Amazing Lemon Blueberry Scones
Ingredients
Scones:
- 3 ½ cups (497 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest (from 1 to 2 lemons)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170 g) cold salted butter
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 to 2 lemons)
- 1 to 1 ¼ cups fresh blueberries (see note for frozen berries and other fruit options)
Topping:
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- Coarse or turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Glaze:
- 1 ¼ cups (143 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix well.
- Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the cold butter into the dry ingredients and toss until the butter shreds are evenly coated with the flour mixture. (See note for food processor or pastry blender mixing method.)
- Add the blueberries and toss to combine.
- Add the buttermilk and lemon juice. With a silicone spatula, stir/fold until the mixture starts to come together. Mix gently so the blueberries don't get mashed (it's ok if a few of them burst but most of them should stay intact).
- Don't over mix the scone dough; it’s ok if there are dry spots here and there. Pieces of dough should come together when pressed between your fingers. Add additional buttermilk a tablespoon at a time only if the dough is extremely dry and crumbly.
- Turn the dough out onto a counter dusted with 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Use your hands to bring the dough together into a cohesive mass - just do your best to work with and around the blueberries. Lightly knead/fold the dough once or twice.
- Pat and press the dough into a long rectangle, about 15X3-inches.
- Use a bench scraper or knife to cut the dough into 10 to 12 triangular wedges. Place the scones 1/2-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 15 minutes until very lightly golden on the bottom and sides and no longer doughy in the center. Let cool on the pan or remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice, adding additional lemon juice, if needed, until the glaze is thick but pourable (add extra powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time if it needs thickening up). Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones.
- Serve the scones lightly warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Food Processor or Pastry Blender Method: the butter can be cut into the dry ingredients using a food processor (pulse until the butter forms pea-size pieces, then add the wet ingredients and pulse until the dough starts to come together, remove the blade, add the blueberries and mix by hand to combine). A pastry blender can also be used (combine dry ingredients in large bowl, cut butter into pieces and add to the bowl, use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is in pea-size or slightly smaller pieces, proceed with the recipe).
Frozen Blueberries: this recipe works best with fresh blueberries. If using larger-size frozen fruit (like bluberries), I recommend thawing and patting dry before using in the recipe. If using smaller-size frozen fruit (like huckleberries or wild blueberries), try adding the berries frozen. Keep in mind that with any frozen fruit, no matter if it is thawed or frozen, the fruit will bleed color throughout the dough more than using fresh fruit.
Other Fruits: other fresh fruits like raspberries, blackberries, or huckleberries would sub in well for the blueberries.