Perfect for Afternoon Tea
I’m a bit of a tea ‘aholic. I have a few cups a day. Okay, maybe several cups a day. I’ve never developed a taste for coffee but I love the smell of coffee. I just can’t drink it. So, tea it is. And what afternoon tea is complete without a delicious snack? Enter, Lemon Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze.
These scones are very flaky and packed full of blueberries. The lemon adds a wonderful brightness to the experience. They are not too sweet, just the way a scone should be. Feel free to make your glaze as thin or thick as you like. The thicker, the sweeter.
These do not take long to make and require just a few simple ingredients. Sometimes I’m still shocked at how easy it can be to make your own delicious treats at home. I can’t recommend them enough!
The Recipe
Lemon Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
Ingredients
- 3 Cups All-Purpose flour
- 1/4 Cup White granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp Baking powder
- ¼ Tsp Kosher salt
- ½ Cup Very cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 Tbsp Grated lemon zest
- ¾ Cup Whipping cream (or full fat whole milk) Plus an additional 2 Tbsp
- 1 Egg, large size
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup Fresh or frozen blueberries
For the Lemon Glaze
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice fresh squeezed please
- ¾ Cup Powdered icing sugar, sifted (may use less)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, or two forks, cut the cubes of very cold butter into the flour mixture. You want very small pea-sized type pieces of butter. It's the butter melting that is going to help give you the flaky pockets.
- Add the lemon zest and gently mix it in.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the whipped cream (or milk*), egg and vanilla. Add this to the bowl with the flour mixture and stir just until it starts to come together. Turn this out onto a clean work surface and using your hands, bring the mixture together. *Sometimes I only need 3/4 cup whipped cream, other times I need to add 2 more tbsps. You want the dough to come together, but not be a sticky mess.
- Flatten the dough into a rough rectangle with your hands. Press the blueberries into the dough. Fold one half into the middle. Fold the other half over the top of the first fold. Fold in half, top down. See the pictures to help you.
- Using your hands again, gently flatten the dough out to a rectangle approximately 12" x 10" again.
- Using a very sharp knife, cut this in half lengthwise, then make 3 equal cuts the other direction until you have 6 pieces around the same size.
- Gently move each slice onto the baking sheet. Brush the scone tops with a bit of cream. I usually use what was left in the wet bowl.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until brown on top and baked through. Cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to completely cool before adding the lemon glaze.
To make the Lemon Glaze
- While the scones are cooling, add the lemon juice to a medium-sized bowl. Sift in enough powdered icing sugar until you get a pourable consistency. This can be up to 3/4 of a cup. If you want a thicker glaze, use more icing sugar. Use a whisk to mix this. You don't want lumps.
- Use the parchment paper from when you baked the scones as a drip tray underneath the wire rack to help with clean up.
- Using a large spoon, pour glaze over each cooled scone. Wait about 10 minutes for the glaze to set up. Enjoy!
Notes
Because a person can never have too much lemon and blueberry, be sure to check out this Lemon Blueberry Loaf Recipe.
Photos to help with making Lemon Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
Add cubes of very cold butter to the flour mixture. You can use a pastry cutter or if you don’t have one, two forks or knives will work. You want to break the butter into smaller pieces and be incorporated with the flour mixture. Try to do this quickly to avoid the butter getting too warm
Add the lemon zest. I used Meyer lemons for this recipe, which is the reason the zest is more orange-coloured. The second photo is the dough after it’s been roughly mixed together in the bowl and tipped out onto a clean surface. I use a larger cutting board since I am going to be using a knife to cut the scones and I’m more than slightly paranoid about using knives on my countertop.
Make a rough rectangle of the dough and sprinkle the blueberries all over. Gently push them into the dough. Don’t push hard since you don’t want them all to burst. In this picture, I’ve used frozen wild blueberries, which are smaller than regular blueberries. Either will work.
Fold one-third over more than half the dough. Fold the left side so that it covers to the edge of the right side. Fold in half, top down. I will use a bench scraper to help with the folding if the dough looks like it might be sticking to the surface. I don’t want to add more flour since that can make the scones tough.
Gently flatten the dough out again into an approximate 12″x10″ rectangle. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough in half lengthwise then make 3 equal cuts in the other direction so that you have 6 pieces.
Gently move the slices to the parchment paper-lined baking sheet and brush each scone top with a bit of whipping cream.
Look at these scones! The flaky layers with blueberries are so good. But wait…these need to cool before you can add the glaze or the glaze will just run right off.
The Results
I use the parchment paper from baking and slide it under the wire rack before I add the glaze. This helps with clean up! Wait approximately 10 minutes for the glaze to set-up before you enjoy.
I hope you try these scones. They are delectable. I enjoy them with my afternoon tea or even for breakfast if there are any left by the morning. Store on the counter in a covered container for up to 3 days, although they won’t last that long.
Thanks for stopping by!
