Blueberry Scones | Olive & Mango

These tasty bakery style blueberry scones are filled with juicy blueberries and with a hint of vanilla and lemon. They have a buttery texture with crisp edges perfect for brunch, breakfast or a sweet treat for dessert. There is nothing like the smell baked scones out the oven – these ones are simple to make and such a treat to enjoy with coffee or tea whether they are glazed or simply coated with coarse sugar.

Blueberry Scones Recipe Ingredients

• Flour: all-purpose flour is what I use for this recipe
• Sugar: I use granulated sugar for these but brown sugar works too.
• Baking Powder: Adds lift.
• Salt: Adds flavor.
• Butter: Besides flour, butter is the main ingredient in scones. It’s responsible for flakiness, flavor, crisp edges, and rise. I use unsalted butter – and it is critical to keep it chilled or frozen. Either Cubed or grated is fine for this recipe
• Heavy Cream, Half and Half Cream or Buttermilk: For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream or buttermilk. I usually use heavy cream, but if you want a slightly tangy flavor, use buttermilk. Thinner liquids change the flavor and appearance – and can create dry, bland, and flat scones.
• Vanilla extract: adds the perfect flavor to sweet scones, these scones go really well with orange extract too – I would add ¼ teaspoon along with the vanilla extract for a little more punch of orange flavor if you prefer
• Blueberries: Fresh blueberries is what I used in this recipe but feel free to use frozen blueberries – no need to thaw them before adding to dough. Simply toss them with 1-2 teaspoons of flour before adding to the dough.
• Lemon Zest: adds delicious flavour to these scones – and of course Lemon blueberry is such a classic combination but if you prefer orange zest you are welcome to use that instead – some other recipes add a pinch of cinnamon to the dry ingredients too but that is up to you.
• Turbinado sugar: or coarse sugar to add a little crunch to the top of the scones – totally optional add in
• Powdered sugar: for the glaze if making
• Freshly squeezed Lemon Juice: for the glaze if making to add extra lemon flavor to these scones

How to Make Blueberry Scones

1. WHISK the dry ingredients together. Use a big mixing bowl because you want lots of room for the mixing process. You can also use a food processor and pulse the dry ingredients together until combined.
2. CUT IN the cubed chilled butter. You can use a pastry cutter or 2 forks, or your hands. A food processor works too. To avoid overly dense scones, work the dough as little as possible. Messy and crumbly is a good thing! If using food processor empty out the flour mixture into a large bowl
3. Add blueberries to flour butter mixture and TOSS to combine
4. WHISK the wet ingredients together. In this case the cream and the vanilla – there are no large eggs in this recipe
5. MIX wet ingredients and dry ingredients. Mix together gently with a fork or with a wooden spoon, then pour out onto lightly floured counter.
6. Form into a disc and CUT into wedges. WEDGES are easiest, but you can make 10-12 drop scones too
7. BRUSH with remaining cream for a golden brown, extra crisp and crumbly exterior. And for extra crunch, a sprinkle of turbinado or coarse sugar on top.
8. CHILL. Refrigerate or freeze for at least 15 minutes while you preheat your oven. Keep scone dough as cold as possible. To avoid over-spreading, I recommend chilling the shaped scones for at least 15 minutes in the refrigerator before baking. In fact, you can even refrigerate overnight for a quick breakfast in the morning! I usually chill them while I’m preheating the oven – it’s optional but I strongly recommend it.
9. BAKE until golden brown. Scones bake in a hot oven for only 18-22 minutes.
10. COOL
11. GLAZE

Tips for the Perfect Blueberry Scones

• Use Cream or Buttermilk: Avoid thinner milks which yield a flatter, less flavorful scone. Canned coconut milk works well as a wonderful non dairy option!
• Refrigerate Before Baking: Remember, cold dough is a successful dough. To avoid over-spreading, I recommend chilling the shaped scones for at least 15 minutes in the refrigerator before baking.
• Use COLD butter! If you’re making these in a very warm climate, I suggest popping your butter in the freezer
• Do not overwork the dough – knead it a few times for it t come together but a shaggy messy dough is best for buttery layered flaky scones with a good rise – instead of dense dry over worked scones. And only add a little extra cream if you absolutely need to – you don’t want to be working with wet dough.

How to Freeze Scones

Scones are bay to freeze and make a great make ahead treat because of this. There are several ways to go about freezing scones. You can even shape this scone dough into wedges and refrigerate overnight before baking. Here are two ways I freeze my scones:

1. Freeze Before Baking: Freeze scone dough wedges on a plate or baking sheet for 1 hour. Once relatively frozen, you can layer them in a freezer-friendly bag or airtight container. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time in the recipe below. Or thaw overnight, then bake as directed.
2. Freeze After Baking: Freeze the baked and cooled scones. I usually freeze in a freezer-friendly bag or container. To thaw, leave out on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes.

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