These classic blueberry scones are tender, buttery, and built around one simple technique: keep the butter cold. Small pieces of cold butter create little pockets of steam in the oven, which helps give the scones their flaky texture.
The dough should look a little rough rather than perfectly smooth. Mix just until it comes together, then handle it as little as possible. Overworking develops too much gluten and can make the scones tough. Fresh or frozen blueberries both work well, making this an easy breakfast bake any time of year.
Blueberry Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cup All-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter very cold, cut into small cubes
- 1 cup Blueberries fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup Heavy cream cold
- 1 Large egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp Heavy cream for brushing
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Pastry cutter or fork
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Bench scraper or knife
- Pastry brush
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cold butter to the flour mixture.
- Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture has pea-sized pieces of butter throughout.
- Gently fold in the blueberries.
- Whisk the 1/2 cup heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract together in a separate bowl.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture.
- Fold gently until the dough just comes together, taking care not to overwork it.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
- Gently shape the dough into a round about 1 inch thick.
- Cut the round into 8 wedges.
- Transfer the wedges to the prepared baking sheet.
- Brush the tops lightly with 1 tablespoon heavy cream.
- Bake at 400°F until the scones are risen and golden brown, about 16 to 18 minutes.
- Let the scones cool slightly before serving.
Notes
Use fresh or frozen blueberries; if using frozen, add them directly from the freezer so they do not bleed as much into the dough.
For lemon blueberry scones, add finely grated lemon zest to the dry ingredients.
For a simple glaze, stir powdered sugar with a small amount of lemon juice or milk until smooth and drizzle over cooled scones.
Keep the butter and cream cold, and mix only until the dough comes together; overworking the dough can make the scones dense and tough.
