These blueberry and lemon scones are crumbly, yet tender and moist and studded with plump fresh blueberries. The easy lemon glaze is the icing on the … scone.
It all starts with my absolute go-to scone recipe – buttery, tender and crumbly like they should be. From there, the dough can be jazzed up in any which way and this time round I chose the perfect pairing of lemon and blueberries.
So quick and easy to make, they’re perfect for brunch, morning tea, bridal or baby showers, Mothers day or any occasion you can imagine.
Try these cherry scones next or the blog favourite lime and coconut scones.
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British scones vs American scones
If you’re thinking hang on, scones don’t have icing and they should be served with jam and cream, you’re thinking of the classic British scone. British scones sometimes contain dried fruit but even more often have no add-ins at all. They also don’t have a sweet glaze and the scone itself is not so sweet. This is because they are generally served with whipped cream and jam which is where a lot of sweetness and moisture comes from. They’re also most often round in shape.
American scones, on the other hand, are often triangular in shape (from shaping the dough into a circle which is cut into wedges), they are sweeter than an English scone and they always have some kind of add-ins and often a glaze.
Ingredients you’ll need
Homemade scones, and these lemon blueberry scones, don’t require a lot of ingredients. Most are regular baking ingredients you probably have on hand with your add-ins.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
- Sugar: I use caster sugar in the scone dough but white granulated sugar is just fine too. You’ll want some icing sugar (powdered sugar) in the glaze.
- Lemon: You’ll need both the zest and juice of a medium lemon but make sure to zest it first. Please use fresh lemon juice for the best flavour.
- Flour: Just plain flour (aka all purpose flour).
- Baking powder: This will give the scones some height and airy texture. Don’t confuse it with baking soda as they act very differently.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter. You can use salted butter but if you use the former, it’s easier to add salt to taste.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk adds a slight tang which is perfect with the blueberries and lemon but it also helps to keep the scones tender.
- Blueberries: Fresh blueberries are best here. You could use frozen blueberries but make sure they’re still frozen when you add them to the dough. Dried blueberries will also work – a little like the way I use dried cranberries in my cranberry white chocolate scones.
- Egg: One egg is used for the egg wash on top of the scones. You can also just use heavy cream to brush over the top.
How to make blueberry lemon scones
If you’ve never made scones before, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy they are to make and these lemon blueberry scones are no different. You’ll need a mixing bowl and a spoon and I recommend a pastry blender, though you can just use your finger tips or even a knife to cut the butter into the flour.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
1. The lemon sugar
You’ll start by blending together lemon zest and sugar with your fingertips until it’s like wet sand, in a large bowl. This process releases the oils from the zest to intensify the lemon flavour.
2. Add flour and butter
Add the dry ingredients, then add cold grated butter – the butter must be cold to get the best texture in your scones. Use your fingertips or a pastry blender/pastry cutter to cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until the pieces are about the size of peas or lentils.
3. Add wet ingredients
Now, add the buttermilk, lemon juice and blueberries and stir to a sticky dough.
4. Shape the dough
Shape the dough, on a lightly floured surface, into a smoothish round about 4cm deep (1 ½ inches) – you don’t want to knead the scone dough too much or the blueberries will burst. Cut the round into 8 wedges. You can use a cookie cutter to cut large rounds like the shape of British scones if you prefer but by cutting wedges, there is no re-rolling and no wastage.
5. Bake
Transfer the dough to a baking tray lined with baking paper, then brush the tops with an egg wash. Bake for 16-18 minutes until done. Check for doneness by pulling them apart where the scones might have grown and stuck together a little bit – you’ll be able to see if the dough there is raw or cooked.
6. Glaze the scones
And the icing on your blueberry and lemon scones is an easy 3 ingredient lemon glaze. Just mix the 3 ingredients together in a bowl then drizzle over the slightly cooled scones.
Tips and tricks
- Keep it cold: Try to work quite quickly and use cold butter and buttermilk. This will help give the scones their flaky layers when they bake.
- Grate your butter using a box grater, then chill in the freezer until you need it.
- Don’t overmix the dough: You want tender scones so make sure you only handle the dough as much as you need to. Try not to over mix.
- If you don’t own a bench scraper, it will make your day when you get one and find out how quick it makes the clean up.
Variations
Just like my blueberry white chocolate chip scones, chocolate chips will go lovely in these. I like white but milk chocolate will work too. Feel free to add a little vanilla extract to the scone dough too.
Storage
Store any leftover blueberry lemon scones in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. They’re best warmed just slightly to fluff them up again. These scones can be frozen for up to 2 months.
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Ingredients
- 50 g caster sugar (¼ cup/1.8oz)
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (notes 1)
- 360 g plain flour (all purp flour) (2 ¾ cups / ~12 ½oz)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 85 g unsalted butter cold and grated (3 oz / ¾ stick)
- 1 cup buttermilk cold (250ml)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (8tsp, notes 1)
- 1 cup fresh blueberries (125g / 4 ½oz)
- 1 egg yolk beaten with a dash of milk or water
LEMON ICING
- ¾ cup icing powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Pastry blender helpful but not essential
- Spoon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220C (200C fan forced) / 425F. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, use your fingertips to blend the sugar and lemon zest together until it’s like wet sand.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk to combine.
- Add the cold grated butter and using either your fingertips, a knife or pastry blender, gently blend the butter into the flour until only small pieces the size of lentils remain.
- Add the buttermilk, lemon juice and blueberries and stir with a spoon to a sticky dough.
- Tip the scone dough out onto a very lightly floured work surface and sprinkle over a little flour (not too much). Dust your hand with flour and fold the dough over on itself 3 times until it’s a little smoother.
- Pat into a round about 4cm (1 ½ inches) thick and using a sharp knife dipped into flour first, cut into 8 even wedges.
- Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and brush the egg wash over the tops.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes until they’re a pale golden brown on top and dry on the sides.. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before drizzling the glaze over the tops.
- FOR THE OPTIONAL LEMON ICING: Mix the icing sugar, juice and zest together. Once the scones have cooled a little spoon the glaze over the top
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Serve slightly warm or at room temperature on the day they’re baked.
- To freeze, let them cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the freezer. Best frozen without the icing. Once thawed, fluff them up by warming in an oven 160C (140C fan forced)/320F for 3-4 minutes.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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