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Velvet Digest

Can I use half butter and half shortening in cookies?

Author

Sophia Koch

Updated on June 28, 2026

So I made a simple change, substituting extra peanut butter for half the shortening in the recipe. Can you substitute butter for shortening? Sure; I'd use 1/2 cup butter, since it includes milk solids as well as fat. Your cookies won't be as crunchy, but if you're OK with a bit of soft chew, go for it.

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Furthermore, can you use butter and shortening in cookies?

There is no magic shortening to butter conversion, generally, you can use butter or margarine in place of shortening as a one-to-one swap. Making this substitution may slightly alter the texture of your baked goods. When substituting butter for shortening, use the same amount called for in your recipe.

Subsequently, question is, is butter or shortening better for cookies? Butter melts at a lower temperature than shortening, which means it melts faster. The faster the melting, the more quickly the cookie will spread in the oven. If you want your cookie to hold its shape and rise up rather than being thin, then you need to use shortening.

Simply so, can I use half butter half margarine in cookies?

For many recipes, margarine and butter can be used interchangeably or combined. When substituting margarine for all or part of the butter in baking, make sure the margarine contains at least 80 percent oil and don't use light or whipped margarine.

Can I combine butter and shortening?

Combining two different fats such as margarine and shortening will give a recipe some of each fat's best qualities. For example, by using both butter and shortening in a cookie recipe, you will get the wonderful flavor of butter, while the shortening will keep the cookies from spreading too flat.

Related Question Answers

Is shortening worse than butter?

Although shortening is higher in total fat, butter contains more saturated fat since it comes from animals and shortening is usually made from plant oils. Saturated fat is one of the so-called "bad fats" since it can cause your cholesterol levels to increase, raising your heart disease risk.

What makes a chewy cookie?

What makes cookies soft and chewy? High moisture content does; so the recipe, baking time, and temperature must be adjusted to retain moisture. Binding the water in butter, eggs, and brown sugar (it contains molasses, which is 10 percent water) with flour slows its evaporation.

Can you use shortening instead of butter in chocolate chip cookies?

Butter and shortening can generally be substituted for each other in cookie recipes if you keep a few things in mind: Since butter does contain water and less fat than shortening, you'll need to use more of it as a substitution.

Did Crisco change their recipe?

Dear Margaret: Crisco certainly has. The company changed the formula in 2007 to use less partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils and more fully hydrogenated cottonseed oil -- which contains no trans fat. The texture and consistency of new-formula Crisco is different.

What does butter do in cookies?

Butter in Recipes In things like cakes, cookies, and muffins, butter coats the proteins and starches during the mixing step and results in a more delicate crumb. In many of these types of pastries, the butter is creamed with the sugar before being mixed with other ingredients.

What is Crisco used for in baking?

Crisco is a brand of vegetable shortening that was produced by The J.M. Smucker Company in the United States. This shortening can be used instead of butter or margarine in cooking and baking, or it can be combined with either one (or both).

How do you keep cookies soft and fresh?

To keep homemade cookies soft, let them cool for 2-3 minutes after they come out of the oven, transfer them to a cooling rack for 10-20 minutes, and make sure they've cooled completely before storing them. Put the cooled cookies in an air-tight container and store them in the fridge to preserve their softness.

What kind of shortening do you use for cookies?

Shortening” actually refers to all fats and oils, but what we're talking about here is hydrogenated vegetable oil shortening (such as Crisco). This kind of shortening is typically made from soybean, cottonseed, or palm oil.

Does margarine or butter make cookies softer?

When a recipe calls for butter, use stick butter. If you substitute margarine or oil for butter, chances are you'll end up with flatter cookies, because they can contain more water than butter. If you substitute shortening, chances are your cookies will be more cakelike and won't flatten as much as they should.

Can you combine margarine and butter when baking?

For many recipes, margarine and butter can be used interchangeably or combined. When substituting margarine for all or part of the butter in baking, make sure the margarine contains at least 80 percent oil and don't use light or whipped margarine.

Is butter or margarine better for baking cookies?

But when you're baking, butter triumphs over margarine every time. For cakes, cookies, and pastries, butter (unsalted, that is) provides richer flavor. Margarine, which can contain more water and less fat, may make thin cookies that spread out while baking (and may burn). Butter is also the better choice for frying.

Does butter make cookies softer?

Fat: Butter has a low melting temperature. This allows a cookie to spread much more during baking than other solid fats, such as shortening. Butter also contains protein, which aids in browning and crisping. For flat and brown cookies, butter is the best choice.

Does oil make cookies chewy?

Like ipse says, there are a lot of factors to making a cookie chewy. Adding oil binds the flour, like adding melted butter would and that would make a difference with the higher moisture content as ipse mentioned. Brown sugar makes a cookie chewier, as does using flour w/ a higher percent protein.

Can you use Crisco instead of butter in brownies?

In general, you can substitute shortening for butter in equal amounts in baking recipes (not the frosting or icing, though—yuck). Shortening yields higher, lighter-textured baked goods, which is sometimes preferable to butter (depending on what you're making). Butter naturally has some water in it; shortening doesn't.

Can I use margarine to make cookies?

In baking, melted margarine could work in recipes that call for melted butter, but in recipes that call for softened butter, swapping in tub margarine may change the texture; for example, cakes will be less tender, and cookies will generally spread out more and be less crisp.

How do I substitute Crisco for butter?

In general, you can substitute Crisco shortening for butter or margarine in equal amounts (1 cup Crisco shortening = 1 cup butter or margarine). Not only does Crisco shortening have 50% less saturated fat than butter and 0g trans fat per serving, it gives you higher, lighter-textured baked goods.

Can I use shortening instead of butter in frosting?

Shortening. Some recipes for buttercream frosting call for vegetable shortening plus butter. Whether your recipe calls for both or butter alone, you can substitute all shortening for the butter. Shortening has a neutral flavor, so add in butter flavoring if you want the frosting to have a buttery taste.

Why is Crisco bad?

CLEVELAND — Crisco is getting a new formula after 95 years in America's pantries that nearly eliminates artery-clogging trans fats. Doctors say trans fats — listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil — can raise bad cholesterol and lower healthy cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease.

Does shortening make cookies crispy?

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.