In college, I occasionally visited a small restaurant on the edge of downtown, located right next to the train tracks. With just a handful of tables and chairs outside, and only one set inside, it was more of a shop than a restaurant, but it was still one of the most popular places in town.
They sold some of the best thin crust pizza, both by the slice and by the pie, piled thick with tomato sauce, cheese, and a wide variety of toppings. The vegetarian and Hawaiian flavors seemed to disappear the fastest, followed by the meat lovers, pepperoni, and plain cheese slices.
But they offered more than just pizza…
The shop was owned and operated by the biggest baking company in town, so they also sold plenty of freshly baked goodies. We almost always found long baguettes, sourdough loaves, and French bread in oversized baskets behind the cashier, along with muffins, scones, éclairs, cream puffs, Boston cream pie slices, and molten chocolate lava cakes in the glass display case to the right of the register.
Towards the end of college, I discovered that the store discounted their breakfast pastries after 5 pm in order to make room for the next round of freshly baked ones the following morning. The day I read their little chalkboard sign, I immediately bought a side salad and jumbo-sized blueberry scone as big as my entire hand, completely forgoing the pizza.
As much as I enjoy fresh hot pizza… I love my baked treats even more!
After eating the salad while sitting on one of the benches outside, I broke off a piece of the scone and popped it into my mouth. After swallowing, I immediately reached for the water bottle in my backpack.
That scone was so dry and crumbly! Despite being freshly baked that morning, I thought its texture resembled something that had been on display for three days instead.
I quickly learned my lesson and opted for muffins after that… Much more moist and tender, even at dinnertime after sitting out all day!
I also started baking my own scones at home, like these Healthy Blueberry Almond Scones! They’re full of plump sweet berries, just like the ones from that little shop, but these homemade scones are incredibly moist and tender on the inside. Not one bit dry!
Also unlike those ones from college, these healthy blueberry almond scones contain no eggs, heavy cream, refined flour or sugar… And they’re just 135 calories!
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY BLUEBERRY ALMOND SCONES
Let’s go over how to make these healthy blueberry almond scones!
In your one bowl (hooray for fewer dishes to wash!), you’ll start by whisking together white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt. If you’ve browsed through my recipes before, then you probably already know what white whole wheat flour is. But if you haven’t and feel a little confused…
White whole wheat flour is not made by simply combining white (aka all-purpose) flour and regular whole wheat flour! Instead, it’s made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They both have the same health benefits (like extra fiber!), but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture. This lets the moist and tender texture of your healthy blueberry almond scones really shine!
Hint: I’ve also included my favorite gluten-free options for these healthy blueberry almond scones in the Notes section of the recipe!
Just remember, whether you use white whole wheat flour or a gluten-free flour blend to make these healthy blueberry almond scones, it’s extremely important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much flour will make your scones dry and crumbly, rather than perfectly soft and tender!
Next, you’ll work a small amount of very cold butter into your flour mixture. Traditional scone recipes often call for a full stick (if not more!), but you just need 2 tablespoons for this healthy recipe. That really helps keep your blueberry almond scones low fat and low calorie!
And yes, it’s very important that your butter is cold and straight from the fridge. (Freezing isn’t necessary though!) This is because…
Nerd Alert!
When you put your healthy blueberry almond scones in the oven, the butter in your scone dough starts to melt, which creates tender little pockets in your scones. If your butter softens or melts ahead of time, you miss out on that lovely tenderness, and the texture just isn’t quite the same.
This is why I highly recommend against using coconut oil! It has a much lower melting point compared to butter, so it often softens and melts while you’re mixing together the dough.
Hint: For a non-dairy and vegan alternative, see the Notes section of this healthy blueberry almond scones recipe!
You’ll skip the heavy cream found in many traditional scone recipes and add Greek yogurt in the dough instead. Greek yogurt is one of my favorite ingredients in healthy baking! In this particular recipe, it adds the same moisture as extra butter or heavy cream but for a fraction of the calories. It also gives your healthy blueberry almond scones a protein boost!
Then to sweeten your scones, you’ll use pure maple syrup instead of refined granulated sugar. You want the kind that comes directly from maple trees, not “pancake” syrup! The only ingredient on the bottle should be “pure maple syrup,” and it generally comes in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs (like this!).
Tip: I actually like the not-too-sweet flavor of traditional scones, so I didn’t add very much maple syrup to these healthy blueberry almond scones. If you prefer sweeter scones, then just take a peek at the Notes section again. I tell you how to modify the recipe to make these scones sweeter there!
Time for the two biggest stars of this recipe… The blueberries and almond flavor! I prefer using fresh blueberries in most of my baked goods because frozen ones tend to bleed and dye the dough a strange gray color. They’ll both taste fine in these fully baked scones though!
Then for the almond flavor, I turned to my all-time favorite baking extract, almond extract. I’m actually not a big fan of nuts in my baked goods (I’ve been like that since my childhood, when I picked all of the almonds off the tops of my lemon poppy seed muffins and all of the walnuts out of banana nut bread or brownies!), which is one of the main reasons I used almond extract in these healthy blueberry almond scones instead of nuts. I also love the way almond extract makes baked goods taste so elegant and fancy!
Now that you’ve made your dough, transfer it to your baking sheet (I love using silicone baking mats for my scones!), and shape it into a circle using a spatula. The dough typically sticks to your hands—and often to the spatula as well—but that’s a good sign! Moist and sticky dough = moist and tender scones.
Then brush the top and sides of your dough circle with milk! This seals moisture into the dough, and it also creates a hint of a crust on the outside while your scones bake. Such a delicious textural contrast!
Finally, slice your dough circle into 8 wedges with a sharp knife. No need to separate them! By leaving them together on your baking sheet, your healthy blueberry almond scones stay as moist and tender on the inside as possible.
After a short trip to the oven…
Your easy, yummy, and healthy breakfast pastries are ready! 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 I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy blueberry almond scones!
Healthy Blueberry Almond Scones
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (180g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ 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 ½ tsp almond extract (see Notes!)
- ½ cup (70g) fresh blueberries
Instructions
- 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 (highly recommended!) or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Make a well in the center. Add in the Greek yogurt, maple syrup, 3 tablespoons of milk, and almond extract. Stir until just incorporated. Gently fold in the blueberries with a spatula.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Using a spatula, shape the dough into a 1” tall circle, and brush with the remaining milk. Slice the dough into 8 triangular segments with a sharp knife. (No need to separate them!) Bake at 425°F for 21-24 minutes, or until the tops and sides are lightly golden and the tips of the scones in the center feel firm to the touch. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Scones
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Muffins
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
♡ Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Blueberry Almond Banana Bread
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy scone recipes!
In making your almond scones, can I use Almond flour or mixture of almond and coconut flour=Keto style?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Charlene! Coconut flour won’t work, but you can substitute almond flour. Just keep in mind that your scones will likely turn out denser and may collapse a bit while cooling. (Gluten is the protein that enables baked goods to rise and hold their shape after baking, but almond flour doesn’t have that!) I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to make these scones! 🙂
For anyone who is interested, these scones are successfully made without fructose by substituting rice malt syrup (though it is not as sweet). You can also sub full fat yogurt and milk for a more successfully freezable scone in case you can’t eat the whole thing straight out of the oven because baked goods without much fat don’t freeze very well.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these scones Jan! That’s interesting about the full fat yogurt and milk; I’ve actually had great success freezing these scones when made with nonfat Greek yogurt and milk. 🙂
I often make Amy’s scones to put in the freezer for “later” treat. I always use non-fat Greek yogurt and fat free milk and have never had an issue with freezing or thawing these wonderful treats!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know, Lisa! That’s so great to hear, and I’m really glad you’re enjoying my scone recipes! 🙂
I love blueberry scones but I never thought of adding almond extract for a delicious flavor combo. Great idea. I am also excited to try your healthier version with yogurt. Pinning to try soon.
Thank you so much for pinning, Scarlet! I can’t wait to hear what you think of these scones once you get a chance to try them! 🙂
I just tried this recipe! The yogurt addition makes it moist and healthy! I also added some chocolate chips so I reduced the sweetness of the scones
I’m so glad you enjoyed these scones Lynn! I love your idea of adding chocolate chips. 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Yum yum yum!
I really got serious about weightloss 16 weeks ago and I have lost 40lbs so far. Part of the reason I have so much to lose is i love baking!!
Decided that if I’m serious about long term weightloss and maintainance, I need to try some more healthy baking to have a little treat and to enjoy my hobby in a sustainable way!
Made these delicious scones this morning, I used blackcurrant instead of blueberries as that’s what I had in the freezer. Also used half maple syrup and half sugar free coffee syrup as I ran out of maple. The scones were delicious, husband and i had 2 each for breakfast and it’s taken all my will power not to go back and have the rest! Using almond extract was lovely and made the flat smell divine!
Thank you for your recipes!
Oh my goodness — I’m SO honored that you tried and loved my recipe, Bobbi! That’s the best kind of compliment if it took so much willpower not to eat the rest. Hearing that just made my entire day, so thank you for taking the time to let me know! I’m really glad you liked these scones! 🙂 I love your idea of using black currants too. That sounds like such a fun flavor for scones!
And even more importantly… A HUGE congratulations on your weight loss journey!!! It takes a LOT of dedication to continue making progress for 16 weeks, and that shows just how strong and motivated you are. I’m so happy for you, Bobbi!!
Thank you!! I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
You’re welcome, Bobbi! That truly means a lot to me — thank YOU!! 🙂 I’m so excited to hear which recipe you pick to make next!
Can I use dried cherries instead of blueberries? Thanks for the great recipe!
Yes, I think that should be fine to do! I’d recommend using closer to ¼ cup instead, and I highly recommend hydrating them first, if you have the time. It makes the dried fruit really plump and juicy! To do so, add the dried cherries to a microwave-safe bowl, cover them with water, and cover the top of the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Let the dried cherries sit for 10-15 minutes (or while you measure and mix together the rest of the ingredients). Thoroughly drain the excess liquid before folding them into the scone dough.
I’d love to hear what you think of these scones if you end up making them, Lolly! 🙂
These are amazing 🙌🏻! First time I made them with store bought whole wheat flour. Second time I made it with freshly milled soft white wheat berries I milled at home. Otherwise, I made them as written. Both were great! Kid sign of approval! I’m going to experiment with some other types of wheat berries as we mostly make all our own flour but it’ll definitely be a recipe staple here! Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you loved these scones, Emily! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. It truly means a lot — especially hearing that they’re kid approved and you already think they’re going to be a staple at your house too! 🙂
I hope you enjoy the versions you make with other wheat berries just as much!
Hi Amy! I love your website and looking forward to trying this blueberry scone recipe. I have a question about measuring flour, please. Does using a sifter for flour replicate the fork method of preparing your flour or make the recipe any lighter? Thank you for the great recipes!
I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying our recipes, Sue! Thank you so much for the kind words!
If you’d like to sift the flour first and then spoon it into the measuring cups, rather than using a fork to fill the measuring cups, then that’s fine. It should have a similar effect and yield good results!
I’d love to hear what you think of these scones! 😉
Can I use a mixture of oat flour and regular flour?
We really appreciate your interest in this recipe, Liz!
The scones will most likely turn out denser with that flour blend. This is because gluten is the protein in wheat-based flours that helps baked goods rise and maintain their shape while cooling. Oat flour lacks that, so when you substitute it for wheat-based flours in our recipes that rise (like cupcakes, cakes, muffins, quick breads, etc!), your baked goods will often turn out denser and may collapse while cooling. However, if you don’t mind that texture difference with oat flour (where your scones may collapse and turn out denser), the flavors should still remain the same!
If you decide to try making these scones, I’d love to hear what you think!