In my college town, a combination pizzeria and bakery sat on the very edge of downtown, right next to the railroad tracks in a tiny faded yellow storefront no larger than an airport coffee stand. While tourists and incoming freshmen generally overlooked it due to its quaint size and location, all of the locals considered it one of the best pizza places in town.
With their main bakery production facility on the other side of the city, the owners opted to drive over a fresh batch of pastries every morning and install a few brick ovens in the back of the storefront, which took up much less space than traditional bakery ovens, to prepare just the pizzas on site. They offered all of the classic flavors, like Margherita and meat lovers’, to more interesting ones, like eggplant with feta and roasted bell peppers with goat cheese, all on a thin crispy crust with barely a hint of char from those brick ovens.
Throughout the day, they baked fresh pizzas to cut into jumbo slices (bigger than my face!) and placed those in a glass display case next to the cash register. Rotating between four classic styles—cheese, pepperoni, Hawaiian, and vegetarian—they quickly sold those individual slices because the majority of college patrons loved stopping by for an easy lunch or dinner after class.
While most of my friends stood in line for a slice or two, I occasionally opted for a fresh salad from their refrigerated display along with a leftover pastry. They discounted their breakfast treats to $1 or less after 4 pm, and I always looked forward to those tender muffins or buttery scones! While I loved the flavors of their blueberry scones the most, those treats sometimes turned a little dry and crumbly as they sat, so I swore that when I finally baked my own at home, I’d make them the exact opposite and incredibly tender.
So that’s what I did with these Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Scones! They’re perfectly tender, with just a hint of sweetness, and positively bursting with juicy berries. Unlike those bakery’s scones, these are much healthier with no refined flour or sugar and nearly 5g of protein!
To start, you’ll use white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier strain of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, similar to that of all-purpose flour (and perfect for these scones!), but it still has the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour.
Note: Whole wheat pastry flour would be a great substitute, and I’ve included my preferred gluten-free option in the Notes section as well.
Unlike traditional scones that depend on a full stick or two of butter and heavy cream for a tender texture, this healthier recipe requires just 2 tablespoons of butter. Yes, that’s it! It’s extremely important that the butter is cold, straight from the fridge. With very cold butter, it won’t heat up until you put the scones in the extremely hot oven, and it will create little air pockets and a very tender crumb when it melts.
Note: This is why I recommend against using coconut oil, if at all possible, because coconut oil has a much lower melting point than butter and will quickly turn to liquid once you begin mixing it into the dough.
With just 2 tablespoons of butter, the rest of these scones’ tender texture comes from my favorite ingredient in healthier baking. Do you know what it is? I’m sure you do… It’s Greek yogurt! Greek yogurt provides the same moisture as extra butter for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your scones a protein boost too!
And now for the best part… Fresh blueberries! Sweet, juicy, fruity pockets of bliss folded into that buttery, tender scone dough. Seriously, does life get any better than biting into one of those purpley gems?? Especially warm and fresh from the oven… Mmmmmmmmmm.
Pure perfection! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees that I’ll see the notification from you! ?) I’d love to see your scones!
| The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Scones | | Print |
- 1 ½ cups (180g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- 3 tbsp + 2 tsp (55mL) nonfat milk, divided
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (80g) fresh blueberries
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Make a well in the center, and add in the Greek yogurt, maple syrup, 3 tablespoons of milk, and vanilla. Stir until just incorporated. Gently fold in the blueberries.
- Using a spatula, shape the dough into a ¾” tall circle on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with the remaining milk. Slice the circle into 8 triangular segments with a sharp knife. Bake at 425°F for 18-22 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
For a gluten-free version, use the following blend: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work as well, if they’re measured like this.
Honey or agave may be substituted in place of the pure maple syrup.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
In a pinch, coconut oil may be substituted for the butter, but the texture of the scones will be affected. Very cold butter is required to achieve their tender texture, and since coconut oil melts at a much lower temperature, the results will not be the same.
Frozen and thawed blueberries may be substituted for the fresh. They may stain the dough a slightly gray color, but the flavor will remain the same.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
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Could I freeze them?
Yes, these scones freeze really well after they’ve been baked! I can’t wait to hear what you think of them Miriam! 🙂
Thank you so much for your response 🙂 Excited to try them tomorrow. Can I use regular yogurt instead of greek?
It’s my pleasure! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 Yes, regular yogurt should work just fine. I’m so excited to hear what you think of these scones Miriam!
These were THE worst “scones” I have ever made. They were more like biscuits with zero flavor. I will never make them again. Never mind in the ingredients there was no measurement or mention of maple syrup.
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipe Domye! That sounds really disappointing and not how these scones are supposed to turn out, so I’d love to help figure out what happened with your batch. 🙂 I’m not quite sure what you mean about the maple syrup — it’s included in the Ingredients list right in between the Greek yogurt and milk, along with the amount. Did you add maple syrup to your batch? If not, then that’s probably why they had no flavor. The maple syrup is the only source of sweetness in the dough, besides the blueberries! Also, how was the texture? Were your scones moist or dry? Once I know that information, we should have a much better idea of what happened!
Just made these and they’re super yummy, light, and not flour-y like most bakery scones. Cannot believe I’ve been wasting money on bakery goods when I can make them so much yummier at home! My only critique/suggestion would be more vanilla, but I usually double/triple that in most recipes anyway. Thanks for the healthy baked good recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these scones Nikki! Your kind words mean a lot to me. 🙂 I love your idea of adding extra vanilla — I’d love to hear how that turns out if you try it!
My scones came out very chewy and doughy…I followed the exact measurements. What could I have done wrong?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Alique! I’d love to help you solve those issues. 🙂 I just want to make sure I fully understand what you mean first! By “chewy and doughy,” do you mean raw and underdone? Or more gummy? Or were they dry?
Also, did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? How long did you bake your scones? And did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups for the measurements?
Unfortunately this recipe was pretty bland and yielded waffle/ biscuits like scones. I can understand if this was a different take to create healthy scones but they are far from regular scones and the taste. The maple syrup quantity is not enough for the flour ratio. I liked the texture though which I got after extending the bake time to 30 mins.
Thank you.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Bavi! That sounds disappointing, and I’d love to help modify this recipe to better suit your tastes. 🙂 These scones are meant to taste like traditional scones, which means only lightly sweetened — not too sweet! (Some “American” scones, especially those produced by commercial bakeries, can be much sweeter than traditional scones!) If you’d like them to taste sweeter, then you can easily substitute more maple syrup for the 3 tablespoons of milk that goes into the scone dough.
Did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section (other than baking them longer)? Also, how did you measure the flour? Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe how you used them?
Once I know all of the answers to those questions (I know there are quite a few of them!), then I’ll have a better idea of other things you can do to make this recipe suit your tastes!
My scones came out very doughy, I pulled after 22 minutes and they were turning golden brown.
They came out and looked right. I will try again and bake longer, but I am pretty sure I followed your instructions closely. Is there any way to get them to come out lighter and flakier? I saw another poster had good success
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Rick! I’m happy to help. I just want to make sure I understand what’s going on! By “doughy,” do you mean raw and underbaked? Or fully baked but dense? Was your dough the same consistency as mine in the video above the recipe before you put it in the oven? How tall was your dough circle before you placed it in the oven? Finally, did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
I know I just asked a lot of questions, but once I know your answers to all of them, I should have a much better idea of what you can do so your scones turn out much better! 🙂
I just tried it the second time, it was better, but not flakey, here is what I did and answers to your questions
The scond time, I pushed it flatter (1/2 inch thck, it was thicker first time), I also cooked it for 25 minutes and I think it was actually done this time, the first one was just undercooked. I am thinking that the butter temp and how I am folding it in (back of fork) could be an issue, I put the butter in the freezer for 30 minutes before, cut into little cubes, but it still bunches a lot and I end up folding it for a long time, maybe I need to get that tool the next time. Also, I have to add more milk than you call for since it is too dry, another extra two tablespoons. I am wondering if I should add little more greek yogurt, since I throw away 2 ounces each time from a 6oz container. My does consistency looked close to yours, folding in the blueberrys is tricky but no problem, end up having a lot on the bottom, so maybe I could spread them out more, or not put in so many
so, second time, I can say fully cooked, but dense
Thanks so much for all of this information, Rick! It’s very helpful. These scones aren’t supposed to be flaky the way biscuits or pie crusts are flaky. They should be moist and tender on the inside with a slight hint of a crust on the outside. It’s strange that you have to add another 2 tablespoons of milk. Was your dough drier than mine was in the recipe video? Also, how are you measuring the flour — with a kitchen scale or measuring cups? (However, since you added that extra milk, that could also contribute to why you had to bake the scones longer!)
The pastry cutter really helps with incorporating the butter! They tend to be pretty inexpensive, so I highly recommend getting one, if you’re up for it. (They’re great for making pie crusts and mashing bananas, too!)
Well, I never did look at your instructions on measuring out the flour, boy was I doing it wrong, no wonder I needed more milk, I was packing it in, shows how I need your basics instructions, thank you. I am off for more blueberries, a pastry cutter and a scale. I did consume almost all of the second batch, a perfect snack actually, so hoping third time is the charm
It’s my pleasure, Rick! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 I’m glad to hear the second batch disappeared… That’s always a good sign! 😉 I’m really excited to hear how your next batch turns out. I’ve got my fingers crossed for you!
Hi Amy,
I just baked these and they turned out amazing! It is honestly the first time I baked the healthy version of something and I can say that it tastes just like the original, and maybe better since I don’t like my pastries very sweet! One minor thing to note, is that although on the outside they looked nice and brown, on the inside the scones were a bit doughy. I think it’s because I used all the milk in the mixture. I was using a kitchen scale to measure and thus only checking the grammars/millilitres in the recipe. That’s why I thought that the 55ml was the amount of milk to be added in the mixture and didn’t notice that this should be divided. I’d suggest to divide it, for example: 3 tbsp + 2 tsp (45mL+ 10mL) nonfat milk, divided.
Thank you so much for sharing this! I’ll defInitely try out more of your recipes!
Keep up the great work!
Greetings from Cyprus,
Anne
I’m so glad you loved these scones Anne! That truly means the world to me that you’d say these tasted just like the originals — or maybe even better. That’s the BEST kind of compliment! Thank you so, so much! 🙂 Yes, I definitely think that adding the extra 2 teaspoons of milk to the scone dough would’ve affected their texture! The other thing that could affect their texture was how much water was still clinging to the blueberries. For example, if you used fresh blueberries and washed them immediately before adding them to the dough (rather than washing them before you began and letting them sit in a colander/strainer to dry!), then you probably would’ve had a bit too much liquid in the dough as well. Does that make sense?
I can’t wait to hear what recipe of mine you decide to try making next!!