All you need is 30 minutes for light and tender Lemon Blueberry Scones drizzled with a tangy lemon icing.
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When it comes to coffee shop snacks, scones are high atop the list of my ultimate iced latte accompaniments.
When you add juicy berries and a tangy citrus glaze to the equation, you better believe I’ll be bypassing the cream cheese-filled muffins in favor of homemade scones time and time again.
Why These Are the Best
- You only need 30 minutes.
- Moist with a light and tender texture.
- Perfectly crumbly around the edges.
- Bursting with berries and bright citrus flavor.
- Perfect with a cup of coffee or as an afternoon snack.
- Drizzled with the best lemon glaze.
Simply stir together a few pantry staples, fold in your favorite mix-ins, cut out wedges and then pop them into the oven. A short while later, you’ll be snacking from the comfort of your kitchen!
- Flour: You’ll need 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, plus a little more for your work surface and hands when you shape the dough.
- Baking powder: Gives these just the right amount of lift.
- Butter: Cold and cubed butter is the real secret to ensuring your scones are extra-flaky and moist.
- Berries: Fresh or frozen (thawed and drained!) blueberries, raspberries or blackberries can be used in this recipe.
- Heavy cream: To achieve that quintessential texture, heavy cream is a must. Buttermilk can be substituted, but don’t use milk or nondairy milk because they aren’t thick enough.
- Lemon juice & lemon zest: Use fresh lemon because you’ll need the zest, but also to achieve the best flavor.
- Eggs: Bind the ingredients together.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
- Add the cold, cubed butter. Use your fingers, a fork or a pastry cutter to work it into the flour until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand. Don’t overmix! Working the dough too much will result in dense scones.
- Stir in the blueberries.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together. Whisk together the heavy cream, vanilla extract, lemon juice, lemon zest and eggs in a separate medium bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Gently stir just until a wet dough forms, being careful not to mash the berries. Transfer the dough onto a generously floured work surface.
- Form the dough into an 8-inch circle and cut it into 8 wedges. Place each wedge onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.
- Brush the tops with heavy cream. This will give the scones that perfectly golden brown and crisp exterior.
- Bake until they’re pale golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the scones from the oven and transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
The Best Lemon Glaze
We’re using simple ingredients to create a tangy, citrusy glaze similar to the one on my favorite pound cake. The difference here is that we’re adding just a splash of whole milk to thin the icing to the perfect consistency for drizzling atop scones. Here’s what you’ll need:
- confectioners’ sugar (also known as powdered sugar)
- whole milk (or whatever variety of milk you have on hand)
- lemon juice & lemon zest
- melted butter
Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl (this prevents your icing from being lumpy so don’t skip this step!) then whisk in the other ingredients until well-combined.
Pro Tip: If the glaze is too thick, whisk in additional lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it thins to your desired consistency.
- Don’t overwork the dough. We want to mix it just enough until the ingredients are combined. Overworking the dough will make the scones dense and tough.
- Don’t forget to brush the scones with heavy cream (or buttermilk) prior to baking. It seals in moisture and lends a touch of sheen.
Recipe FAQs
Buttermilk can be substituted or you can make your own heavy cream by combining 2/3 cup of whole milk with ⅓ cup melted butter.
The dough should be tacky to the touch and leans more on the wet side rather than dry.
I recommend keeping them in an airtight container at room temp.
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Ingredients
For the scones:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, plus more for topping
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 large eggs
For the glaze:
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 Tablespoon whole milk
- 2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
Make the scones:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the cubed butter, and using your fingers, work it into the flour until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand. Stir in the blueberries.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, vanilla extract, lemon juice, lemon zest and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, gently stirring just until a wet dough forms and being careful not to mash the blueberries.
- Transfer the dough onto a generously floured work surface and gather it into an 8-inch circle that’s about 3/4-inch thick. Cut the circle into 8 wedges then place each scone onto the baking sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.
- Brush the tops of the scones with additional heavy cream then bake them for about 20 minute or until they’re pale golden. Remove the scones from the oven and transfer them to a rack to cool completely while you make the glaze.
Make the glaze:
- Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl then whisk in the milk, lemon juice, melted butter and lemon zest until well-combined. (If the glaze is still too thick, whisk in additional lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it thins to your desired consistency.)
- Drizzle or pipe the glaze over the completely cooled scones. Let the scones sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Kelly's Notes:
- Buttermilk can be substituted or you can make your own heavy cream by combining 2/3 cup of whole milk with ⅓ cup melted butter.
- Don’t overwork the dough. We want to mix it just enough until the ingredients are combined. It should be tacky to the touch and leans more on the wet side rather than dry.
- I recommend storing the scones in an airtight container at room temp.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
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Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.
I made these today. I split the recipe in half (thank you for not having to split 3 eggs!!) to make 4 tho I probably could have made 5. Mine turned out darker than your picture but they were delicious and light. Will definitely put this in my book of keeper recipes. Thank you.
You are so welcome, Cyndi! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
I just made these with my kids and we’d all give them 10 STARS if we could! The batter wasn’t too loose. It was perfect and I’m shocked I can actually make scones that taste better than my local bakery scones!
I’m so thrilled you all enjoyed the recipe, Blakely!
Hi everyone! I retested this recipe and decreased the heavy cream from 3/4 cup to 1/2 cup and the dough is perfect and not too sticky (for anyone having that issue!). Enjoy!
Wonderful! Made two days in a row so far! Thank you for this moist scone recipe. My family enjoyed them so much!
I’m so happy to read this, Alexandria!
Easy enough to make, for me though it was a bit lack luster in flavor and texture. Flavor is seriously enhanced by the glaze, the texture is a bit too soft for me, I like a crispier texture on the outside the inside was a bit floury for me, I put them back in and baked a few minutes extra. I followed the recipe very closely, I added more zest other than that I followed it. The blueberries are a great idea, my error could be I used large frozen berries, and they may have make the dough a bit dougheier. (is that a word).. not tender. Next time I would use fresh blueberries, more butter, and made them smaller than suggested to get the outside crispier texture , which we prefer.
Great base recipe though!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Rosie. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe.
I have made lots of scones, but these are these best ever! Not sure why, but it came together perfectly and they are so tender and delicious. This is my final scone recipe, won’t ever need another. Thanks!
WOWZA! Love reading this, Lynn! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe :)