Soft and tender high altitude blueberry scones, lightly spiced with ginger and cardamom, and drizzled with sweet vanilla icing. These blueberry ginger scones are easy to make for a delicious treat for breakfast or brunch, and are wonderful served warm from the oven.
You might also love these high altitude recipes for blueberry buckle coffee cake, maple blueberry bran muffins, and lemon blueberry loaf cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Soft and Tender. These blueberry scones are anything but dry and bland! The edges are crisp and biscuit like surrounding the soft and fluffy pastry that’s bursting with blueberries.
Easy to Make. You don’t need a mixer or any special equipment for this recipe.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Flour. Use all purpose flour to give the scones structure and strength.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Sugar. You’ll need granulated sugar for the dough, as well as powdered sugar to sweeten the icing.
- Spices. Ginger, cardamom and vanilla add a lovely flavor to complement the blueberries.
- Butter. The butter adds richness and moisture for a tender, flavorful scone.
- Milk. Whole milk moistens the dough and binds it together.
- Blueberries. Be sure to use frozen blueberries (or fresh blueberries that you’ve frozen overnight). The cold temperature of the frozen blueberries chills the dough for a more tender texture.
Instructions
Scones
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, ground ginger, cardamom and chopped ginger. (If you don’t want too much spice, feel free to leave out the fresh/crystallized ginger.)
- Add the butter, and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter in until crumbly, and the pieces of butter are no bigger than peas.
- Add the milk, vanilla and frozen blueberries, and stir together into a shaggy dough.
- Scrape the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If the dough is sticky, dust it lightly with a little more flour, and use your hands to shape it into a thick disk, about 7-8 inches in diameter.
- Brush the top of the dough with the cream. Use a bench scraper or a sharp knife to cut the dough into 8 wedges, but do not separate the wedges.
- Bake the scones for 30 minutes. Cut the scones again and separate the wedges. Bake for an additional 7-10 minutes, until baked through.
Icing
- In a bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk, until smooth and drizzly.
- Let the scones cool for about 10-15 minutes, then drizzle with the icing and serve warm.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can reheat them for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave at 50% power.
Besides the blueberries, you can also use raspberries or blackberries. I do not recommend using strawberries, which are too watery.
Scone and biscuit dough needs to be kept cold before baking for a tender, flaky texture. By using frozen blueberries, you can quickly chill the dough so that you don’t have to freeze the scones prior to baking. Making sure the dough is cold before baking also prevents the scones from spreading too much in the oven.
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High Altitude Blueberry Ginger Scones
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Pastry Cutter
- Baking Sheet + Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 4 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- â…“ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- â…› tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger or crystallized ginger
- 10 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks or thin slices
- ¾ cup cold whole milk
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups frozen blueberries
- 1 tbsp cream
Icing
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ – 2 tbsp milk
Instructions
Scones
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, ground ginger, cardamom and chopped ginger. (If you don't want too much spice, feel free to leave out the fresh/crystallized ginger.)
- Add the butter, and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter in until crumbly, and the pieces of butter are no bigger than peas.
- Add the milk, vanilla and frozen blueberries, and stir together into a shaggy dough.
- Scrape the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If the dough is sticky, dust it lightly with a little more flour, and use your hands to shape it into a thick disk, about 7-8 inches in diameter.
- Brush the top of the dough with the cream. Use a bench scraper or a sharp knife to cut the dough into 8 wedges, but do not separate the wedges.
- Bake the scones for 30 minutes. Cut the scones again and separate the wedges. Bake for an additional 7-10 minutes, until baked through.
Icing
- In a bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk, until smooth and drizzly.
- Let the scones cool for about 10-15 minutes, then drizzle with the icing and serve warm.
What kind of cream are you brushing on top before baking?
Just heavy whipping cream.