Why is my biscuit dough crumbly

If you are familiar with making cakes and brownies, then cookie dough will look very odd to you to start with! Cookie dough is much denser and thicker than cake mix and can be rolled into a ball without sticking or falling apart. If your cookie dough does not roll into a ball or falls apart as soon as you attempt to roll it, then it is probably too dry.

There are several reasons why your cookie dough might be too dry, and we need to look at the different ingredients and methods used to work out which one is the culprit! All cookie dough recipes will include some form of fat, such as butter or oil. The fats in your cookie dough blend with the dry ingredients to create a soft and pliable dough.

There are a few reasons why the fat might be to blame for your dry cookie dough. It could be because you substituted one type of fat for another — for instance, maybe you used margarine instead of butter! This can easily happen when measuring out liquid fats, such as oil or melted butter. The liquid in your recipe, normally water or milk, is responsible for adding moisture to your cookie dough.

If your cookie dough is dry or crumbly then it could be that not enough liquid was added, or the wrong type of liquid. This can happen if you have substituted one type of liquid for another — perhaps you swapped full-fat milk for almond milk?

It can also occur if there were any errors in measuring, so double check your measurements carefully. Even adding just a tiny bit extra of your dry ingredients can be enough to turn your cookie dough dry and crumbly. Now for the science bit! When flour is mixed, proteins within the flour combine to form strands of gluten.

This is what gives the cookie dough its elastic structure. However, if you mix your dough for too long, more and more gluten will be developed. This will cause your cookie dough to become hard and dry.

When it comes to mixing your cookie dough , less is definitely better! You want your ingredients to be thoroughly combined, but stop mixing as soon as this is achieved.

Many cookie recipes recommend chilling the dough in a refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking. This is essential to give cookies the perfect texture when baked, so do not skip this step!

However, if your cookie dough is not properly wrapped before storing in the fridge, it will dry out and become crumbly. If you make your cookie dough ahead of time or you buy premade dough, it may dry out in the fridge.

The refrigerator is a very drying place as it is constantly circulating air in order to remain cold. The air will quickly dry any moisture in your cookie dough, changing the texture of the dough completely.

Now that you know why your cookie dough may have become dry, it is time to fix the problem! If your cookie dough recipe already calls for a liquid such as milk, water, eggs or egg whites, start trying to moisten your dough by adding 1 teaspoon of the liquid at a time, mixing the dough briefly afterward. Most basic liquids will not have much effect on the dough or the taste of the cookies and will help your dough come back together into a workable consistency.

Add a little at a time, mix slowly and assess your dough results. This method also works well if your dough simply dried out in the fridge.

Refrigerators suck water out of the dough so adding water or milk back in will help fix the problem that the fridge caused. Adding fat to your cookie dough will definitely soften the dough. However, you do not want to add too much as it will change the end texture of your cookies.

Too much fat will cause your cookies to spread when baking and the grease to separate from the cookie dough, causing for some oily cookies! Whatever fat is used in your recipe, butter, vegetable oil or Crisco, add 1 teaspoon of the fat to the dough and gently knead the fat in with your hands. Using your hands to mix in the extra ingredient will prevent you from over mixing the dough, causing it to be tough, while also blending in the fat well.

If your dough looks just a little crumbly after being mixed, try using your hands to blend the dough rather than a spoon or paddle attachment on a stand mixer. Your hands can really help bring a dough together in a gentle way, without causing over mixing.

You can also use your hands to scoop and form the cookie dough balls, pressing the dough together well. If you believe you over mixed your dough, the best idea is to let the dough rest. Learn how to sidestep common biscuit-making mistakes with our Test Kitchen-approved tips.

Many recipes call for cold butter cut into small pieces. After testing hundreds of biscuits, the cooks in the Southern Living Test Kitchen found that grating a frozen stick of butter with the large holes of a box grater made the best dough and was much faster too. The ice-cold shreds of butter incorporate into the flour more evenly, improving the dough's flavor and texture. Whole grains are having a moment right now, but for a classic Southern-style biscuit, we prefer White Lily self-rising flour.

It's made with softer winter wheat, which has less protein. Less protein means more tender biscuits. If you can't find White Lily, use all-purpose bleached flour. To obtain the best result, you should try getting the best hand-mixer cookie dough.

Here are some quick fixes to de-crumble your dough. If the recipe includes adding liquids like milk or water, you can add more gradually in small amounts to moisten the dough. At this point, use your hands so you can feel the change in texture and to also avoid overmixing the dough. Some cookies do not have liquid ingredients and only have the fat as its lubricant. In this case, add more of the same type of fat gradually while mixing. Once it becomes pliable, stop adding fat.

Too much fat may cause your cookie to spread too much, which is not going to be pretty. If you think you most likely overmixed your dough, let it rest a while and try working on it with your hands. You may need to tweak the recipe if what it requires is not available in your area. Maybe you measure flour by packing it in the measuring cup while the recipe author simply scoops it from the flour jar without packing it in.

There are some butter brands that produce the better results. Quality and characteristic of ingredients may also vary from country to country and may yield different results.