Had to choose between butter and shortening for my pie crust last Thanksgiving

I was making pies for a big family dinner and realized I was out of butter with the store already closed. All I had was a half stick of butter and a full tub of shortening. I decided to go half and half, figuring it would be a good compromise. The crust came out flaky but didn't have that rich buttery taste I was hoping for. My aunt actually commented that it was the best crust I ever made, which surprised me since I usually go all butter. I think the shortening gave it a tenderness I don't get with butter alone. Has anyone else mixed fats in their pie dough and gotten good results?

2 comments

2 Comments

sandraflores1d ago

Oh I used to be such a butter snob about pie crusts... thought anything else was just wrong. But then I ran out of butter one time and had to use half shortening and honestly it changed my mind completely. The texture was way more tender and flaky than my usual all-butter crusts and nobody even noticed the difference. Now I always do a mix of both and it's just better all around.

susanm568h ago

My grandma would roll over in her grave if she knew I was about to say this but here goes... she was a total butter purist too and I inherited that guilt for years. Then I tried the half shortening thing after a embarrassing pantry fail and wow, talk about a game changer. The crust was so tender and flaky I actually felt a little betrayed by my own tastebuds if I'm being honest. Now I do a 60/40 mix of butter to shortening and it's my secret weapon for pies that people rave about. Nobody knows the difference and I've even fooled my aunt who claims she can 'always tell' when it's not all butter. She ate three slices of my apple pie last Thanksgiving without a single complaint.