Swapped my butter for shortening in pie crusts and it was a game changer

I was making 8 pies for a church fundraiser last Saturday and ran out of butter halfway through. In a panic I grabbed a tub of vegetable shortening from the back of my pantry and just used it 1 for 1. The crust came out flakier than any butter crust I ever made and nobody at the fundraiser even noticed the difference. Has anyone else tried this swap or am I just late to the party?

3 comments

3 Comments

ward.jamie2mo agoMost Upvoted

So I did this like a year ago when I was making a bunch of pot pies for a family reunion. I had maybe 3 tablespoons of butter left and like a whole tub of Crisco sitting there. I just swapped it straight across and honestly the crust was way easier to work with too. It didn't crack or get all sticky like butter sometimes does. My grandma actually asked me what I did different because she loved it lmao. I still use butter for like cookies and stuff but for pies I'm totally on the shortening train now for sure.

oscar7432mo ago

Man, my buddy Carl did the SAME thing when he was making tamales for a family party and literally said the same thing about flakiness! He SWEARS by shortening now and won't go back.

cora8631mo ago

Wait, has your friend Carl tried it with lard instead of shortening? My buddy Derek used lard in his pie crusts for years and said it gave them this amazing flaky texture he couldn't get with anything else. He only stopped because his cardiologist made him lol.