Last updated on January 10th, 2025
Made with lots of warming cinnamon, buttermilk and vanilla, these better-than-the-bakery blueberry scones are my favourite. They’re packed with fresh (or frozen) blueberries then topped with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar for a bakery-style finish. Perfect for a chilly morning with hot coffee, a mid-day pick-me-up or a late-night snack!
We have settled into the snowy holiday season. The coats and boots are getting heavier, and my bakes are getting cozier. Enter these blueberry scones, a new and improved version of a recipe I first published during a snow storm in April 2022.
Here’s everything you’ll need to make them
- 2 cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (60 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (5 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (3 g) cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (3 g) kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon (6 g) freshly grated lemon zest (optional)
- 1/2 cup (120 g) buttermilk (or your milk of choice) plus 2 tablespoons (30 ml) for brushing
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla
- 1/2 cup (115 g) cold butter (one stick) grated on a box grater just before mixing
- 1 cup (130 g) blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- Turbinado sugar for topping
My love for all things blueberry runs deep, and scones are such a delicious and versatile pastry. While entirely optional, I love to add a tablespoon of freshly grated lemon zest for a hint of citrus. If you don’t have turbinado or coarse sugar, you can glaze them, dust them with confectioners’ sugar or just leave them plain ā they will still be delicious!
I know scones can sound intimidating to make from scratch, but I promise this recipe will guide you through the process.
How to make blueberry scones in 5 steps
- Preheat oven to 400ĀŗF (200ĀŗC) and prepared a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg and vanilla.
- Grate the cold butter into the flour mixture and toss everything together with your hands until evenly distributed. Pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture and stir everything together just until integrated. Fold in blueberries. The dough should be crumbly, but beginning to get sticky.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and use your hands to fold and shape it into a cohesive piece. Cut the dough into wedges then lift each scone with a spatula and transfer them to the baking sheet. Brush them with the remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes or until the tops are golden and the edges are browned. Let cool and serve warm!
My best tips for baking scones
- Cold butter is key (see note below) and if you have the time, chilling the dough for 30 minutes (or even overnight) before shaping and cutting will give you an even better result.
- I always cut scones into squares or triangles to avoid having to re-shape and cut again. Itās quicker, the dough is only handled once and there are no leftover bits at the end.
- When you cut them, slice with one straight cut each time. Do not move the blade back and forth or use the blade to separate the scones. The additional pressure risks sealing the edges, which will prevent them from rising well to produce those flaky layers.
- Brushing them with a little more buttermilk before baking enhances their dreamy golden colour.
Can these scones be made dairy free?
Yes! I have successfully made this recipe with both vegan butter and dairy free milk. A few things to note: DF baking sticks have a higher water content, which makes them more difficult to grate. However, while you won’t quite achieve comparable layers nor the same level of browning, they will still be delicious!
More reasons to love these blueberry scones
- This blueberry scone recipe relies on less sugar than most sweet scone recipes.
- You can use either fresh or frozen berries, making them ideal for your upcoming holiday brunch menus.
- They can be prepped ahead of time. Mix and cut them the day before, cover and let sit on a baking sheet in the fridge overnight to have them ready to bake first thing in the morning.
- They freeze like a dream. There’s nothing like a warm and toasty scone for breakfast without having to leave the house!
- They bake up in just 30 minutes!
These blueberry scones are light yet buttery with a tender, flaky texture. We love them served warm with more butter! If youāre looking for an amazing breakfast sandwich or dinner option, you can find my Savoury Rosemary Parmesan Scones recipe here!
6 more delicious breakfast bakes to try
Cranberry Walnut Artisan Bread
Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins
Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake
Overnight Orange Cinnamon Brioche Rolls
If you make these blueberry scones, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see!
And of course, feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews. This is the best place to reach me, and Iād love to hear from you!
*This recipe has been updated since first published April 14, 2022.
My Favourite Blueberry Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest optional
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (or your milk of choice) plus 2 tablespoons (30 ml) for brushing
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup cold butter (one stick) grated on a box grater just before mixing
- 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
- Turbinado sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ĀŗF (200ĀŗC) and prepared parchment-lined baking sheet.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. *If using lemon zest, add it here. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg and vanilla.
- Using a box grater (or similar), grate the cold butter into the flour mixture and toss everything together with your hands until evenly distributed. Pour wet ingredients over flour mixture and stir everything together just until integrated. Fold in blueberries. The dough should be crumbly but beginning to get sticky.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface. Using your hands, gently press the crumbs together. Fold the dough over, press and shape again, then rotate 90 degrees and repeat the process as needed. The dough will still be a little crumbly, but it will start to form together. As soon as it holds into a cohesive piece, work with your hands to gently pat it into a 1Ā½-inch (3 cm) thick circle about 7 inches (18 cm) in width and cut it into 6 wedges.Ā Lift each scone with a spatula and transfer them to the baking sheet, placing them about 1 inch apart. Brush scones with remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes or until the tops are golden and the edges are browned. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool for another 5-10 minutes. Serve warm!
Yum! Iāve tried so many scone recipes before and this blueberry one is great and easy to follow. I do like my scones a tad sweeter and will add a little more granulated sugar next time. Thanks for the recipe and pictures!
Thank you so much Christina, Iām so glad you enjoyed them! K
Sooooo yummy! Made these for our Motherās Day brunch and they were a big hit. Iād reduce the cooking time a bit or at least watch them as they close but the flavour was awesome. I love another readers suggestion for orange too.
Thank you so much Lisa! K
These scones are delicious, except the cinnamon + the lemon is weird. When I make these scones I usually pick one or the other. They’re quite odd together.
Hi Megan! Iām so pleased you enjoyed the recipe. Iāve always found cinnamon and lemon to be a match made in heavenāa combination of warm and cozy, but also bright and fresh. Not to mention the health benefits. I hope you decide to give it a try, and thanks so much for sharing your review! K
So very good! I used orange instead of lemon rind. Also baked for only 25 minutes , would do even less next time. Delicious!!
I love the orange idea, thank you so much Nancy! ?
That is a fabulous idea! I was wanting to make this but did not have any lemons at home, but I do have oranges and frozen lemon juice. You saved my craving!