Blueberry Lemonade Scones (2024)

These blueberry lemonade scones are super quick and easy to make. They are made with self-raising flour, yoghurt, lemonade, blueberries and lemon peel.

WHAT ARE LEMONADE SCONES?

Lemonade scones are a cheat's version of scones with just three ingredients, self-raising flour, yoghurt and fizzy lemonade.

Once you have the basic ingredients you can then add in other flavours, like blueberries.

Lemonade scones can also be made with double cream (heavy cream) or buttermilk.

For a vegan alternative you could use whipped coconut milk in place of double cream or add some lemon juice to your favourite plant-based milk and setting aside for 5-10 minutes in place of buttermilk.

I like to use Alpro plain yoghurt.

CAN YOU USE DIET LEMONADE TO MAKE LEMONADE SCONES?

Yes, you can use diet lemonade to make lemonade scones. Any fizzy lemonade will do.

It's the fizz and bubbles (carbon dioxide) that make these scones so fluffy.

DON'T USE HOMEMADE LEMONADE!

You need the bubbles in the fizzy soda drink. Your homemade lemonade may be the most lip-puckeringly zingy lemonade, but it's no good for this recipe.

WHERE DOES THE RECIPE FOR LEMONADE SCONES COME FROM?

It's hard to tell where this recipe came from, there doesn't seem to be a definite answer, but it seems highly likely it started in Australia.

It's one of those recipes that are written on scraps of paper and passed from person to person in church and women's groups, then passed around families.

I'd heard about it before, but didn't know what the recipe was until chatting to a friend Jacqueline in my Facebook Group Living on the Veg, where she shared the basic recipe.

My first couple of batches were a plain batch and a fruit batch with raisins using the original recipe but with yoghurt instead of cream.

From there I made a few tweaks and came up with these blueberry scones.

TRADITIONAL SCONES

Traditional scones are made with butter (or dairy free spread), flour, a raising agent (either self-raising flour or plain/all-purpose flour and baking powder), sugar and milk (or buttermilk, yoghurt or a mixture of milk and yoghurt) and a pinch of salt.

They're made differently to lemonade scones. The flour is rubbed into the dry ingredients with fingertips and then the wet ingredients are cut in with a knife, then brought together into a dough and gently rolled.

With lemonade scones you don't rub any of the ingredients together, the wet ingredients are just poured into the dry ingredients and mixed.

SCOTTISH SCONES

Scones are said to have originated in Scotland. They are supposed to be named after the Stone of Destiny, which is a stone where Scottish Kings were crowned in the grounds of Scone Palace.

The palace is pronounces schoon (like school with an 'n' instead of the 'l'), whereas the baked scone is pronounced scone like gone.

Scones were originally made with oats and buttermilk and cooked on a girdle (griddle) over a fire. They were cooked as one large cake (bannock) and cut into triangles to serve.

SCONES ACROSS THE WORLD

Like many traditional recipes, there are variations around the world, as original recipes are tweaked for local tastes and ingredients.

Here are some of the varieties of scones around the world:

UNITED STATES: In the US, the nearest equivalent to scones are called 'biscuits' and are served as a part of a savoury dish, often with gravy.

AUSTRALIA: In Austrailia, the Scottish style of scones are made, but scones are also made with pumkin puree or dates.

NEW ZEALAND: Cheese scones are popular in New Zealand, served toasted with butter.

SOUTH AFRICA: Scones are served with clotted cream and jam or grated cheese.

HUNGARY: In Hungary scones are very like the Scottish scone, but yeast is often added. They are called Pogácsa. They are mostly savoury and include herbs and sometimes cheese.

HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE SCONE?

Scone (sk-on) is pronounced like the words 'gone' or 'lawn'.

In some parts of England they are pronounced scone (sk-own) like the words 'bone' or 'cone'.

SHOULD SCONES BE CUT INTO ROUNDS OR TRIANGLES?

Scones are usually cut into rounds using smooth or fluted cutters like cookie cutters.

The original scones which were cooked on griddles over a fire were cooked in one big cake and cut into triangles once cooked.

However cutting scones into triangles before baking is a bad ideas as you get a really uneven bake with hard compact dough at the point of the scone.

You don't get the same rise in a pre-cut triangle scone either.

Round is always best.

TIPS FOR MAKING LEMONADE SCONES

1. Pre-heat your oven.
2. Line a baking tray.
3. Don't over mix the scone dough, just gently mix so the wet ingredients are incorporated.
4. Work quickly.
5. Flour your worktop and the cutter or glass you are using to cut the scones. re-flour the cutter or glass between scones.
6. Try not to twist the cutter or glass when removing from the scone dough as it can prevent rise or give an uneven rise.
7. Brush the top of the scones lightly with milk (whichever milk you have in your fridge) for a golden finish.
8. Once baked, cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a baking rack to continue cooling.
9. Once cool serve with butter and jam.

HELP MY DOUGH IS TOO WET

UPDATE: After speaking to readers who have made these, a couple of them said their dough was sticky and too wet to shape, after talking to them I think I figured it out.

If your yoghurt is thinner, your dough will be wetter, so add a little more flour if it needs it, but be careful not to overwork.

Hope that helps.

HOW LONG WILL LEMONADE SCONES LAST?

Lemonade scones are best served fresh, but they will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days.

If you aren't going to get through a whole batch just use a smaller measure and make a smaller batch.

WHAT TO USE IF YOU DON'T HAVE MEASURING CUPS

My recipes are created in metric using scales for the precise amount, then I measure the ingredients out in cups for my American readers, however this recipe is in cups.

It doesn't matter if you don't have cup measures for this recipe as it's done in parts. You could use a teacup, a mug or even a small bowl, as long as you use the same measurements for each ingredient,

So three cups of flour could be 3 mugs of flour or three small bowlfuls of flour and the lemonade could be 1 cup of lemonade or one mug or small bowl of lemonade.

Just decide on your measure and use it for all the ingredients.

If you use a smaller measure than a baking cup measure, you will end up with less scones and if you use a bigger measure like a mug, you will end up with more scones.

WHAT KIND OF YOGHURT SHOULD I USE?

I use Alpro dairy-free plain (or their Greek style) yoghurt which is the one we like, but you could use any Greek-style or plain yoghurt.

You could even experiment and try making these scones with a flavoured yoghurt.

WHAT TO USE INSTEAD OF AN EGG WASH ON SCONES?

Often scones glazed with an egg wash before baking for that shiny golden finish, but there is no need for that, even for vegetarian scones.

Just brush with the milk you regularly buy before popping them in the oven.

WHAT FLAVOURS CAN YOU ADD TO LEMONADE SCONES?

Once you have the basic lemonade scone recipe you can then have some fun and change the flavours, here are a few ideas.

• flavoured yoghurt instead of plain
• cinnamon
• ginger
• raisins
• dried cranberries
• dried apricots
• fresh blueberries
• fresh raspberries
• fresh blackberries
• Slices of fresh strawberries
• chocolate chips

WHAT TO SERVE WITH SCONES?

Scones are rather wonderful served with butter (we use dairy-free spread) and jam or just butter.

You can also serve them with butter and marmalade or peanut butter and jam or even chocolate spread.

HOMEMADE JAM RECIPES TO SERVE WITH SCONES

Nothing beats homemade jam on a freshly made scone. Here are a selection of delicious homemade jam recipes for you to try at home.

• Black Cherry Conserve
• Blackberry Jam with Lemon & Nutmeg
• Blackcurant Jam
• Gooseberry Jam
• Peach & Ice Wine Jam
• Raspberry Jam
• Rhubarb & Ginger Jam
• Strawberry Jam with No Pectin
• Summer Fruit Jam

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HOW TO MAKE BLUEBERRY LEMONADE SCONES

Scroll down for step-by-step photos showing you how to make blueberry lemonade scones followed by a printable recipe.

STEP 1 - FLOUR

Add your flour into a bowl. I didn't sieve it but you could sieve it for extra lightness.

Add a pinch of salt.

STEP 2 - FRUIT

Next add the fresh blueberries and finely grated lemon peel.

If you don't have a lemon you could use lime peel instead or skip it altogether.

STEP 3 - WET INGREDIENTS

Next add your fizzy lemonade and yoghurt.

Homemade lemonade will not work in this recipe, only fizzy soda style lemonade will do.

STEP 4 - MIX

Now you just need to mix the ingredients.

Mix gently until the ingredients are just incorporated.

DO NOT OVER MIX!

STEP 5 - CUT THE SCONES

Use a cutter to cut the scones. If you don't have a cutter, use a glass or cup.

Whatever you decide to cut the scones with, flour it well and try not to twist it as you remove it from the scone dough for best results.

Place them on a lined baking sheet.

STEP 6 - BAKE

Brush the scones lightly with milk and bake until golden.

The blueberries will leak, but that just adds to the look if these scones and adds more flavour.

STEP 7 - COOL & SERVE