You are going to love this easy to make recipe for gluten free scones! It's made with ripe, juicy blackberries, flavored with fresh lemon zest and drizzled with a homemade lemonade glaze.
Scones are delicious any time of the year but this recipe is particularly delicious when you have access to ripe, juicy berries. This is the perfect summertime scone recipe! We tested this recipe using many gluten free flour blends. We settled on King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour as it created the most light and fluffy scones with crispy edges. Swap out the blackberries for blueberries, fresh strawberries or even chocolate chips! Scones are the perfect treat for sunny morning breakfasts outside.
We love to make our favorite breakfast recipes gluten free. Be sure to check out our recipe for The Best Gluten Free Pancakes and our favorite Gluten Free Waffles.
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🥘 Ingredients
- gluten free flour blend - I prefer King Arthur Measure for Measure for this recipe
- lemon - you'll need the zest and juice for this recipe
- baking powder - gives the scones perfect lift and a light and fluffy texture
- salt - balances the flavors in the scones
- unsalted butter - supports the creation of those flaky layers in the scones
- heavy cream - milk works too but I find the heavy cream adds depth and richness to the scones that I really love.
- eggs - Pulls the scone together and helps to create that that perfect shape and structure.
- vanilla extract - creates depth in the flavors of the scone
- blackberries - use fresh blackberries and freeze them for 15-20 minutes
- confectioner sugar - for that perfect lemonade glaze
See recipe card for exact quantities and detailed instructions.
🍫 Substitutions
- Berries - swap the blackberries for fresh raspberries or blueberries - be sure to freeze them before you add them to the scone dough
- Gluten Free Flour - if you don't follow a gluten free diet you can easily make this recipe with 2 cups of all-purpose flour
📖 Variations
- Lemonade White Chocolate Scones - swap the berries for 1 cup of white chocolate chips to make lemonade white chocolate chip scones that are gluten free
- Mini Scones - shape the dough into two smaller circles - cut small scones and bake for 12-14 minutes at 400°
- Gluten Free Blackberry Chocolate Chip Scones - add in ½ cup of your favorite chocolate chips
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Scones - omit the lemon zest and swap the blackberries for 1 cup of your favorite chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
⏲️ How to Make Gluten-Free Blackberry Scones From Scratch
1. Combine dry ingredients and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl.
2. Grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients.
3. Drizzle combined liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until the dough just comes together.
4. Add the frozen blackberries and mix gently to combine.
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and fold the dough over itself 3-4 times until the dough has a uniform texture with flecks of butter throughout.
6. Use a bench scraper to cut the circle into 8 wedges.
7. Move dough to a quarter sheet pan and chill for 20-30 minutes in the freezer or refrigerator. Remember, cold dough = fluffy scones with crispy edges that keep their shape.
8. Place desired number of chilled scones onto a half sheet pan. Brush with heavy cream and bake at 400° for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.
9. Combine confectioners sugar and fresh lemon juice in a small bowl. Whisk until well combined. Drizzle warm scones with the fresh lemonade glaze.
💭 Tips and Tricks for Perfect Scones
- Use Cold Ingredients: I can't emphasize this enough! You need cold butter, cold cream, cold eggs and cold vanilla. I even sometimes throw my flour combination into the freezer for a few minutes just to make sure everything is super cold. All of my scone recipes start with a stick of frozen butter that I grate into the dry ingredients.
- Don't Be Afraid to Mix the Dough: I've had good luck when I turn the dough onto a floured board when it has just about come together. Then I like to fold it over itself 4-5 times until all of the extra flour has been incorporated into the dough and the dough has an even consistency flecked with butter.
- Refrigerate or Freeze Your Dough Before Baking: Give your dough triangles a rest in the refrigerator or freezer for 20-30 minutes before baking.
🙋♀️Frequently Asked Questions
Xanthum gum makes up for the lack of gluten in gluten free baking. It add elasticity and and stickiness to our gluten free scone dough. Xanthum gum is a component of the King Arthur Measure for Measure flour so you won't need any additional xanthum gum for this recipe.
For fluffy scones that rise well, you need a combination of very cold ingredients and the perfect amount of baking powder. If scone dough is not chilled and very cold, it will spread too quickly when you move the dough to the oven. This will leave you with flat scones that aren't all that fluffy. Baking powder also supports a fluffy scone so it's important to combine the baking powder with cold ingredients and a brief, cold rest of the dough before baking.
Yes! Absolutely! If you don't, you will end up with scone puddles. I like to cut the dough into triangles and arrange the triangles on a quarter baking sheet. Move the scone dough to the freezer for at least 20 minutes before baking. No need to remove the dough from the freezer ahead of time. Frozen dough can go directly from the freezer to your baking sheet and into the oven. See our tips for Storing and Freezing Scones below.
🫙 Storing and Freezing Scones
I find that scones are best when they are freshly baked. You get those dreamy crisp edges and tender middles. In may opinion, scones don't keep well so it's best to bake scones fresh on the day that you plan to enjoy them. Because of this, I prefer to keep unbaked dough in the freezer and bake scones when I want them.
To do this, you'll want to freeze the cut scones until they are completely solid and then transfer the frozen dough to a storage bag or container. When you are ready to bake the scones, you transfer the number of scones that you want to your baking sheet, brush with heavy cream and bake 400°. Be sure to add a few extra minutes to the baking time if the dough is frozen solid.
To learn more about freezing scones, check out our step-by-step guide to freezing scones. This guide will teach you everything that you need to know about freezing scones.
☕️ More Gluten Free Breakfast Ideas
📖 Recipe
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Gluten Free Blackberry Lemonade Scones
Ingredients
For the Scones
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend I used King Arthur Measure for Measure
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 large lemon, zested
- ½ cup butter, frozen for 30 minutes
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup fresh blackberries frozen
For the Glaze
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 ¼ cups confectioner's sugar
Instructions
For the Scones
- While the butter is freezing, combine the gluten free flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Zest the lemon right into the dry ingredients.
- In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together egg, heavy cream and vanilla. Store in the refrigerator until needed.
- Remove frozen butter from the freezer and use your cheese grater to grate the frozen butter directly into the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter or fork to work the butter into the flour mixture. Pour the heavy cream and eggs over the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Add the frozen blackberries to the dough. Gently fold the berries into the dough. It's okay if they are not well combined.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and fold the dough over itself and then flatten it to incorporate the chips. Do this 4-5 times to be sure that the berries are evenly distributed throughout the dough. You want the dough to come together and look uniform with flecks of butter throughout. Form the dough into a 8-10 inch circle and use a bench scraper or sharp knife to cut the dough into 8 triangles.
- Arrange on a quarter sheet pan and place scones into the freezer for 15-20 minutes before preheating the oven to 400°. After the 20 minutes, arrange the chilled scones on a parchment lined, half sheet pan. Brush the scones with heavy cream and bake at 400° for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.
- While the scones are baking, make the lemon glaze.
For the Lemon Glaze
- Juice the lemon that you originally zested. Combine this juice with the confectioner's sugar and whisk well to combine. Glaze can be used right away or frozen and used when you bake the scones.
- Once the scones are finished baking, drizzle with the lemon glaze and enjoy!
Jennifer Summers Hotham says
These scones are amazing!!! Got some farm fresh blackberries from the farm down the street and made them for my daughter and son in law who gave me my first grand-daughter today! So good! Wouldn’t change a thing!
Amanda Smallwood says
Thanks so much for the feedback Jennifer! So glad your scones came out well and congrats on your granddaughter! 🎉
Erin says
What happens with the lemon juice listed before the glaze? The dough already seems very moist without it.
Amanda Smallwood says
The lemon juice listed about the glaze ingredients goes into the scone dough - if it seems too moist, you can add just a bit more flour to the dough. Thanks! Amanda
Nicholas says
In step 5, what are the "chips" that you refer to, exactly? I am not acquainted with baking terms
Amanda Smallwood says
Hi Nicholas!
So sorry! It was a typo and should have said berries. Thank you! Amanda
Macie says
Do you think Stevia would work in place of the sugar?
Amanda Smallwood says
I do think that Stevia would work. It may change the texture a bit as the sugar helps to create this crispy scone edges but you could certainly give it a try. xo Amanda