Tried butter vs shortening in sugar cookies and it's not even close

Made two batches of sugar cookies for a party last Saturday, one with butter and one with shortening. The butter ones spread way too thin and lost their shape, looked like blobs. The shortening ones held the edges perfectly and were way easier to roll out. I always thought butter was king for flavor but for cutout cookies I'm team shortening now. Anyone else ditch butter for specific cookie types?

2 comments

2 Comments

flores.mark1h ago

Ha, same goes for pancakes - water based batter spreads too much, milk based ones keep their shape.

sam_cooper2h ago

Right, but here is something nobody talks about. Shortening gives you a much more tender crumb because it has no water in it, while butter has around 15% water that turns to steam and makes the cookie puff up and spread. For rolled cookies where you want clean edges, that water is your enemy. Plus, you can always brush the baked shortening cookies with melted butter right when they come out of the oven to get that buttery taste back without ruining the shape.