Tips and tricks for making the most perfect, soft, flaky lavender blueberry scones!
Recently I shared these pumpkin scones with you guys, and I’ve also shared my classic scones recipe in the past. But did you know that you can just as readily use that classic scones recipe to make other scones too? Enter, these gorgeous Lavender Blueberry Scones with lemon glaze! A perfect blueberry scone recipe, with dried lavender to kick it up a notch.
Why you should make these lavender blueberry scones with lemon glaze
So flaky and soft! PACKED with blueberries. Much easier than you’d think to create those soft flaky layers. You can make these ahead of time, and freeze. They bake perfectly from frozen. The glaze is super lemony, and it looks gorgeous too (hint: it’s the blueberries!).
If you have tried my classic scone recipe, then you’ll know how to create those beautiful layers. The secret to creating flaky layers is to gently “fold” the dough over itself a few times. Just like you would for making puff pastry or croissants. The large chunks of butter combined with the folds will bake into lovely, flaky layers. These lavender blueberry scones are a fantastic combo of soft and flaky. And that’s because I add just a touch of extra liquid compared to my classic scones recipe.
Ingredients for making lavender blueberry scones
Cold butter (unsalted butter preferably) – it’s important to keep the butter chilled for this blueberry scone recipe. If you’re going to use grated butter, make sure it’s frozen. Sugar – for this recipe, I pulse the white sugar with dried lavender to make lavender sugar. This helps infuse the lavender more easily into the scone dough. Lavender – dried culinary lavender is used in this recipe because the flavor is stronger. But make sure to blend it with the sugar, so that the flavor is optimal. This is the best way to introduce a bold lavender flavor into these lavender blueberry scones. Flour – I use AP flour. You can also use cake flour, but NOT bread flour. Make sure to work the dough as little as possible to prevent too much gluten from developing in the dough. Baking powder – this is the chemical leavener that will help the scone rise and create those soft, flaky layers. Milk or buttermilk (or even cream) – this will bind the scone dough together. To make the scone more flaky, you can reduce the amount of liquid added. You can use milk or cream or buttermilk in this recipe. It works with any of those milks. Some recipes call for cream and egg, but this recipe only uses cream (or any milk). Wild blueberries – because wild blueberries are smaller in size, you can pack MORE in the scone. You can even use FROZEN wild blueberries, but make sure to keep them frozen when you’re adding them to the dough.
How to make easy lavender blueberry scones (step by step)
Making the dough
First, get all your ingredients measured and ready for the lavender blueberry scones. The butter and heavy cream (or buttermilk) need to be chilled. The flour can be at room temperature, but it can be chilled too. Prep the blueberries and keep aside for later. Make the lavender sugar – Place the sugar and lavender in a food processor or blender, and pulse until the lavender is chopped finely and mixes in with the sugar. Avoid over-processing and turning the sugar into powder. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) and lavender sugar in a bowl with a whisk. Add the cubed and chilled butter to the flour sugar baking powder and salt mix, and toss to coat the butter. Next, cut the butter into the flour, making sure to leave hazelnut-sized lumps of butter in the dough. Then, add the blueberries to the butter-flour mix, and toss to mix them in evenly. Finally, add the cream in two batches, lightly mixing in the flour in between. DO NOT OVER MIX. Some dry patches are absolutely OK. The dough won’t come together like a dough ball, and there’ll be dry patches and lumps of wet dough. Place a parchment paper on your work surface, and lightly dust the surface. Turn the lumps of dough out onto the lightly floured surface, and then using lightly floured hands, gently bring the dough together to form one piece of dough. Use the palms of your hands to form the dough into a rectangle. The size is not important, but it should be just large enough to fold over easily.
Creating flaky layers and cutting these blueberry scones
Handle the dough as little and as gently as possible, to avoid developing any gluten in the flour. You’ll be folding, patting and folding the dough over a few times to create layers. Shape the scone dough into a 7 – 8 inch circle. Dust the surface generously and use a sharp knife to cut the circle into 8 wedges. Make sure to cut straight down, through the dough. Separate the cut lavender blueberry scones slightly so that the edges aren’t touching. Transfer the parchment paper with scones onto a baking tray, or flat plate. Then freeze the scones for about 15- 20 minutes if you’re planning on baking them immediately.
Or keep them in the freezer for up to 12 hours in the baking tray. If you want to store them for longer, keep the frozen scones in a large ziploc bag or airtight container. This blueberry scone recipe is great to make ahead!
Baking the scones
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven. Transfer the chilled/frozen scones onto the baking sheet and brush the tops with milk or cream. If they’re only chilled and not frozen, bake the scones for about 20 minutes. If frozen, bake for about 25 minutes. But either way, I like to keep them in the oven for a further 10 minutes after turning off the oven.
Making the blueberry lemon glaze
While the scones are baking, prepare the lemon glaze. Macerate the blueberries in lemon juice. After a few minutes, pass the blueberry lemon mix through a sieve. Add the juice into confectioner’s sugar while mixing to get the desired consistency. Drizzle lemon glaze over the scones when they have cooled down a bit, to prevent the glaze from melting. Serve these lavender blueberry scones with a knob of butter and a cup of coffee (or lavender latte!).
Tips for making perfect lavender blueberry scones
This blueberry scone recipe can be made with fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries. Use wild blueberries so you can pack a ton of blueberries in each scone. You can find them frozen in some supermarkets too. The butter needs to be cubed into 1/2 inch pieces, and be chilled. A shortcut to this step is to FREEZE your butter and then grate it. Weigh the frozen and grated butter, and then keep it in the freezer until needed. You don’t have to use the pastry cutter or pastry blender, if you’re using grated frozen butter. Use light hands to pat the dough. Over-mixing is your enemy for quick breads like scones. So work with the dough gently and lightly, to avoid gluten development, and to prevent the blueberries from getting crushed too much. Work quickly to avoid the butter from melting too. If the dough is too wet, dust the surface with extra flour. And if the butter is melting, keep the dough in the fridge for a few minutes to let the butter harden again. Use a parchment paper on your work surface to help you with folding the dough, and shaping the dough. This will prevent a big mess on your countertop, PLUS you avoid over-working the dough. Make sure your knife has a straight edge, and is sharp, so you can make sharp, clean cuts in the dough. If you’re using a cookie cutter, then clean the cutter with a paper towel after every cut. Also, lightly flour it to prevent sticking.
How to store these blueberry scones
Scones are best eaten the day that they are made. However, if you have leftovers, store them in an air-tight container at room temperature for a further 12 – 24 hours. To make these ahead of time, I recommend freezing the UNBAKED lavender blueberry scones. Then you can bake them from frozen whenever you want must have delicious scones. To freeze – place the scones on a parchment paper-lined baking tray. Cover the tray with plastic wrap and freeze the blueberry scones for at least a few hours until completely frozen. Place frozen scones in an air-tight container or ziploc freezer bags, and store in the freezer until needed. I guarantee these delicious lavender blueberry scones will be your go-to blueberry scone recipe! I prefer to serve them with some salted butter – but whipped cream is a great option too.
Other recipes you may like,
Classic Cream Scones Pumpkin Scones Classic Hot Cross Buns Blueberry Elderflower Sour Cocktails Easy Shortbread Cookies Bonus material: a recent picture of my puppy Zuko! 🙂
