Fluffy Blackberry White Chocolate Scones

With the perfect balance between sweet and sour, covered with a delicious citrus glaze and packed with white chocolate, these Blackberry Scones are easy to make even if you're a beginner baker!

Jump to:

• 👩🏻‍🍳Why bake these scones
• 🍪What are the two types of scones?
• 📝Ingredients and substitutions
• 🥄How to make them
• 🔪How to shape and cut
• 🫐Secrets to making good scones
• 🍒FAQ
• 🫙Storing scones
• 📖 Recipe

Looking for more easy scones recipes? These chocolate chip scones are super fun to bake and the kids love them!

👩🏻‍🍳Why bake these scones

• You're looking for a soft, buttery scone;

• You want a recipe where you can easily substitute ingredients;

• You're looking for a scone recipe you can get right on your first try!

🍪What are the two types of scones?

There are two types of scones: American and British.

British scones are usually baked plain. They have less butter, just a tiny bit of sugar and are made to be eaten with butter or jam. They can resemble an American Biscuit, but are not as light as one.

American scones are made to be eaten alone: they have add-ins like berries or chocolate chips, and are usually topped with delicious sugar icings and even melted chocolate.

Both are amazing in their own way! But here you're getting a full-package American scone.

📝Ingredients and substitutions

Let's make sure you have everything you need for scrumptious, delicious blackberry scones!

All-purpose flour. Use all-purpose for this recipe to work. Do not substitute for bread flour, or whole wheat flour.

Sugar. Both granulated sugar or caster sugar are fine. Don't use brown sugar for this recipe.

Salt. Use fine sea salt.

Baking powder. It's responsible for the rise that will make the scones fluffy and light. Make sure yours is not expired. Baking powder can lose its power 6 months after opened.

Butter. Use unsalted, frozen butter. This ingredient, as all wet ingredients, needs to be EXTRA cold.

Egg. Use organic, cage-free eggs if possible.

Heavy and sour cream. Sour cream can be substituted for greek yogurt. Heavy cream can be substituted for buttermilk. Don't substitute these ingredients for any type of milk or half-and-half.

White chocolate. You can use chunks of white chocolate, or white chocolate chips.

Blackberries. Use frozen blackberries. You can use fresh blackberries, but they release more liquid when incorporated. That can make things difficult if you don't have much experience with scones.

🥄How to make them

Scones are delicious, but can be tricky little things to get done. They're not super hard to make, but can go wrong if you don't follow all the instructions and tips.

No worries: here, I have a step by step video and all the instructions written below to make things easier for you!

Two things you need to do before starting to mix the ingredients:

• Cut your butter into small pieces and freeze it for 1 hour. You need it extra-cold for the perfect scone texture. You can cut it into small cubes, or grate it. Just make sure you freeze it before using.
• Preheat the oven. You can't forget to preheat it for at least 15 minutes. Oven needs to be at the right temperature for the scones to bake properly! Never start baking scones in a cold oven.

Now, for the recipe:

1. Mix all dry ingredients before adding wet ingredients. That will assure you get them evenly mixed. It also prevent you of over-kneading the dough.

2. Use a pastry cutter, fork or your hands to incorporate the butter. You don't want to overwork here: small lumps are ok and wanted. If you're mixing with your hands, wash them with cold water before starting.

3. Add egg. Mix it quickly with a fork before adding to the dough.

4. Add sour cream and heavy cream. Now, I usually use it all, but you might not need all your sour cream and heavy cream mixture. Add it only until you get a dough that resembles a cookie dough. I recommend adding ⅔ of it, mixing, and adding more only if the dough is still too crumbly.

5. Add white chocolate and blackberries. Use frozen blackberries: they release less liquid. In the video, I used fresh blackberries, and you can see how much water they released when being mixed into the dough.

The scones will be fluffy and buttery even if using fresh berries, but it's easier to use frozen if you're a beginner.

🔪How to shape and cut

Here comes the tricky part: shaping them.

Now, if you're thinking about adding more flour: don't!

After adding the blackberries, add more flour ONLY IF the dough is too sticky to shape. And don't add too much: ¼ cup should be enough.

I always try to avoid adding more flour after the dough comes together. The less you handle the dough, the better. Handling it too much can make tougher, drier scones.

1. Flour your hands and the surface you’ll use to shape the scones: it’s so much easier to handle the dough this way.

2. Divide the dough in two if you're making mini scones. You can skip this part if you're aiming for bigger scones.

3. Shape each piece into a disc. Make it at least 1 inch tall. Flip the disc once, then cut it into 8 pieces.

4. Place shaped scones over a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you forgot to preheat the oven, handled too much the dough, or are baking in a hot summer day, I recommend freezing the scones for 20 minutes before baking.

🫐Secrets to making good scones

Follow all these tips to get extra tender scones:

• Wet ingredients need to be extra cold for this recipe;

• Mix all the dry ingredients well before adding butter;

• Careful to not overmix the dough. You only have to knead until everything is combined and no spots of dry flour remains.

• Use frozen blackberries. They release less liquid and make the dough easier to work with.

• When cutting scones, dip the cutter into flour. That little trick will make the dough don't stick to it;

• Keep your scones as cold as possible until they reach the oven. If you shape them but the oven is not hot enough, place scones in the freezer while waiting for oven to preheat;

• Bake the scones using the middle shelf. Do not bake more than 1 sheet at a time using different shelves;

• Bake only until scones reach a light brown color at the top. That happens between 12 and 15 minutes.

🍒FAQ

🫙Storing scones

If you're lucky and there are scones left, store them inside an airtight container, away from sunlight. They're good for 3 to 5 days if stored correctly. Don't store scones inside the fridge!

Wanna freeze them? To freeze baked scones, wait for them to cool completely. Then, wrap them in plastic wrap, making sure they are tightly sealed. Place wrapped scones in a freezer bag or airtight container. They're good for up to 3 months.

To thaw after freezing, leave them for 1 hour on your counter or overnight inside your fridge, then use your oven or microwave to reheat. I prefer using the oven, and usually 6 minutes at 350°F are enough for me.

📖 Recipe