Looking for the Best Gluten Free Scones recipe? These easy blueberry scones drizzled with a sweet glaze, are so tender and fluffy, no one will know they are in fact gluten free!
Ingredients needed
Below are the suggested ingredients for blueberry scones, but this gluten free recipe may be adapted for many other versions. Scroll down for more variations, including fruit scones, savory, or chocolate chip!
- Gluten free flour – This recipe was tested with Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour, which is my preferred brand.
- Sugar – Reduce the amount of sugar for a less sweet or savory scone
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Butter
- Sour cream – Gives the tang of buttermilk, but keeps dough sturdier to help structure. Plain yogurt may also be substituted.
- Egg yolk – Since gluten free flour doesn’t absorb liquids as readily, use just the yolk to help with binding, while reducing liquid.
- Blueberries – Fresh or frozen blueberries, or substitute any preferred berry / fruit
How To Make gluten free scones recipe
To keep the recipe simple and no fail, each step is broken down. Make sure the butter and yogurt are well chilled to maintain a tender texture, instead of dense and hard.
- Begin by whisking together the dry ingredients – gluten free flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Use a pastry blender, fork, or your fingers to cut in the cold butter until there are small, uniform crumbly pieces.
- At this point I like to stir in the blueberries so the dough isn’t overmixed when adding them at the end. Also the flour coats the blueberries, keeping them evenly distributed throughout.
- Whisk together the liquid ingredients – sour cream, yolk, and vanilla extract. Stir into the flour / blueberry mixture.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes while the oven preheats. This gives time for the moisture to absorb into the starches, avoiding a gritty texture.
- On a baking sheet with greased parchment paper, shape the dough into a disc and use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles.
- Spread the scones out, brush tops with milk, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake on the LOWER MIDDLE rack for 16-18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Allow the scones to cool for 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a wire rack. If topping with the glaze, mix together the ingredients and use a small spoon to drizzle on frosting.
Blueberry lemon scones
If you love the citrusy sweet combination of blueberry and lemon, add 1 tablespoon lemon zest to the dry ingredients. For a lemon glaze, combine the powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
other Scone mix-ins
Use this recipe for gluten free scones, to make many other versions! Omit the blueberries, and try some other mix-ins like,
- Savory scones – Reduce or omit the sugar and leave out blueberries. Follow this recipe for gluten free cheese scones.
- Chocolate chip gluten free scones – Replace blueberries with 1 cup mini chocolate chips.
- Apple cinnamon – Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon to the dry ingredients and mix in 1 1/2 cups peeled, diced apples.
- Raspberry or blackberry – Use fresh or frozen berries.
Storing / freezing
They may be kept in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days, but will lose optimal taste and texture quickly. Refrigerating will dry out the scones, and is not recommended.
If not enjoying the same day, individually wrap the scones after they have completely cooled (at least 3 hours). Transfer to a gallon freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months.
Thaw on the counter for 1 hour or, for a grab-and-go breakfast, unwrap and defrost in the microwave.
Best gluten free flour to use
This easy scone recipe is hard to mess up, but the quality of the taste does depend on which gluten free flour you use.
I solely use Cup 4 Cup all-purpose gluten free flour because I personally find the taste, hands-down, the best. Substituting Cup 4 Cup in any “regular” baking recipe, such as gluten free pie crust, always yields great results.
To see how other gluten free flours compare, find alternatives, and more information go to the best gluten free flour guide.
how to fix common problems
In order to make the best scones that taste anything but gluten free, some common problems needed to be addressed.
Crumbly – Gluten free flour lacks gluten, which makes dough bind together. Make sure your all-purpose gluten free flour contains xanthan gum to mimic the elasticity in flour. Also using an egg helps as a binder.
Dense – This can be a combination of things, such as not using enough leavener or overmixing. Gluten free baked goods need more assist with rising, so adding a touch more baking powder in scones helps. To help with overmixing, add the blueberries with the flour so you are not overworking the dough to incorporate them at the end.
Grittiness – For the scones, I use the same technique as in the fluffy gluten free biscuits recipe to avoid a gritty texture. Letting the dough sit before baking allows for the moisture to absorb into the starches, avoiding grittiness.
If you love this gluten free recipe, You’ll also love these!
- Best Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Glaze
- Sausage Muffins with Cheese
- Easy Applesauce Muffins
- Gluten Free Cinnamon Bread
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Gluten Free Scones
Ingredients
Gluten Free Scones
- 1 ⅔ cup (227 g) gluten free all purpose flour, (I use and recommend Cup 4 Cup)
- ⅓ cup (67 g) sugar
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, chopped into ½” pieces and chilled
- ⅔ cup (153 g) sour cream (may substitute yogurt)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (222 g) fresh or frozen blueberries
Optional Topping
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk or cream
- 1 tablespoon turbinado (coarse) sugar
Optional Glaze
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- ½ - 1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk or cream
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together gluten free flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use a pastry blender or fork to cut in chopped butter until the butter is uniformly mixed with the flour in very small, crumbly pieces.
- In a small bowl whisk together sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract. First, gently stir fresh or frozen fruit into the flour mixture. Then, pour in sour cream mixture and gently combine until no flour pockets remain. The dough will be quite thick. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the dough in the center of the prepared baking sheet and shape it into a ball. Flatten the dough with your hands into a 8-inch (20 cm) disc, 1-inch (2.5-cm)–thick. If the dough is sticking, spray your fingers with cooking spray to shape. Cut the disc into 8 triangles, using a sharp knife. Use a small spatula to spread the cut scones around the baking sheet so they are about 2 inches (5-cm) apart.
- If topping with sugar, brush on milk or cream and sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake on the LOWER MIDDLE rack for 16-18 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the tops and bottoms start to turn golden brown. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- For glaze, mix together ingredients. The glaze should be thin enough to drizzle on, but thick enough it stays on the scone. Place a piece of waxed paper under the cooling rack and then use a small spoon to drizzle glaze over the tops. Allow glaze to harden before stacking or storing.
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Equipment Needed
Recipe Notes
Blueberry lemon scones
Add 1 tablespoon lemon zest to the dry ingredients. For a lemon glaze, combine the powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon lemon juice.Other mix-ins
- Savory scones - Reduce or omit the sugar and leave out blueberries. Follow this recipe for gluten free cheese scones.
- Chocolate chip gluten free scones - Replace blueberries with 1 cup mini chocolate chips.
- Apple cinnamon - Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon to the dry ingredients and mix in 1 1/2 cups peeled, diced apples.
- Raspberry or blackberry - Use fresh or frozen berries.
How to store / freeze
They may be kept in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days, but will lose optimal taste and texture quickly. Refrigerating will dry out the scones, and is not recommended. If not enjoying the same day, individually wrap the scones after they have completely cooled (at least 3 hours). Transfer to a gallon freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter for 1 hour or, for a grab-and-go breakfast, unwrap and defrost in the microwave.Nutrition
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Cici says
I tried this and it came out great! I’d like to try this with raisins, which should be fine, but I would like to add fine-ground flaxseed for a little more texture and flavor. Can I substitute it for some of the flour?
Melissa says
Hi Cici,
Yes, raisins would be fine as well as ground flaxseed. I would replace 1/4 cup flour with an equal amount of ground flaxseed. Great suggestion!
Best,
Melissa
Cici says
Recipe lists 1/2 tsp (5 mL) vanilla for batter and for glaze.
A full teaspoon = 5 mL.
Which is correct?
I’m planning to make these today.
Melissa says
Hi Cici,
You are correct. It is 1/2 tsp, but usually such a small amount of mL is rounded up. A 1/2 tsp more of vanilla wouldn’t hurt anything, but I will change the mL just to avoid any confusion. Thanks for writing!
Melissa