You aren't going to believe how easy this gluten free scone recipe is to make (trust me, anybody can master this recipe), and nobody will have a clue that they're gluten free! The buttery, flaky scones are studded with blueberries and have a sweet almond flavor. A lemon cardamom glaze takes them over the top. [Step-by-step VIDEO below!]
The best gluten free scone recipe
These gluten free blueberry almond scones are moist and tender, not dry and stodgy like other gluten free versions. The technique is really simple (adapted from these almond shortcakes) and requires no special equipment aside from a cheese grater (for the butter—more on that in a minute!). You don’t even need to pull out your rolling pin.
Ingredients
These GF scones are made using a store-bought gluten-free flour blend. I’ve tested this recipe with both Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Flour and Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour, and had fantastic results with both. If you use another gluten free flour, make sure that it contains xanthan gum, which is important for the texture (otherwise the scones will be too crumbly). If you're not GF you can make this recipe using regular all-purpose white flour!
Almond flour scones
In addition to the all-purpose flour, these scones are also made with almond flour, which gives them a wonderfully moist and tender texture. I boost the almond flavor further by adding a splash of almond extract.
The recipe uses frozen wild blueberries, meaning you can make the scones year-round. I prefer wild blueberries to regular blueberries, as their smaller size incorporates better into the dough. (Plus, we always have frozen blueberries on hand, which we use in these oatmeal bars and over these pancakes.)
How to make gluten free scones
- Mix together the dry ingredients, including all-purpose flour (regular or gluten free), almond flour, baking powder and salt.
- Using a cheese grater, grate cold butter directly over the flour mixture (if you have a box grater you can grate the butter onto a piece of parchment then scatter it over the flour). Put the bowl in the freezer while you whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Toss the cold butter with the flour until evenly distributed.
- Make a well in the flour then pour in the wet ingredients.
- Add the frozen blueberries.
- Gently incorporate all the ingredients until you get a shaggy, floury dough.
- Scrape the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Use your hands to form it into an 8-inch round.
Cut the round into 8 wedges (no need to separate them), then brush the top with an egg wash. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake the scones until golden. Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then cut them again into wedges.
Easy lemon glaze
After the scones come out of the oven they're drizzled with a quick and easy lemon glaze, made with just powdered sugar and lemon juice. I also add ground cardamom, which beautifully complements the lemon flavor (but it’s optional). The glaze will harden as it sets over the scones, giving them a slight crunch.
What makes a great scone?
There are two easy tricks to ensure that your scones turn out perfectly tender and flaky.
- Use cold butter: Cold butter is key! Grating butter on a cheese grater creates perfect little strands that incorporate easily into the flour mixture (no pastry cutter needed!). The cold butter will create steam as the scones bake, resulting in a flaky texture.
- Use a gentle touch: It’s important to use a gentle touch when forming the scones, as overworking the dough can result in a tough texture. Use your hands to gently press the dough into a ½-inch thick round. It should hold together, but you don’t need to do any kneading or rolling.
How to make cherry almond scones
You can swap out the frozen blueberries in this gluten free scone recipe for dried cherries to make cherry almond scones. Feel free to also try dried apricots, cranberries and/or dates instead. For another variation, try these Cranberry Walnut Scones!
Tips for making this recipe:
- I’ve tested these scones with Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Four and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and had fantastic results with both. If you use another gluten-free flour blend, make sure that it contains xanthan gum, which is important for the texture (otherwise the scones will be too crumbly). If you're not GF you can use regular all-purpose white flour.
- Using almond flour in addition to the regular flour helps keep the scones moist and tender.
- I highly recommend investing in an inexpensive kitchen scale, not only because it makes baking so much easier (no measuring cups needed!), but also because it’s much more accurate, especially when using gluten-free flours.
- If you don’t have buttermilk you can use a mix of half plain yogurt and half milk (whisk them together), OR you can squeeze about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into whole milk.
- You can swap out the frozen blueberries in this recipe for dried cherries to make cherry almond scones.
- For another variation, try these Cranberry Walnut Scones or these Savory Cheese Scones!
FAQs
Yes! These scones freeze beautifully. Let them cool completely then wrap them in wax or parchment paper and freeze them in a zip-top freezer bag or airtight container. Defrost the scones at room temperature or in the microwave, then reheat them gently in a toaster oven, if you'd like. They’re the ULTIMATE breakfast or afternoon snack.
If you don’t have buttermilk you can use a mix of half plain yogurt and half milk (whisk them together), OR you can squeeze about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into whole milk.
*This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links to products I use and love (from which I earn income, at no cost to you). Thank you or supporting From Scratch Fast!
Other gluten free baked goods to try:
- Gluten Free Baked Donuts with Maple Glaze
- Easy Almond Shortcakes
- Carrot Cake Muffins
- Healthy Almond Coconut Cake
- Blueberry Blender Muffins
- Paleo Shortcakes
Watch the video!
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Get the recipe!
Blueberry Almond Scones with Lemon Cardamom Glaze (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
Scones
- 2 cups (296 g) gluten-free all-purpose flour (such as Cup4Cup or Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour)
- ¼ cup (28 g) almond flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs, divided
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ⅔ cup buttermilk (*see hack below)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup frozen wild blueberries
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Lemon Glaze
- ½ cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Make the scones
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Using the large holes of a cheese grater, grate the butter over the top of the dry mixture (alternatively, use a box grater to grate the butter onto a piece of wax or parchment paper, then transfer the butter to the bowl). Place the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill.
- In a small bowl, whisk one of the eggs with 1 teaspoon of water. Set aside (this will be the egg wash for later).
- In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining egg with the sugar, buttermilk and almond extract until smooth.
- Take the bowl out of the freezer, and toss the butter with the flour mixture until evenly incorporated. Make a well in the center of the bowl. Pour in the wet ingredients and add the blueberries. Slowly work the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until mostly incorporated but still shaggy and floury (you’ll finish bringing it together in a minute).
- Scrape the dough out onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Using your hands, gently bring the dough together and press it into a ½-inch-thick round (it should be 8-inches in diameter). You want the dough to hold together, but you don’t want to overwork it. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 8 triangles (make sure you cut all the way through, but you don’t need to separate the triangles).
- Brush the top of the scones lightly with the egg wash (you won’t need it all). Sprinkle with the sliced almonds. Bake until golden brown, about 22-25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool 5 minutes. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, separate the triangles into individual scones.
Make the glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, cardamom (if using) and lemon juice. Drizzle the glaze over the scones (they can be warm or cooled). The glaze will harden as it cools.
Serve
- Serve the scones warm or at room temperature. SWOON!
Notes
- I’ve tested these scones with Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Four and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and had fantastic results with both. If you use another gluten-free flour blend, make sure that it contains xanthan gum, which is important for the texture (otherwise the scones will be too crumbly). If you're not GF you can use regular all-purpose white flour.
- Using almond flour in addition to the regular flour helps keep the scones moist and tender.
- I highly recommend investing in an inexpensive kitchen scale, not only because it makes baking so much easier (no measuring cups needed!), but also because it’s much more accurate, especially when using gluten-free flours.
- If you don’t have buttermilk you can use a mix of half plain yogurt and half milk (whisk them together), OR you can squeeze about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into whole milk.
- You can swap out the frozen blueberries in this recipe for dried cherries to make cherry almond scones.
- For another variation, try these Cranberry Walnut Scones or these Savory Cheese Scones!
Sandra Miller says
So happy to have this recipe! I am making them at least once a week. I put each slice in a freezer ziplock in the freezer. It’s such a a special treat to eat these with lemon/ ginger hot tea. We are gluten free and try to be sugar free. The glaze has been the issue. The powdered sugar works better than Stevia/ Monkfruit from Costco. Does anyone have a better substitute for the powdered sugar? Thank you again for this BOMB recipe!
Hugs,
Sandra
Nicki Sizemore says
Hi Sandra, I'm so happy to hear you love the recipe! My only suggestion for a sugar-free glaze would be powdered monk fruit sweetener, which you mentioned. I'm curious if anybody else has ideas!
Maria Idali Felix says
hi! can i substitute the blueberries for chocolate chips?
Nicki Sizemore says
Hi Maria! While I haven't tested these scones with chocolate chips, they should work (although you'll lose a bit of moisture from the berries). I hope you enjoy!
Colleen says
Just made this recipe with Allulous instead of sugar, it is not quite as sweet so I added another 1/4 cup. I also used fresh blueberries, and raisins (because I was low on blueberries); I also added some cinnamon to the batter. They turned out delicious, and look just like the picture. Yummy!
Nicki Sizemore says
Hi Colleen, I'm so glad you enjoyed, and thank you for your comment and tips about using allulose!
Colleen says
Hi Niki,
I made these again today and used 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries and 1/2 cup of fresh raspberries. I also added a little more Allulose (1 cup total). Once again, they were excellent.- Colleen
-colleen
Nicki Sizemore says
I love to hear that!!
Mia says
I used what I had on hand to make this recipe and the scones were very good! Mine turned out fluffy and almost cake-like on the inside, with a satisfying, slightly crusty outside. Here were my substitutions in case it’s helpful: Coconut sugar in the batter
was great. Coconut sugar for the glaze was only so so—not great consistency but still tasty. I only had three tablespoons of butter, so I used three tablespoons of cold, hard coconut oil for the rest. I’m a big fan of butter in baked goods, but the three tablespoons that I used had enough flavor to give these scones a rich taste. I’m enjoying this batch, but I’ll definitely use all butter next time.
Nicki Sizemore says
Thanks so much for your comment, and I'm glad you enjoyed the scones!
Tara says
Hi Nicki:
I was wondering if you could use fresh blueberries in place of frozen ones in this recipe, simply because I eat a lot of fresh blueberries so always have them on hand. Thank you!!
Nicki Sizemore says
Hi Tara, yes you can use fresh blueberries in place of frozen! I prefer smaller berries, as they incorporate better into the batter. I hope you enjoy!
Skylar K says
These are delicious! I didn’t have any blueberries on hand so I substituted chopped frozen strawberries and they turned out delicious!
Nicki Sizemore says
Hi Skylar, I'm so glad the strawberries worked! Thanks much for your comment, and happy baking!
Carrie Solomon says
Curious if any of the ingredients quantities change to make these as savory scones?
Nicki Sizemore says
Hi Carrie, I've had several readers use this general recipe to make savory scones. I'm actually working on a version, so stay tuned!
Elizabeth Silvey Reaves says
Can I bake these in a mini scone pan? I have the Nordic Ware mini scone pan.
Nicki Sizemore says
Hi Elizabeth, yes, this batter should work just fine in a mini scone pan. Happy baking!!
Sonja says
Theses scones are great. I couldn’t find the flour you recommended but used Cassava flour cup for cup. They turned out great!
Nicki Sizemore says
I'm so glad you liked them!
Jenny spencer says
Hello Nicki! My name is Raine, I am 11 years old and I live in Portland OR. I made these scones for mothers day and I just wanted to let you know that they are SO GOOD!!!!!!! :). They were a huge hit. They are so moist and fluffy and the glaze is the cherry on top. :). Incredible. Thank you for this recipe. These scones will definitely be made in my house again!
Raine.
I gave you all of my moms info FYI.
Nicki Sizemore says
Hi Raine, I'm so thrilled that you and your mom liked the scones!! I agree, I especially love the glaze. 😉 Happy cooking!!
Cheryl says
I made the scones with minor changes. Since I am allergic to dairy, I used coconut oil instead of butter and in place of can sugar, I used Truvia. I was amazed at how good they turned out! The tops browned perfectly and they were very flaky. Best of all, my husband loved them too. Needless to say, I will be making this recipe again - maybe next time I will use apples instead of blueberries. Thanks so much for the great recipe.
Nicki Sizemore says
I'm so happy you like the scones, Cheryl!!
Mary says
Your recipes never disappoint. Delicious!
Nicki Sizemore says
Thank you so much!
Jenny spencer says
Hello Nicki! My name is Raine, I am 11 years old and I live in Portland Oregon. I just wanted to let you know that these scones are SO GOOD! I made these for mothers day for my mom and it was a huge hit! 🙂
Thank you so much. These scones will definitely be made at my house again! 🙂
-Raine.
I gave you all of my moms info FYI. 🙂