Serious question, did butter vs shortening on my pie crust really matter that much?

Holly Mason · 2026-10-21T20:00:03.776772+00:00

I always figured fat was fat and used the cheap shortening from the tub for years, mostly because my grandma did and her pies seemed fine to me. Then last Thanksgiving I ran out halfway through and had to finish with cold butter from the back of the fridge, and the two pies sat side by side on the counter. The butter one came out flaky in actual layers you could peel apart, and the shortening one was tender but kind of flat and pale, like a cracker with filling on it. My brother in law, who never says anything nice about food, went back for a second slice of the butter one and left the other half eaten. I did a second test batch in January with 3/4 butter and 1/4 shortening since some folks swear by the mix, and honestly that might be the sweet spot for me. The all butter crust browned too fast on the edges at 425, so I dropped to 400 and it behaved better. Now I keep a stick of butter frozen and grate it in, which sounds fussy but takes about 2 minutes. Curious if anyone here has tried lard and how it stacks up against butter for a fruit pie.

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Serious question, did butter vs shortening on my pie crust really matter that much? | Baking Fails And Wins - Chatter Central