Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones

Sweet and creamy and packed full of fresh blueberries and lemon zest with blueberry and lemon glazes, Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones are the perfect addition to spring and summer brunches.

scones drizzled with lemon and blueberry glaze spread on decorative plates and napkins

The days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer (it’s in 80s today in Philly – what?!), the flowers are blooming (ah-choo!).  Spring has arrived!

Lemon and blueberry are one of my favorite flavor combinations for spring and summer. And scones are perfect for all the spring brunches, like Mother’s Day and bridal showers.

Have you tried scones in the past that are dry and tasteless? This recipe is anything but — moist and tender thanks to the heavy cream and egg, Just enough lift to be light, thanks to a little baking powder. And especially flavorful, bursting with fresh blueberries and lemon zest.

scones filled with lemon zest and blueberries next to cups of coffee

Ingredients & Substitutions

  • Flour: Use regular all-purpose flour for these scones, but be sure to measure correctly. I always recommend weighing ingredients for baking, but if you’re using a measuring cup, fluff your flour with a fork before spooning it into the measuring cup. Too much flour will make these scones dense and heavy!
  • Sugar: We’ll need both granulated (white) sugar and confectioners’ (powdered) sugar to make these scones.
  • Salt: Regular table salt or Morton’s kosher salt can be used – if using Diamond Crystal salt, adjust as necessary.
  • Baking Powder: Baking powder helps provide even more lift for our scones.
  • Butter: Use frozen butter! Make sure you set your stick of butter in the freezer at least two hours in advance.
  • Lemon: We’ll use both lemon zest (for the batter) and lemon juice (for the glaze).
  • Blueberries: You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries for the scones. You’ll want to toss still-frozen blueberries with the scone batter but use thawed and room-temperature blueberries for the glaze.
  • Eggs: Because we want to keep the scone batter as cold as possible, use eggs right out of the refrigerator.
  • Vanilla Extract: A little vanilla flavor pairs perfectly with the lemon and blueberry.
  • Heavy Cream: Scones require a good amount of fat, so be sure to use heavy cream, not just milk. Heavy cream and whipping cream are not the same – look for heavy cream if and use it if you can find it! Heavy cream has a higher fat content than whipping cream.
  • Whole Milk: Again, we want more fat, so use whole milk rather than low-fat or fat-free milk.
a pile of frozen butter grated into a mixing bowl filled with dry ingredients

Frozen Butter for the Best Scones

What’s the best way to make the perfect flaky, crumbly lemon blueberry scones? Frozen butter, grated into the batter!

Much like my No Fail Pie Crust, we’re going to work cold butter into the dry ingredients. The flour coats the butter and as you continue to cut the butter into the flour, it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces. Why is this so important? It’s time for my favorite subject… kitchen chemistry!

Kitchen Chemistry

As the tiny flour-coated pieces of butter melt in the oven, the butter releases steam.  These little pockets of steam help the scones rise taller and keep them softer, flakier, and more tender with a crumbly exterior.

To achieve tiny pieces of frozen butter, freeze your stick of butter for at least two hours before making the scones. Then grate using a box grater or microplane grater (affiliate links) right into the flour mixture!

scone batter gently mixed together showing the slightly wet and sticky consistency

Shaping Homemade Scones

Most home-baked scone recipes call for either a scone pan or forming the scone into a ball and cutting the dough into 8 wedges.  You can absolutely do that here, but I prefer the look of individual scones.

By scooping the scones, you reduce the risk of overworking the dough by rolling to cut with a biscuit cutter or by forming the dough into a loose ball.

Spray an ice cream scoop (affiliate link) lightly with nonstick spray and scoop equal portions of dough onto the prepared baking pan. Easy peasy!

scones dropped onto a cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop

Lemon and Blueberry Glazes

The glaze is optional, but highly recommended – both for flavor and appearance!

I like to make both lemon and blueberry glazes, by combining lemon juice and pureed blueberries with confectioners sugar. Add enough sugar to create a drizzle-able glaze, then pour over top.

Not into glazes? Then serve these lemon blueberry scones with jam or easy homemade curds (lemon curd recipe, raspberry curd recipe, blueberry curd recipe) for an extra special treat!

unglazed lemon blueberry scones on a sheet pan

Storing Homemade Scones

Scones are the very best the day they are made, but can be stored in an airtight container for 2 to 3 additional days at room temperature.

For longer-term storage, wrap each scone individually in aluminum foil, place them in a heavy-duty freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before enjoying.

Prefer your lemon blueberry scones warm? Just microwave for 20 seconds before serving!

scones covered with drizzles of lemon and blueberry glazes
  • Mixing Bowls: This set of glass mixing bowls contains just the right sizes to make the scone dough and the two glazes to drizzle on top.
  • Box Grater: A box-style grater is a perfect way to get little specks of butter to cut into the dough.
  • Microplane Grater: A microplane grater gives enough control to zest a lemon without cutting into the pith.
  • Sheet Pans: These half-sheet baking pans are my favorite! A lighter-colored pan helps prevent the bottoms of the scones from overbaking and browning too much.
  • Silicone Baking Mat: Use parchment paper or this reusable silicone baking mat to ensure the scones don’t stick to the sheet pan.
  • Ice Cream Scoop: This 4-tablespoon scoop is a great size to scoop the scone dough. Scooping, rather than rolling and cutting, or pinching off and rolling by hand, minimizes gluten formation and keeps the dough as cold as possible.
  • Immersion Blender: An immersion blender is a quick and easy way to grind up the blueberries to make the blueberry glaze.
side view of a scone with one bite taken out of it

Tips and Tricks for the Best Lemon Blueberry Scones

  1. Keep the ingredients cold! Use frozen butter and cold eggs, cream, and milk. Colder scone dough = fluffier scones!
  2. This recipe calls for using an ice cream scoop to scoop mounds of dough. You can also roll out the dough and cut scones with a biscuit cutter or pat the dough into a circle and cut it into wedges if preferred.
  3. Scones are best served warm out of the oven but can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
  4. For the warm scone experience with previously baked scones, pop a scone in the microwave for 20 seconds before enjoying.
  5. These scones are delicious with the lemon and blueberry glazes, but can instead be served with jam, curds, or a dusting of confectioners’ sugar.

More Blueberry Dessert Recipes:

Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones

Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones

Yield: 12 scones
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Sweet and creamy and packed full of fresh blueberries and lemon zest with blueberry and lemon glazes, Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones are the perfect addition to spring and summer brunches.

Ingredients

For the Scones:

  • 2 3/4 cups (330 grams) all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (99 grams) granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, frozen
  • zest of 1 medium lemon (~1 tablespoon)
  • 1 cup (170 grams) blueberries
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup (113.5 grams) heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup (57 grams) whole milk

For the Lemon Glaze:

  • 1 cup (113.5 grams) confectioners sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

For the Blueberry Glaze:

  • 1 cup (113.5 grams) confectioners sugar
  • 1/4 cup (43 grams) blueberries
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 375° F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.  Remove the butter from the freezer and grate into the bowl, using the large sides on a box grater.  Using your fingers, mix the butter into the flour mixture until sandy and crumbly; some larger pieces of butter will remain.  (Alternatively, cut cold butter into the flour with two knives).   Stir in the lemon zest and blueberries.
    3. Whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, heavy cream, and milk.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients.  Stir gently until the mixture is sticky and holds together.
    4. Use a muffin or ice cream scoop to scoop ~1/3 cup of batter into mounds on the prepared baking sheet.  Top with coarse sugar crystals.  Bake for 30 minutes, until lightly browned.  Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet.
    5. To make the glazes, whisk together the confectioners sugar and lemon juice in one bowl. Using a blender or food processor, pulse the blueberries until a thick liquid consistency; whisk in the lemon juice and confectioners sugar. Add additional confectioners sugar or lemon juice to either to make a thick paste-like consistency, then drizzle on scones.

Notes

  1. For best scone texture, use frozen butter and cold milk and eggs for the scone batter.
  2. Scones are best served warm, but can be heated in the microwave for 20 seconds to warm before enjoying.


Scones can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.

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Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones: Perfectly flaky, crumbly scones full of blueberries and lemon with easy blueberry and lemon glazes on top.  Perfect for all your spring and summer brunches!

This Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scone recipe was originally published in April 2017 and republished with new photos and helpful tips in April 2021.