Trailrunner's biscuits might fit the bill. I usually use her loose directions by hand rather than the fully realized recipe. Any cultured buttermilk will do. It doesn't have to be "Bulgarian". https://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2399976/buttermilk-is-your-friend-we-are-at-500-now-lol

Hm.... But maybe the problem is the knife? Have you tried fork splitting the biscuits you usually make? Either a flattish dinner fork, or even better one of those pointy multiple wire things they make for the purpose. Either that or a very sharp knife with tiny serrations.

Otherwise, a rolled biscuit might work better (more gluten) but it's not as fast to make.

Thanks a lot for your quick reply! I think any way of trying to "open" the E-Z drop biscuits would result in them breaking into pieces. Regarding Trailrunner's recipe, thanks for the link. I keep buttermilk powder on hand but not buttermilk. That recipe isn't as fast or easy, but maybe I can try it sometime. The cornbread recipe she posted looks super easy, I might try that for fun as well, thanks again

Well I guess if there was a recipe out there that would accomplish the above, you all would be the ones to know. I'm thinking for a recipe that fast & easy you gotta sacrifice something. Maybe I'll just try making them twice as small and eating twice as many so I don't feel the need to cut them (half kidding lol).

I make the self rising flour and cream biscuits all the time. In fact I made 60 for a "do" that I did for a museum -- they don't crumble and are excellent. We ALWAYS have cream on hand and I try to keep SR flour as well. But you can make them with regular flour and adding the salt and rising ingredients. Google and you'll find quantities for the cream biscuits with regular flour. They are super easy!

I'm wondering if cutting the butter in cold instead of melting it would make a difference in your original recipe.

Thank you both for your replies. Good to know that the SR flour/heavy cream ones don't crumble. I could always store the self rising flour in the freezer (that wouldn't destroy its self rising properties would it?) and would just have to plan ahead to have heavy cream on hand - if heavy cream can be frozen? then I could just keep a small container of that in the freezer as well, and would be good to go. Was wondering if they would taste any good with just two ingredients, but sounds like they do!

I could also try cold butter in the initial recipe too. Thanks again!

elba, I know exactly what you are talking about. Any biscuit recipe that I've ever tried to make just falls apart/crumbles. Very delicious but I'm not too crazy about the crumbling part of them. Hard to butter and put jelly on them because they are so soft. Let us know if you try one of these recipes and it actually works and let us in on the recipe too. Cream biscuit recipe doesn't really narrow it down as the google has zillions of search results...could be anything.

Is this what martha is talking about?
cream biscuit recipe

Yes, Arkansas girl -- that's the one with regular flour and baking soda, salt and baking powder and cream (although that one calls for sugar). If you don't want to keep self rising flour you can use flour and rising agents and salt with the cream.

It's basically a baking powder biscuit with cream instead of milk/butter.

For biscuits that aren't so fluffy flyaway there are some things you can try. Like more gluten. You could use a heavier flour, like King Arthur AP, or Gold Medal bread flour. "Heavier" means more protein. If you're using "southern" (soft) flour or cake or pastry flour, for sure try Gold Medal or Pillsbury AP, for the same reason. You can't compare protein by the nutrition info. It all looks the same for eating. It's in the baking that you see the differences that lurk in the fractions of difference. There's a chart on the Fresh Loaf that someone diligently made.

Or just work the dough more. Dump it on a pastry board or cloth or silicone mat and roll it around. Don't knead hard--you don't want tough--but all the handle as little as possible directions are for the light as air, fluffy flyaway biscuits you don't actually want. In my youth, biscuits were normally heavier and more solid, and were usually kneaded a little.

Another thing that makes for the fluffy fluffy biscuits is more liquid. Instead of making a wet sloppy mess, like in Trailrunner's buttermilk biscuits, that's almost a batter rather than a dough, add less so you get a firmer dough.

I miss Grainlady. She could have said for sure what to do. What I've just said are just things you can do to change what you have to head in the direction of what you want, rather than any kind of for sure recipe.

I wonder if the cream of tartar and butter could be what's making them too crumbly?

Maybe stirring the dough longer than the recipe calls for would make it a little less crumbly too?

The ingredients/proportions in that recipe are close the one I use from James Beard's bread book - except only 5 Tbs butter, cut in cold and no sugar or extra cream of tartar. I also brush them with melted butter before baking. I make the rolled ones more often than the dropped, but both are very good. Both kinds are fairly easy to break open evenly w/o having to use a knife.

Baking Powder Biscuits

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp bkg pdr

4-5 Tbsp shortening(butter, oil, etc.)

3/4 c. liquid (yoghurt, buttermilk, milk, juice etc.)

1-2 Tbsp. melted butter

Preheat oven to 450F

Blend dry ingredients.

Cut shortening into dry ingredients.

Add liquid, mix well.

Turn out on floured surface, knead 8-9 times to smooth.

Pat (or roll) dough to desired thickness, cut (do not twist, when cutting)

Place on parchment covered baking pan. Brush tops w/ melted butter.

For soft biscuits, place very close - almost touching. For crispy biscuits spread out.

Bake 12-15 minutes

For drop biscuits, increase liquid to 1 cup, stir dough well and drop. Brush with melted butter and bake as above.

I’ve made the SR flour and cream biscuits (which we call scones) for over 30 years now. It’s a very flexible recipe. You use

3 cups or so self raising flour

1 cup cream/sour cream/plain yoghurt/any of these that are slightly going sour

1 cup water/soda water/sprite/7-Up

and mix to a softish dough. You can add sugar, fresh or dried fruit, herbs, cheese, whatever you like. Even my DD had no trouble making these when she was 8yo.

carolb, the recipe that I've used does not call for cream of tartar. I will next try working them more. That's probably the problem. I've just always done as the recipe says which is to not work the dough very much or just until blended together. I actually enjoy the texture of canned biscuits but do not like all those mystery ingredients that are in them.

Arkansas girl -- no you don't want to mix them too much -- you need a light hand with biscuits.

colleen -- that you for reminding me -- next time I'm with the grands we'll have to make biscuits!

Arkasas girl, you share my pain lol - you know exactly what I'm talking about! And by crumbly, they aren't dry, they just fall apart when you try to slice them lengthwise. I will hopefully try one of the above variations very soon and report back, thanks so much everyone!

Yes elba, they are, in fact, very delicious but so soft that you can't put jelly on them without them crumbing to bits.

Oh, I thought the recipe posted in the OP was the same one you use? It has cream of tartar in the list of ingredients...?

And I think that 1/2 cup butter is a lot. More butter/shortening makes for a more crumbly(short) finished product. Is that the same amount as the recipe you make?

Carol has a good point about the butter. Handling more will develop gluten, but if it's butter crumbly, like pie crust, that could be the issue.

Re the canned ones, you can make similar but it's exactly the opposite kind of thing. it's a lot of work, and takes awhile.

Complete biscuit making novice here, but very intrigued by this thread.

I’m about to make some using the recipe in the OP and thanks elba1. The oven temperature seems quite hot but will do as recipe says.

Colleenoz, I’m thinking perhaps our scones are a little different with no butter included.

Neely, mine are always done in just 8 minutes at that temperature - be sure to check them then

Neely, regular scones here are made by rubbing butter into SR flour and adding milk, but the fat in the cream is a substitute for the butter in my recipe.

Ok, so I just made the cream biscuit recipe in the link arkansas girl shared, but didn't roll them out with extra flour or cut them - I plopped them down like a drop biscuit then flattened each one a bit like a puck and....they came out pretty much like the ones I already make ha ha! I am thinking that it's one or the other - you can have the ease of a drop biscuit OR you can roll and cut so they can be sliced when baked. Before I give up though, next I will try Carol B's recipe above, as she shares a drop biscuit version and says you can break them apart fairly easily without using a knife. If that works I will be very happy, if not, after that I will try a rolled version and decide if it is worth the extra effort when I am in a hurry and the soup is almost done!

My version cuts well and you can just pat it out into a rectangle for cutting instead of rolling it.

I think the type of flour used makes a difference too. Pastry or "soft" wheat flour can be more crumbly for sure.

Somehow I missed the drop part -- I always pat mine out and cut them.

Elba, even though they're cut, I just tried AnnT's biscuits from my thread, and they're very quick and dead easy. Easier than drop biscuits in my mind, and they're pretty much perfect. You can make them even faster by making up kits with the dry ingredients already measured out. They're light and soft without being flyaway and crumbly, and cut just fine with a butter knife.

Details of how I made them (for comparison's sake): I used Gold Medal AP flour, Rumsford double acting baking powder (not fresh new, but not old), regular table salt, 2% milk (what I had) and sweet cream butter. Mixed it in a wide base bowl I use for dough, using a dinner fork, a flat rather than box grater and turned it out on a floured silpat. Used a fluted biscuit cutter and ball bearing melamine rolling pin--it takes barely any rolling. I didn't do the thumbprints or milk on top because I forgot. Baked on parchment on an enamelled baking sheet thats fitted to the oven, for 12 minutes plus up to half a minute to put down the dishes and dry my hands. Pulled them up in the parchment and transferred them off the hot baking sheet, while I organized the rest of dinner.

You can do the folds by hand or use a flexible spatula, and if you don't want to bother with a biscuit cutter, you could just make crosshatch square cuts with a bench scraper or wide knife. Just do up and down, rather than sliding or twisting, with knife or cutter, so you don't seal the sides.

If you start the oven while you're starting the soup, it shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to actually make the biscuits, with most of the time being baking.

aloton browns recipe work pretty good for biscuits,

personally popovers taste better and are more versatile then biscuits and never crumble.

Ok, thanks again everyone! Colleenoz, I thought your recipe was pretty much like the cream biscuit recipe arkansas girl linked, with adjustments for using all purpose flour, which I always have on hand, but of course in baking the changes in your recipe could make a difference. I use Trader Joe's all purpose flour, baking powder and their organic butter in my baking; so the flour may be a factor. I will add AnnT's recipe and Alton Brown's on my short list to try. I have never made popovers, but will add that to the list! I don't think I'll try more than 1 recipe/week as I can't eat all these biscuits - there are only 3 of us home at the moment!

I think that drop biscuits are also more crumbly than patted or rolled, because I always knead my patted & cut biscuit dough a few times to 'smooth it', as the recipe instructs. I believe cutting in the shortening and leaving lots of chunks makes them flakier too.

And here's a very quick way to cut: After patting the dough out on waxed paper, I often use a pastry wheel - or you could also use a pizza cutter - to cut 1 1/2" W X approx. 4" L sticks from the entire mass, instead of cutting out rounds & re-rolling the scraps. You can make squares too, of course, but I like sticks for dipping when I make soup or stew.

I have always just dumped and no measure, but I used this recipe the other day and it was good. It did not crumble like mine had started to. I did use self rising flour instead of plain and adding baking powder and salt. I did add soda. I used Crisco instead of butter. It froze well. I used a serrated steak knife to slice in the middle. It is a keeper.

http://www.cookingmaniac.com/grandmas-flaky-buttermilk-biscuits/

Thanks once again all. Carolb, my very next attempt will still be your drop biscuit recipe and if it doesn't work out, then I will move on to the simple rolled recipes in this thread. That is another good point about cutting them in squares or rectangles - I would definitely try that for my initial rolled attempt - fast & no waste from circle scraps (I do have a biscuit cutter but have never used it ha ha)!

I've always made square or rectangular biscuits - otherwise I would not know what to do with the excess dough, as it gets tough when overworked.

Okay - good manners say that one does not butter the entire biscuit at once, just one bite at a time. At least that is what my mother taught me and I've always done. Her biscuits were light as air, and yes, they did fall into pieces when cut open. So darned good!

Made carolb's drop biscuit version last night - it was an improvement regarding less crumbling, it was a little denser - I think cutting in cold butter/less butter was the difference vs. using melted butter in the recipe I posted, although doing that does take a little longer. Thanks so much! Next I will try a rolled biscuit - probably AnnT's, as I know those can be sliced without crumbling. Funny, the thing is that I have an out-of-proportion aversion to rolling biscuits, which I think stems from the fact that although I make cookies from scratch all the time, I "hate" making rolled cookies - I do gingerbread ones for Christmas, linzer ones for Valentines Day, and others when the need arises for a theme. It's silly, it's not like moving the great pyramids or anything, but that could probably be it's own thread - what do you "hate" doing in the kitchen that others don't bat an eyelash over! Anyway, I also know rolling biscuits will be faster than rolling cookies, and will try square/rectangle ones like colleenoz & Lars to make it a bit simpler/faster than rolling out circles/dealing with scraps.

That recipe is actually from James Beard, I cannot take credit for it.

And I do not ever 'roll' biscuits, just pat the dough out with my hands. I hate hauling out one more g-d thing to wash.

Elba, if it's the actual rolling you hate, you could probably have total success with AnnT's recipe skipping the rolling part. All that does is make an even height and smooth top, and makes using a cutter easier. Since you're accustomed to drop biscuits, that part probably isn't particularly important to you, anyway. Just do the pat into place and folds, then pat into a reasonably flat shape, maybe pat the top a bit, and slice with a bench scraper or knife. I mean, it's just biscuits. The folding will give you layering and just enough gluten development to hold them together. You don't have to actually roll them if you don't want to.

Thanks again carolb & plllog. The next 2 I will try are Ann T's, and carolb's kneaded version. I feel like when I make rolled cookies it takes SO much longer - roll to even thickness, use cookie cutter, hope it comes out in 1 piece, try to re-use scraps...so I think I've been translating that into not wanting to roll biscuits, which is silly as I congnitively know all these suggestions will be much faster than making a big batch of rolled cookies. Thanks for your patience and friendliness while you might be thinking "Just roll the darn biscuits and get on with it!" ha ha

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Angel Biscuits. So darned good. More involved but really nice for a treat.

Angel Biscuits

Servings 24Author Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

• 2 [1/4] oz packets active dry yeast [2 1/4 tsp per packet]
• 1/4 cup warm water [110°F]
• 5 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup chilled butter cubed [1 1/2 sticks]
• 1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening prefer butter flavored
• 2 cups buttermilk lukewarm
• 2-4 Tbsp butter melted to brush the tops

Instructions

1. To make the dough: Sprinkle both packets of dry yeast over the warm water and set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
3. Cut 3/4 cup of chilled butter and 1/2 cup of chilled vegetable shortening into the dry ingredients until it resembles cornmeal. [Tip: This can be done using a food processor, or a hand mixer on low speed.]
4. After the yeast has become creamy and "bloomed" add it to the warm buttermilk and gently stir until combined.
5. Make a well in the center of the dough and add the buttermilk/yeast mixture.
6. Gradually work the liquid into the dry ingredients until combined. The dough won't be completely smooth.
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured non-stick surface. Begin to work the dough, turning and gently kneading just until it comes together and appears smooth.
8. At this stage, you may divide the dough, in half if desired. Place half into a buttered bowl, and lay a damp towel on top, then refrigerate. [Tip: The dough may be stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator]
9. Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Use a 2 or 3 inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour to cut into rounds, reshaping the dough as needed. Do not twist the biscuit cutter.
10. Place onto a parchment lined or lightly greased baking sheet, then cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise in a draft free place for 1 hour. [see cook's note]
11. Melt 4 Tbsp of butter, and brush the tops just before baking.
12. Preheat the oven to 400°F and bake for 13-15 minutes until golden and cooked through.
13. Brush again with melted butter before serving, if desired.

Recipe Notes

If using Rapid Rise yeast, 1 hour rise time is sufficient. If using plain active dry yeast [long acting] allow the biscuits to rise for 1 1/2 hour.

Thanks, I've heard of them but never made them. They probably weren't mentioned since the initial post was for fast and easy ha ha. But my son loves to cook, I should show him this recipe and have him give it a try the first time when we aren't rushed on a weekend!

Oh, yes, angel biscuits aren't on the spot fast & easy. But, with the do ahead nature of the dough and a little planning, they are fast & easy. Make the dough a day or two ahead so it has time to develop flavor. Then, the night before you can roll out and cut a pan's worth of biscuits and leave them to rise overnight in the refrigerator. The next morning all you have to do is pop them in a pre-heated oven. (Or cut them and pan in the morning if you want them for dinner....)