I have substituted butter for shortening fairly successfully. Butter has more water (up to 16% by weight) than shortening which is close to 100% fat. So when substituting, the extra moisture in butter can affect your baked goods. I find doughs with shortening can be difficult to handle because of the high fat content, butter doughs are easier to roll out. The texture of a butter cookie or pastry isn't as "short" (i.e. tender, melt in the mouth) as shortening, but it has better flavor.

Personally I never use shortening in anything, I don't like the taste. I use lard and butter in pastry, and have recipes for lard cookies which are delicious.

Cheryl

I exclusively use butter--won't feed myself or my family hydrogenated shortening if I can avoid it.

The only real difference I find is that you have to add a couple more tablespoons flour to chocolate chip cookie dough, or the cookies turn out flat and rather peculiar.

I have one molasses cookie recipe that I use shortening in because it just doesn't turn out the same with butter, it's the only thing that I haven't been able to adapt to sub butter.

Butter will make a flatter, crisper cookie since it has a lower melting temperature than shortening. Shortening will make a puffier and softer cookie, and the flavor will be different.

As Cheryl mentioned, shortening is pretty much 100% fat, as is lard, while butter has a water content that can vary from brand to brand.

Annie

Along with shortening being 100% fat and butter containing about 16% water, butter also contains small amounts of sugars and proteins not found in shortening. The sugars and proteins can give the baked goods color you can't get with shortening.

Shortening holds its shape over a wide range of temperatures, which helps limit spread. Shortening also enhances leavening for a slightly puffier cookie.

I would suggest Spectrum Shortening as a substitute, which is made from organic expeller pressed palm oil and now comes in butter flavor as a good substitute for butter-flavored shortening.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Spectrum Shortening

I use Spectrum Canola Oil since it's non-gmo. Next time I need shortening, I'll look for their brand.

I mostly use butter, but I'll use shortening combined with butter for pies, and for Annie's molasses cookies as she recommends in her recipe, I think I've used butter subbed for shortening for snickerdoodles, but from what someone said, I think in the other related thread, they really do turn out better with shortening.

I don't know if this question should be in a separate thread or this one, but what about substituting the higher fat European butters for shortening? The other day I was at Central Market in Dallas, and they had both the regular butter and what they labeled as "European style" butter for the same price, so I grabbed some of each. It was their house brand. I noticed they labeled the European style as 82% butterfat, but the regular butter didn't say anywhere what it's butterfat content was. It did have, in the ingredient list, the total fat percentage. In the European butter, the fat content listed in the ingredients didn't match the 82% boast. It's total fat content per serving was something like 18%, and the regular butter's total fat was a couple percentage points lower. It's so confusing. Maybe this should be a separate subject? I don't want to hijack this thread with a different question.

Sally

Thanks for all the info. Boy, there is a lot to know about this stuff.

Sally, why don't you start another thread about European butter. I never heard of it!