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This can be a surprisingly controversial debate and is a question I get asked about all the time. Which is better: butter or shortening? I’m going to be diving deep into the exact differences between the two, and even comparing the same recipes made with each so you can SEE the differences.
It seems so simple to just substitute out one ingredient with another but baking is truly a science and every change you make can result in a totally different product! I’ve done specific testing on butter vs. shortening with pie crust, biscuit, and cookies. In the video below I’ve explained everything in case you don’t feel like reading. Let me know in the comments below if you’re Team Butter or Team Shortening!
Butter
What is it?
Butter is composed of at least 80% fat (per U.S. standards) and no more than 16% water, plus a smaller amount of milk proteins. That water content turns into steam while baking and can increase gluten production, which can result in a crisper cookie, flakier pie crust or biscuit.
Butter has a melting point that’s around body temperature. This means it starts to melt the moment it encounters heat, giving it that melt-in-your-mouth feeling we all love. For cookies, this also results in more spread and a flatter cookie.
PROS
• All natural.
• Provides an excellent incomparable taste.
• Butter offers a melt-in-your mouth texture.
• Gives biscuits and pie crust an incredibly light yet flaky texture
CONS
• Butter can be expensive.
• It can melt too quickly and cause baked goods like cookies to spread too thin
• The temperature of your butter in baking is really important, so it’s a little more difficult to get right
Shortening
What is it?
A fat that is solid at room temperature and typically made from vegetable oils. It used to be commonly made through a process resulting in trans fat, but now that we know how trans fat negatively impacts our health it can now be manufactured in a way that results in saturated fat instead. Basically, it is a cheaper and more shelf stable butter substitution.
Shortening is 100% fat, containing no water. That means no steam is created during baking which effectively reduces gluten production, so shortening cookies tend to be softer and more tender. Also, shortening has a higher melting point than butter, resulting in taller cookies. Because there is no water, most brands of shortening will recommend you add in 2 tablespoons of water for every cup of butter that you’re substituting with shortening.
PROS
• Shortening is cheap and has a long shelf life.
• Cookies made with shortening are tall and tender.
• It can be easier to work with than butter which can quickly get too warm.
CONS
• Not natural.
• Can’t compare to the flavor of butter, even if the shortening is “butter-flavored” (nothing is as good as the real thing).
• Lack of water leads to a more crumbly texture.
Shortening’s higher melting point results in a taller cookie. However, it also means that it doesn’t fully melt in the mouth like butter does, leaving behind an unpleasant waxy coating on the palate.
THE VERDICT?
I personally prefer butter over shortening and rarely bake with shortening. I just like to use natural ingredients when possible.
That waxy coating I just described is exactly why I don’t like to use shortening in recipes like buttercreams or icings where that waxy feeling is super obvious. Sure, buttercream made with shortening won’t melt if you’re serving cake or cupcakes in a warm area, and it’ll remain stable for longer, but that’s not enough to sacrifice the better texture and flavor butter offers.
However, I do like the height and tenderness shortening lends in cookies. That’s why I would suggest using 50% butter and 50% shortening – or some similar combination – to get the best of both worlds if you’re baking cookies. However, when it comes to pie crust and biscuits, I prefer 100% butter.
Shortening can be a great option for people who can’t eat dairy or who subscribe to a vegan diet.
I hope you found this insightful! Which do you think is better? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
50/50 – I’ve been doing that! Thank you for the explanation!!
I think it best to use whichever the recipe was developed to use!
I buy shortening for two uses. The first is to make the Gingersnap cookies from the recipe passed down from my fraternal grandmother. It’s been in our family for 100+ years. The recipe was developed to use shortening and the result is a soft cookie with a bit of a chew and a LOT of ginger flavor (1 Tbls. per batch of 3 dozen cookies). I have NEVER had that “waxy” feeling you speak of on my tongue!
I also use shortening to make a batch of “Baker’s Goop” which is the ONLY thing I use to prep pans and it’s worked 100% of the time even on my baking pans with intricate designs.
You just whip together 1 part shortening, 1 part vegetable oil, and 1 part AP flour (all by volume). When it’s all whipped up, scoop it in a jar and refrigerate until needed. It lasts a very long time.
Hi my name is Rich I did enjoy you comparing the two butter and margarine I have a recipe from 1956 heavy cream custard tarts or Pasteis De Nata Portuguese recipe
my father used to always use a high ratio puff paste shortening called Flakemore for the dough and I’m thinking because the cost is lower th n butter
the custard part was made all from natural ingredients Heavy cream egg yolks sugar cake flour no preservetives
My question to you if I start to substitute the butter for the Shortning and being that butter has a lower melting point and the shortening and the cooking temperature is approximating 500° will this be a good option to cook my Pasteis ?
Hi Richard, we haven’t made those recipes before, so I’m unable to offer recommendations. Good luck!
Butter camp here.
What a great video you made about butter versus shortening! This is something that I have never fully examined or thought about but yesterday I made a batch of oatmeal cookies that came out flat and when they cooled they were hard. I am not a big fan of shortening because I am of the older generation and remember when it was such an unhealthy product so your comment about the way it is made now versus then what is a surprise to me and now it has been added to my grocery list. Thank you again I really enjoyed it
Tessa-
In pies and turn overs, would you prefer using only butter, only shortening or both…if both…what would be your quantities?
Loved your explanation, I recall using Crisco when making toll house chocolate chip cookies when I was a teen, and the cookies were fluffy I’m not happy with the toll house recipe these days using butter, they are to flat looking
And I recall using granulated brown sugar I poured to measure, which I found and will use in place of the packed brown sugar Your info about trans fats also helped me decide to buy shortening again
Thanks again ( regards from Boston )
Thank you, this is insightful! I also prefer natural ingredients but found a cookie recipe I would like to make that calls for shortening. I was hoping I could substitute butter, but now I am wondering if perhaps oil or ghee is a better substitute (since shortening is solidified oil)? Or maybe half butter and half oil/ghee? Just curious if you have any thoughts. Thanks!
Would you use a 50/50 butter/shortening mix for cake icing too? I am making a tiered chocolate cake for an outdoor, evening birthday party and I am concerned about “melting” icing. The party will be under a tent too.
She explained how shortening can leave a film in your mouth when used in frosting, I avoid certain cakes at those big box stores because I’ve noticed the frosting leaves an after taste, Probably that film from the shortening she mentioned, personally Butter would be better Of course it may soften in the heat
Love better much better than shortening, especially in cookies. Was glad to see you feel the same.
thank you so much for scientific explanation..baking is really a sience..yesterdsy I made to batches of cookies one with butter ans shortening and the other with shortening a d I noticed the difference . when I read the blog I found answers for -all-my- qustions scientifically..
I remembered that hard cupcake which I made with shortening and that ygly taste of buttercream which contained shortenin g ..from JORDAN thank you so much..
Thanks for the great information! I recently tried a friend’s Ginger Snaps cookie recipe which called for one and a half cups of shortening. Well, I only had a cup of shortening, so I used 1/2 cup of butter to make up the difference. I had no idea how they would turn out, but I was very presently surprised to discover that the cookies baked perfectly and we’re delicious! I did not overbake them, so they ended up being slightly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. They were absolutely perfect to me–better than the ones she had made using shortening only. That may just be my own preference talking, but I will definitely do the same thing the next time I make them. A few days later, after being stored in a Christmas cookie tin, they are still crispy and chewy. I’m not sure how much the butter influenced the texture of the cookies, if at all, but they sure are good! (There is no be waxy aftertaste, probably because the cookies are spicy.) Anyway, thanks again for the great article.