Juicy blueberries add a pop of flavor to these tender and buttery gluten free scones. With the addition of buttermilk, they bake up with perfectly crisp edges and a soft, vanilla-scented crumb. The best part is, it takes less than 30 minutes to whip up the dough, and all the prep can be done ahead!
There's something to be said for a simple, coffee shop-style breakfast: a creamy iced coffee alongside a fresh-from-the-oven scone. It's one of life's small pleasures, and with this recipe you can have that from the cozy comfort of your own home!
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Why you'll love these blueberry buttermilk scones
- This a simple scone recipe that sticks closely to tradition, using just a handful of basic ingredients. A combination of butter, heavy cream, and buttermilk give them a tender, flaky interior - without the cakey texture found in scones that use eggs.
- Although these blueberry scones are gluten-free, they're neither dry nor crumbly. Say goodbye to those dense rocks you thought were scones; these are the real thing!
- Fresh blueberries contribute a pop of juicy flavor - the perfect pairing for the soft vanilla notes in the background.
- And of course, this is an EASY recipe. The blueberry scones can be prepped in less than 30 minutes, and can be made ahead to freeze and bake later. Pair them with your favorite morning beverage (this lavender-vanilla iced coffee would be perfect!) and you've got yourself a quick and delicious breakfast.
Ingredients you'll need
Even though they're made from scratch, the ingredient list for these scones is short and simple! To make sure they turn out perfectly, here are a few tips:
- Use an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum. My go-to brands are Bob's Red Mill (use their 1:1 blend), King Arthur Flour, or Pamela's. (Pamela's contains guar gum instead of xanthan gum, a common substitute.)
- You can easily make your own buttermilk at home if you don't want to buy a carton just for this recipe. (But if you're looking for a way to use up the leftovers, these buttermilk biscuits are my favorite!)
- To use salted butter in this recipe (versus unsalted), just reduce the added salt by ⅛th teaspoon.
- You can elevate the vanilla flavor in these blueberry scones just a bit more by adding the seeds from one vanilla bean to the dough. It's not a must, but always a great addition!
Step-by-step instructions
Now that you've got the goods, here's how you'll make these gluten free blueberry scones!
Step one: Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together 2 ⅜ cup gluten-free all-purpose flour with the granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. If you've decided to add a vanilla bean, you can whisk in the seeds at this step.
Step two: Toss in butter. Use the large-hole side of a flat or box grater to grate your butter into the dry ingredient mixture. Then, toss it in gently with your hands, just until it's evenly dispersed into the mixture.
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Step three: Add the liquid ingredients. In a liquid measuring glass, whisk together the buttermilk, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Pour this into the flour mixture and fold it in with a spatula until the liquid is dispersed. Your dough should start to come together at this point.
Step four: Add the blueberries and knead together. Toss your blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour to coat. Add these to the scone dough, folding them into the mixture briefly with your spatula. Then, use your hands to gently finish kneading the dough into a ball, being careful not to overwork it. The dough should be tacky, but not overly sticky.
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Step five: Shape and freeze. Transfer the scone dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet and use your hands to flatten it into a disc about 1" thick. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer for an hour to chill the dough.
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Step six: Slice and glaze. At the end of the chilling time, preheat your oven to 400ºF. Once the oven is hot, remove the scone dough from the freezer and slice it into eight equal pieces just like you'd cut a pizza. Spread the individual scones out on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle them generously with demerara sugar.
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Step seven: Bake. Bake the scones in your preheated oven for about 18 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve while still warm and enjoy!
Tips for tall and fluffy gluten-free scones
With this recipe, you can incorporate a few key tips that'll help you guarantee your scones actually rise, and have that signature buttery, flaky texture:
- Measure your flour correctly. It's easy to pack a measuring cup with too much flour, which is a risk with any baked good. But this is especially important to be wary of with scones, where the correct ratio of flour, butter, and liquids is crucial. To avoid scones that are dense, heavy and dry, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients. However, if you don't have a kitchen scale, make sure you use the spoon-and-level method to measure your flour accurately.
- Grate your butter. The idea behind this is to quickly and easily disperse cold chunks of butter into your dry ingredients. The butter shouldn't start melting until it hits the oven, creating those flaky, airy pockets in the crumb. To help with this, I like to grate my butter before I start making the scones, and then stick it in the freezer until I'm ready for it.
- Use COLD ingredients. By making sure your other liquid ingredients - in this case buttermilk and heavy cream - also start out as cold as possible, you can help keep the butter cold. Remember, cold butter = tender, flaky scones.
- Be gentle with the dough. Just like with a pie or galette crust, it's important to use a light hand when working with scone dough. Always be careful to avoid over-mixing and over-kneading, as this will likely lead to dense, heavy scones.
Variations
Although these scones are truly excellent as-is, there are a few easy ways you can switch up the flavors a bit! Try adding ½ cup white chocolate chips to make blueberry white chocolate scones, or 1 tablespoon of freshly-grated lemon zest for lemon blueberry scones.
Recipe FAQ
The fact of the matter is that ALL scones are best served warm from the oven. If you do have extras, you can store them in a zip-top bag or airtight container at cool room temperature for about 3 days. I recommend re-heating them in a toaster oven before serving. Use the toast setting at 375ºF for 5-7 minutes.
Yes, but I recommend you freeze them before you bake them. In fact, this is the my favorite thing about scones! You can make the dough ahead of time, freeze and slice them according to the recipe instructions, and then store them in a freezer-safe bag until you're ready to bake. Just take them out of the freezer while your oven is preheating, and continue by baking them as you normally would. You may need to add 1-2 minutes to the total baking time; use the toothpick test to make sure they're done.
Definitely! Gluten-free flour can tend to soak up a little more liquid than regular flour, so if the scone dough feels too sticky, just add a bit more flour. Otherwise, you should be good to go with a 1:1 substitution.
More scone recipes
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Recipe Card
Gluten-Free Blueberry Buttermilk Scones
These fluffy and tender scones have an amazing vanilla flavor, with juicy bites of fresh blueberries taking center stage. This easy, gluten-free breakfast treat can be made in under 30 minutes!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Chill Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 38 minutes
- Yield: 8 scones 1x
- Category: biscuits and scones
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 cup + 7 tablespoons (10 ¼ ounces) gluten-free all-purpose flour with xanthan gum, divided use*
- ⅜ cup (2 ⅝ ounces) granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ⅝ teaspoon salt
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (optional)
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter**
- 7 tablespoons (3 ¾ ounces) buttermilk***
- ½ cup (4 ⅛ ounces) heavy cream, plus extra for glaze
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- scant ¾ cup (3 ½ ounces) fresh blueberries, rinsed and patted dry
- demerara or sparkling sugar, for garnish
Instructions
- Whisk together dry ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together 2 ⅜ cup (10 ounces) gluten-free all-purpose flour with the granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla bean seeds (if using).
- Toss in butter. Using the large-hole side of a grater, grate the butter into the dry ingredient mixture. Toss it in gently with your hands to disperse.
- Add liquid ingredients. In a liquid measuring glass, whisk together the buttermilk, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Pour into the flour mixture and fold in with a spatula just until incorporated. Your dough should be starting to come together at this point.
- Add blueberries and knead. Toss the blueberries with the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour to coat. Add to the scone dough, folding in briefly with your spatula. Then, use your hands to gently finish kneading the dough into a ball, being careful not to overwork. The dough should be tacky, but not overly sticky.
- Shape and freeze. Transfer the scone dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet and use your hands to flatten it into a disc about 1" thick. Place in the freezer to chill for 1 hour.
- Slice and glaze. At the end of the chilling time, preheat your oven to 400ºF. Just before baking, remove the scone dough from the freezer and slice it into eight equal triangles. Spread the individual scones out on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle them generously with demerara sugar.
- Bake. Bake scones in the preheated oven for 18 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve warm.
Notes
*Regular all-purpose flour can also be used. If you don't have a scale to weigh your flour, it's important to use the spoon and level method of measuring.
**To substitute salted butter, reduce the added salt by ⅛th teaspoon.
**You can make your own buttermilk for this recipe if you don't have any on hand.
To freeze and bake later:
If you want to bake the scones more than a few hours after prepping the dough, remove the dough from the freezer after step 5, slice into individual portions, and continue to freeze until firm. Then, transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container to store until ready to bake. Remove from freezer to thaw slightly while oven is preheating. Baking time may need to be increased; simply bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
To store and reheat:
Store leftover scones in an airtight-bag or container at cool room temperature. They're best if reheated in a toaster oven (on the "toast" setting) at 375ºF for 5-7 minutes. Baked scones should keep for about 3 days.
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Sandra
Thanks for this recipe. I absolutely love scones. I am going to get some heavy cream and buttermilk and have at it with pleasure!
AlexR
I agree with others, these scones look great. I plan to make them for first and even if I do 50% as good as yours , it should still be satisfying. I can not wait!
Anjali
These scones are amazing! They're not too dense, they're perfectly sweet, and the blueberries + vanilla pair so well together! Great for breakfast or with my afternoon coffee!
Beth
These scones were so delicious and yummy! I can’t wait to make this again. My family DEVOURED these so fast!
Jessie
These look so amazing we are going to try these this weekend. I love blueberries in pastries.
Emily
These blueberry scones turned out so delicious! I made them for my gluten free friend and she loved them!
Seema
Ooo this is so exciting. My daughter is learning to cook and is fond of recipes that she can get dine perfectly. I am sure we will do this often.
Ashley
That glaze is so pretty! These sound fantastic!
You must be so excited for your trip - but I definitely know that feeling - trying to cram everything that needs to get done in before you leave!
alexandra
Yes - exactly... so much to be done before then but I am super excited!! And thanks Ashley!