicious!!! Love the frozen butter grating tip! We did 1/4C sour cream and 1/4C milk and it was perfect! Crispy edges and moist centers. Thanks!!
Shery Dreyer says
My first time making scones. They turned out soft as I had to leave and my 14 y-o daughter took them out of the oven for me. They were still amazingly tasty! Want to take another try whenever I get time again. Thanks for sharing. Need suggestions on how to cut them so they keep the triangle shape, mine exapanded and drooped. I put dough in a cake pan, cut them, lifted them onto the baking sheet.
GrammsCandy says
OMGoodness, these were so easy and the lemon glaze made the flavor of the scone pop, I will be making these again! Family loved them!
Barbara says
I have blueberries frozen..can I use them at the frozen state
Jessica says
Yes! Do not thaw.
MarcyG says
Oops! Should have read the comments first. Had some blueberries left over from a galette so the berries were not frozen but already sweetened. Still turned out good!
MarcyG says
Just wanted to add that the frozen, grated butter is brilliant! Will use that technique in other recipes.
Jessica says
Yes! It's such a great trick.
Jessica says
Awesome!!
Melissa says
My husband and I just made these! We have 5 kids and our youngest is two and a half. They love baked goods and they kept smelling the lemon sugar and saying oooh, that smells gooood! Thank you for such an awesome recipe. These were wonderful! I read your about page and you have such a beautiful family. I wish the best to you and your family.
Jessica says
Yay! This makes me so happy. That's too cute about your kids!! Haha. So happy your family enjoyed these, Melissa!
Helene says
I made the orange scones first and substituted the sour cream for heavy cream. People raved. Also made a chocolate ganache and drizzled in lieu of the orange glaze. Would you suggest 1 for 1 substitution heavy cream for sour cream?
Teresa says
I made these today. I baked mine for a total of 28 minutes. Also while the scones were still hot, I drizzled the glaze on top so that the glaze dried as the scones cooled. I've tried various lemon blueberry scones recipes and can can honestly say that these were absolutely THE BEST lemon blueberry scones I've ever tasted! Thank you for the recipe!
Jessica says
Thank you so much, Teresa! You just made my day! I'm so happy you enjoyed them! 🙂