What is the best shortening to use when making cookies?

Question

Butter, crisco, margerine? Are soft, chewy cookies dependant on shortening or sugar type?

Answer 1

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Soft and chewy cookies come from dough that includes 5 to 15 percent of an invert sweetener (i.e. honey, molasses, corn syrup, glucose, brown sugar). Liquid sweeteners keep the cookie moister, for longer. You can experiment with liquid sweeteners in any cookie recipe. Experiment by substituting 1 to 2 tablespoons of liquid sweetener for the same amount of granular sugar. Too much will alter the liquid balance in the recipe. Brown sugar contains about 325% invert sweetener. This inhibits crystallization, increases moisture retention, shelf life and improves browning.

Crisp cookies often feature more fat and sugar. This dough has a characteristic "short" crumb. Very crisp cookies can contain exclusively vegetable shortening. With its high burning point and the fact that is solid (no air) fat, vegetable shortening ensures a crisp cookie. Vegetable shortening has little flavor so use the butter-flavored variety or a combination of unflavored shortening and butter. For my crisp and buttery cookies, I have opted for butter creamed into the sugar. This helps incorporate more air into the batter. These cookies are not refrigerated. Warm dough makes for a better spread and a thinner, crisper cookie.

Reduce the soda or baking powder slightly in a recipe if you want a flatter cookie and want to avoid a cake-like, puffy cookie. Work with ingredients at room temperature for best results. Chill very soft dough briefly for easier handling. Dough that is too fresh or too soft may spread too quickly or fry before they bake and set up. For the best spread on cookies, use unbleached all-purpose flour. Bleached or chlorinated flours reduce spread.

Answer 2

As you get more experience cooking and baking you will find that some cookies are better with butter and some are better with shortening. There are some cookie recipes that seem to spread more all over the pan if you use butter instead of shortening. And when it comes to baking NEVER use the whipped margarine in the tub. Always use the sticks. Believe me from experience, it is a mess. But see, these are things learned by trial and error. Most of the time if I have it I opt out for butter flavored Crisco.

Answer 3

Unfortunately baking usually has to be exact to the recipe. But I don't use shortening for any baking because it is trans fat. Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fat means TRANS FAT. It is the worst fat to eat. Worse than saturated fat. If you can find a recipe using butter instead, you'll be better off. The only down side working with butter is because it has a very low melting point. In other words, you have to work it quicker because you don't want the butter to completely melt. Shortening is fat that stabilized and won't melt into liquid even when handled with your hands. Butter will melt even using your hands. When using butter, work quickly and when you think the butter is melting to fast, put it back into the fridge for a few minutes. Also when baking cookies, you can use an ice scooper to measure the size of the cookie. play around with it and see what size is your preference. If you want big cookies, use a bigger ice cream scooper. My sister who bakes cookies, has 5 different size ice cream scooper. She uses the one with a lever that detaches the ice cream. I suggest you use the same.

Answer 4

Use butter flavored Crisco or butter. Soft chewy cookies are very much dependant on this.

Answer 5

i always use butter flavored crisco, it just makes the best cookies and pie crust.

Answer 6

Crisco,

Answer 7

the healthiest would be a trans-fat free fat, like butter or some margarines. I use Blue Bonnet Margarine and it's fine.

Answer 8

Crisco,,, they are very good that way.

Answer 9

BUTTER,BUTTER,BUTTER!!!!