# Substitutions in baking **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 24, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554 "2008-12-24T16:02:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThreadPirateRoberts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@ThreadPirateRoberts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThreadPirateRoberts)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554/1 "2008-12-24T16:02:28Z")
I’m baking Christmas cookies this year and I was wondering if you can substitute butter for shortening? I know on of you guys has the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554/2 "2008-12-24T16:11:25Z")
> [@ThreadPirateRoberts](#): > > I’m baking Christmas cookies this year and I was wondering if you can substitute butter for shortening? I know on of you guys has the answer. I’d say “yes” and your cookies will taste better for it. About the only place I won’t substitute is in pie crust - it’ll taste good but not be nearly as flakey with butter. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554/3 "2008-12-24T16:12:45Z")
Yup, fat is pretty much fat… Personally, I infinitely prefer the flavor of butter in baking over shortening–that’s just me, though. I use butter pretty much exclusively. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554/4 "2008-12-24T16:47:48Z")
Absolutely use butter instead of shortening. The flavor is richer. Re: pie crusts. I use lard. Can’t beat it. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554/5 "2008-12-24T16:59:16Z")
If you are making cookies, you will want to space them pretty far apart on the baking sheet. The butter will make them spread more than the shortening, and they will be flatter. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554/6 "2008-12-24T17:32:09Z")
YES. One of the greatest satisfactions of my adult life is learning that butter is actually a healthy fat and shortening is killing people. (If you want a cite please read the book “Know Your Fats” by Mary Enig) Of course the white flour and the sugar are terrible for you but one must take one’s compensations where one finds them. ---
**Author:** ![ThreadPirateRoberts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@ThreadPirateRoberts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThreadPirateRoberts)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554/7 "2008-12-24T17:47:44Z")
great Thank you ever so much! I appreciate the information ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554/8 "2008-12-24T18:51:39Z")
> [@Belrix](#): > > I’d say “yes” and your cookies will taste better for it. About the only place I won’t substitute is in pie crust - it’ll taste good but not be nearly as flakey with butter. I find a 50/50 mix of butter and shortening is still flaky, but much more flavorful than a 100% shortening crust. Of course, being that I keep kosher and serve nearly all of my baked goods with meat meals, I end up with all shortening almost all the time anyway. Yes, make your cookies with butter. I’ve never understood why anybody who didn’t specifically need non-dairy cookies (vegans, people with dairy allergies, folks like me) would make them with shortening/margarine. On the rare occasion that I make butter-based cookies, I find them much more flavorful. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554/9 "2008-12-24T18:54:01Z")
I make pie crusts with 100% butter, since I bake sometimes for vegetarians, and I don’t much like Crisco. They’re more cookielike in texture than flaky, but the flavor is wonderful. The one thing to remember about butter is that it has a much higher water content than shortening, so you will get a different texture than you’ll get with shortening. I think it’s worth it in almost all cases. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554/10 "2008-12-25T03:41:14Z")
All of the above is right except “fat is fat” is only partly true - if you substituted a liquid oil (corn, soy, canola, etc.) for a solid-at-room-temperature fat such as butter or Crisco, this would alter your results in things like cookies (and pie crusts, although one can make a yummy if different pie crust with oil). Things like muffins are usually fine with oil. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554/11 "2008-12-25T16:22:50Z")
Also, either use unsalted butter or adjust the amount of salt used. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitutions-in-baking/478554/12 "2008-12-25T17:35:15Z")
It’s not quite so simple. What kind of cookies are they? Butter almost always tastes better, but sometimes you can’t just substitute one thing for another. What do you mean by “shortening”? To me it means Crisco and I’ve never used it. But if you use butter, chill the dough and make sure the cookies are put on a cold baking sheet, not a warm one. That should limit the spread. I’m curious to know what kind of cookies they are, though. A friend of mine just freaked out because she substituted a hot chocolate mix for cocoa in a cookie recipe and, quel surprise, the cookies were awful.