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Filled with fresh blueberries and bight lemon zest and juice, these lemon blueberry scones are finished with a tangy lemon glaze for just the right amount of sweetness. Make these scones for a spring breakfast, enjoy them alongside a cup of coffee for an afternoon snack, or freeze the unbaked scones to bake and enjoy later!
Getting the best lemon flavor in your baked goods
As someone who really loves lemon desserts, I’ve made a lot of lemon baked goods over the years.
One thing you always hear about getting the best lemon flavor in your recipes is to use fresh lemon juice. And that’s true—it does give you a much better flavor than bottled juice.
But my favorite way to infuse bright lemony flavor into every bite of your baked goods? Combine lemon zest with the sugar before you add any other ingredients.
This is a trick I use in everything from my lemon layer cake to my lemon raspberry muffins. Before adding granulated or brown sugar to the recipe, use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar is moistened and fragrant.
Why does this make a difference? This simple step releases the oils from the lemon zest and infuses that flavor into the sugar. It gives the final baked good—whether it’s a cookie recipe or this lemon blueberry scone recipe—a stronger lemon flavor in every single bite.
Top tips for perfectly tender scones
Readers really love my scone recipes. I have spent years refining my scone-making technique so they’re buttery, sweet, and perfectly tender every time.
Here are my top tips for making the perfect scones that are always tender, never tough:
- Grate the butter into the dry ingredients: I prefer to grate frozen butter into the dry ingredients, then use my fingers to work the ingredients together. This allows me to mix the butter in without it melting or overworking the ingredients.
- Use sour cream or yogurt: I always add sour cream or yogurt to my scones. This works the same way that buttermilk works in blueberry biscuits. The lactic acid in the sour cream/yogurt gives the scones lift, adds a lightly tangy flavor, and tenderizes the dough.
- Avoid over-mixing by stirring with a fork: Over-mixing dough causes long strands of gluten to form. That’s something we want in recipes like potato bread, but not in a scone. Just like when making homemade pie crust, using a fork to stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients prevents you from over-mixing the dough, giving you a more tender end result.
Ingredient notes
⬇️ For the full recipe, including ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card below!
To make these blueberry lemon scones, you’ll need:
- Granulated sugar
- 3 lemons: You’ll zest all of them, and use 2 (if not all) of them to get enough juice for both the scone dough and the glaze.
- All-purpose flour: Before you start baking, make sure you know how to measure flour correctly using the fluff, scoop, and sweep method. Getting this simple step right can make a huge difference in how the scones turn out!
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Fine sea salt
- Unsalted butter: You’ll need 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) frozen for the dough and another 3 tablespoons melted for the glaze.
- Sour cream: You can substitute plain Greek yogurt if you prefer.
- Large egg
- Vanilla: Extract or vanilla bean paste both work great.
- Blueberries: I prefer to use fresh blueberries, but you can also use frozen. If you use frozen blueberries, do not thaw them before adding them to the dough. They may still discolor the dough a bit, but the flavor and texture of the scones will still be great.
- Powdered sugar: For the glaze. If you are out, you can check out my post on how to make powdered sugar and save yourself a trip to the store.
How to make my lemon blueberry scones
Add the granulated sugar and lemon zest to a bowl and use the tips of your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar. This releases the oils from the zest and will make the sugar moist and fragrant.
Add the rest of the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
Use the large holes on a box grater to grate the frozen butter directly into the flour mixture. Again, use clean fingers to work the butter into the flour, just until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Don’t work it too much—you don’t want the butter to melt.
In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the wet ingredients. Use a fork to stir this mixture into the rest of the ingredients, just until large dough clumps form. Carefully fold in the blueberries. You want to mix them in, but don’t want to smush them.
At this point, you can use your hands to gently press the dough agains the side of the bowl. It’ll start out sticky but will form into a ball pretty quickly.
Transfer the dough onto a floured countertop and press it into a circle about 7 inches in diameter and 3/4-inch thick. Use a dough blade, sharp knife, pizza cutter, or even a bench scraper to cut the circle into 8 equal wedges.
Move the unbaked scones to a lined baking sheet and bake for 15-16 minutes, or until the tops are golden and the centers are no longer doughy.
Let the scones cool for about 10 minutes, then make the glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the scones or dip the tops of the scones into the glaze before serving.
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Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest; mix with your fingertips until the sugar is moistened and fragrant. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix until combined.
⅓ cup granulated sugar, zest of 3 medium lemons, 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
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Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
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In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream, lemon juice, egg and vanilla until smooth.
½ cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
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Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Gently fold in the blueberries. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. The dough will be sticky first, but as you press, the dough will come together.
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
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Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles. Place on prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 16 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and prepare the glaze.
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In a medium bowl, prepare the glaze by mixing together the melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth. Dip the top of the scones into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter , 1 cup powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Assembly
- If grating the frozen butter is not accessible for you, you can cut cold (not frozen) butter into pieces. Pulse with the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and continue with the recipe as written.
- Cold butter can also but cut into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter/blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal in lieu of grating.
Storage
- Store cooled scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freezing
- Unbaked scones can be frozen for later. Make the dough, pat into a circle, and cut into triangles as written. Transfer the unbaked scones to a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours, or until frozen solid. Transfer frozen scones to a zip-top freezer bag; freeze for 2-3 months. When ready to bake, bake directly from frozen according to the recipe directions, adding a few extra minutes of baking time if needed. Cool and glaze as directed.
Serving: 1scone, Calories: 393kcal, Carbohydrates: 51g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 70mg, Sodium: 248mg, Potassium: 87mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 26g, Vitamin A: 611IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 58mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Make-ahead and storage tips
Baked and cooled scones can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If it is warm in your kitchen, you may want to store them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Planning ahead? Make this lemon blueberry scone recipe as written, but instead of baking the scones right away, freeze them!
Transfer the unbaked scones to a lined baking sheet and freeze until solid—usually about 1-2 hours. Move them to an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen according to the recipe directions, adding a few minutes to the baking time if needed.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! If you don’t want to add the glaze, brush the tops of the unbaked scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar before baking. This will give them a crunchy sugar top!
