"I don't like scones - they're too dry."
This is what a co-worker (who happened to be the boss's son) said to me several years ago when I proffered him a freshly baked scone (which happened to be apricot-sage).
I took offense that he assumed my scones to be as bready and cardboard-like as the mass produced ones we sold to customers. But I kept my thoughts to myself while continuing to restock coffee beans.
My manager (who was not related to the boss or his son) rolled her eyes and devoured one.
Made with butter, heavy cream and loads of fresh berries, I would dare anyone to declare these blueberry buckwheat scones "dry." Minimal mixing leaves pebbles of butter which release steam in the heat of the oven, creating craggy tenderness. A hot oven ensures that the crusts brown while interiors stay damp and the berries turn to jammy, indigo pockets.
Blueberries are finally both affordable and deliciously sweet, and we've been enjoying them for breakfasts with yogurt and granola on warm mornings, and baked into these crumbly scones when the fog rolls in. They would be superb with huckleberries or small, wild blueberries when in season, both of which contain more flavor and less water than their cultivated counterparts.
I make no secret of my love affair with buckwheat flour, and here it does triple duty: it imparts an earthy flavor of nuts and spice, festoons the dough with black flecks and healthfulness, and its lack of gluten keeps the scones extra-tender.
I use maple sugar as the sweetener, which creates a rich backdrop against which the berries and buckwheat shine.The flavors blend beautifully, adding depth and intrigue to a grown-up breakfast pastry that reminisces of cakey childhood muffins and pancakes. These are austerely sweetened, the crunchy sugar top a welcome addition. One leaves you satisfied by your breakfast, but not overly-so.
If you're still concerned with dryness, serve the scones warm, dabbed with crème fraîche and more berries. If you live in a sweltering part of the world, my heart goes out to you in a big way from our currently glacial micro-climate. Keep these in mind for when you can bear to turn on the oven again! Meanwhile, I've got a refreshing beverage ripe forposting before I leave for the scorching Sierras next week.
More Blueberry Recipes:
- Gluten-Free Blueberry Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel
- Blueberry Chèvre Cheesecake Popsicles
- Gluten Free Blueberry Cobbler with Lavender & Oat Biscuits
- Blueberry Plum Cobbler with Corn Flour Biscuits {gluten-free}
More Buckwheat Recipes:
- (Gluten-Free) Banana Buckwheat Pancakes
- (Gluten-Free) Hazelnut Buckwheat Brown Butter Cake
- Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Buckwheat Apple Galette with Maple Walnut Frangipane
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this maple blueberry buckwheat scone recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Maple Blueberry Buckwheat Scones
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries (or huckleberries), fresh or frozen
- 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
- 1/4 cup maple sugar (see note for substitutions)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, in 1/2" pieces
- about 1 1/4 cups heavy cream (as needed)
- about 1 tablespoon coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- If using fresh berries, rinse and dry them, then place them in a loaf pan or pie plate in a single layer and freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle), combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter, and work in with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or mix on lountil the butter has broken down into tiny bits with some larger, pea-sized chunks remaining.
- Use a flexible silicone spatula to gently stir in the frozen berries. Begin drizzling in the cream, tossing gently with the spatula (or a plastic bench scraper or your hands), adding cream directly to the dry bits, until the dough will hold together and no floury bits remain. You might not need all the cream.
- Gently press the dough into a ball and place on a surface dusted lightly with buckwheat flour. Pat the dough into a 6" round that is 1 1/4" high. Cut the dough into 8 wedges. Place the scones evenly apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes. (At this point, you can wrap and freeze the scones to bake off later.)
- Meanwhile, position a rack in the upper-center of the oven and preheat to 425ºF.
- Remove the scones from the freezer, brush with cream and sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
- Bake the scones until they are golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove immediately from the pan to prevent blueberry goo-induced sticking. Let cool until warm as the scones are still cooking from residual heat. Serve warm with crème fraîche and extra berries.
- The scones will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature. For most delectable results, re-heat in an oven or toaster oven before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Maple Blueberry Buckwheat Scones
This recipe also works beautifully with wild blueberries or huckleberries, which are smaller and less liquid. If you lack maple sugar, you can substitute white or brown sugar, or mix 1/4 cup maple syrup with 1 cup of heavy cream. The scones keep well for several days; re-heated in a toaster oven, they taste freshly baked. Serve them warm with crème fraîche and extra blueberries.
Makes 8 medium scones
1 1/2 cups blueberries (or huckleberries), fresh or frozen
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup maple sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, in 1/2" pieces
about 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
about 1 tablespoon coarse sugar, for sprinkling
If using fresh berries, rinse and dry them, then place them in a loaf pan or pie plate in a single layer and freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle), combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter, and work in with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or mix on low) until the butter has broken down into tiny bits with some larger, pea-sized chunks remaining.
Use a rubber spatula to gently stir in the frozen berries. Begin drizzling in the cream, tossing gently with the spatula (or a plastic bench scraper or your hands), adding cream directly to the dry bits, until the dough will hold together and no floury bits remain.
Gently press the dough into a ball and place on a surface dusted lightly with buckwheat flour. Pat the dough into a 6" round that is 1 1/4" high. Cut the dough into 8 wedges.Place the scones evenly apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes. (At this point, you can wrap and freeze the scones to bake off later.)
Meanwhile, position a rack in the upper-center of the oven and preheat to 425ºF.
Remove the scones from the freezer, brush with cream and sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
Bake the scones until they are golden-brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove immediately from the pan to prevent blueberry goo-induced stickage. Let cool until warm as the scones are still cooking from residual heat. Serve warm with crème fraîche and extra berries.
The scones will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature. For most delectable results, re-heat in an oven or toaster oven before serving.
Sarah Reid says
I tried these but they didn't hold together at all, I wound up with a crumbly pile. Should there be an egg or some xanthan gum in there?
Alanna says
Hi Sarah,
I'm so sorry that these didn't work out for you. I know from previous comments that you are gluten-free - did you use gluten-free flour here? If so, that would be the culprit, as I made these with AP wheat flour. If not, a bit more cream will bring the scone dough together.
Carl Anderson says
Can I make these gluten free for my wife?
Alanna says
Hi Carl, I haven't personally succeeded with GF scones, but I know there are a lot of recipes out there; I'm sure you could adapt one to use the flavors here (maple, berries and buckwheat). This one from Gluten-Free Goddess looks like a good starting point: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2011/07/gluten-free-blueberry-scones-with-whole.html
Also this one from Gluten-Free Girl: http://glutenfreegirl.com/2011/05/gluten-free-scones/
Please let me know how it goes!
Chanel says
I just made these last night and replaced the flour with white rice flour and added two tablespoons corn starch. I would also bet oat flour would work, but they are often processed in facilities with wheat so can be contaminated with gluten. The starch helps thicken so they aren't as flat or runny.
I also swapped the heavy cream for 1 cup coconut milk beverage and 1/4 condensed coconut milk. (I'm sure someone could even used hard margarine instead of butter to make them fully vegan but I didn't have any on hand). You can't taste the coconut in it.
They held together, and though they weren't as pretty, they were nice, moist and tasted lovely. I'm trying a low FODMAP diet so I butchered the recipe out of necessity and it still turned out well! Haha
Alanna says
That's wonderful that those variations worked - thanks so much for sharing! I have a few gluten free scone recipes in my book Alternative Baker. I use Bob's Red Mill gluten free oat flour, which is made in a dedicated GF facility - highly recommended!
Jeanine Mcreary says
Can I use chickpea flour in place of AP?? Gluten is the work of the devil. Reject his works and embrace the Lord's GRACE into your heart!!
Rebecca says
Hi, would I be able to replace Greek yogurt with the cream? Thanks
Alanna says
Not sure that will work since Greek yogurt is quite a bit drier, but if you try it let me know!
Lindsay says
Found this in my buckwheat google search I made some adjustments along the way.
My changes:
Didn't do any of the freezing- I chilled them outside while the oven came up to temp, maybe 10 minutes. It was probably -12c outside yesterday.
Brown sugar for substitute & for top
Fresh blueberries
Added 1.5 tsp of vanilla extract
Used parchment paper & bit of spray oil
It was a thick batter at the end, didn't roll out but made big mounds for scones - in total 8 scones
Turned out amazing!! Warmed one this morning in the oven @ 300 degrees, cut open and buttered up! Delicious!
The Bojon Gourmet says
Wow Lindsay that sounds cold!! It's awesome that it turned out amazing for you <3
Cynthia says
Could I use buttermilk in place of the cream? Would I need to adjust any other ingredients?
Alanna says
I think that should work, the scones will just be less rich. You'll likely need less buttermilk than cream, so just add enough until you get the right dough consistency. And be sure to come back and let us all know how it works! :)
April Benham says
Can you use yogurt instead of heavy cream
Alanna says
You can, the scones will just be less rich and moist. And you may need to add more or less, depending on how thin or thick the yogurt is. Please let me know how it goes!
Gloriana says
I made it with greek yogurt and some milk (to make it less thick) instead of heavy cream, and turned out perfectly! They don't fall apart, and they are moist inside.
* I used the recipe in "Alternative Baker".
M says
Followed the instructions exactly, although used white sugar because that is all I had. I probably could have used less cream because the dough was VERY sticky and moist. But in the end they still turned out tasty and moist. I'll make them again but with less cream.
Alanna says
Thank you for letting me know. I'm so glad they worked out regardless!
Alycia says
Hi! For the maple sugar substitution, do you mean sub 1/4 cup maple syrup + 1 c. heavy cream (in lieu of the 1 1/4 cup of cream called for in the recipe)? Or should I add an additional 1 cup of cream + 1/4 cup of syrup? Thanks in advance!
Alanna says
The first one! Sorry, that wasn't very clear. I tried to clarify in the notes. Let me know if it makes more sense now!
Alycia says
Thanks for clarifying! I made them this way and they tuned out delicious. What a great recipe for using up this season’s bounty of blueberries. The different stages (freezing, mixing, baking) actually made this an approachable endeavor while handling a baby throughout the day! :)
Alanna says
Aw that's fabulous! I'm so glad they're a hit. Thanks a bunch for the question, note, and rating, I really appreciate it!
Karen says
Awesome! I wanted to try a buckwheat recipe.... did not realize there was AP flour in this as well. I may try making them againand use a little more buckwheat and a little less AP. Turned out phenomenal. Super moist snd soft. Thank you!
Gisele says
Hi Alanna,
I am going to attempt to recreate my fave scone normally purchased at a bakery I can no longer access because of Covid border restrictions. I plan on using your recipe as a base and incorporate items from their ingredient list. The modifications would be: egg(s), cornmeal, white choc chips. Can you please suggest what amounts to add in relation to your recipe?
Many thanks!
Debby Degnan says
I’ve been making these scones for a year and I love them. They keep getting better as I tweak the recipe. I grind my own brown rice and use this with 1 T of arrowroot instead of the all purpose flour. I make the round and then wrap it and freeze it. On the morning I want to bake scones, I cut the number I want to bake, no defrost, and pop them in the oven. I have used fresh, frozen blueberries or fresh, frozen cranberries with walnuts. Thank you Alanna.
Alanna says
Brilliant!! I'm so glad to know that the brown rice flour works here. Thanks so much for sharing your variation and for the sweet note!