Help! I need healthy shortening substitutes...

[Atlas]

If you want something cholesterol free and not hydrogenated you could use the coconut oil that you already have or pick up some non-hydrogenated shortening. Earth Balance and Spectrum both make one and I've had great results with both. They would probably be the closed to crisco in flavor and profile. Butter has water in it which might affect the texture of the cookies (probably not too terribly).

[Owlie]

If you want something cholesterol free and not hydrogenated you could use the coconut oil that you already have or pick up some non-hydrogenated shortening. Earth Balance and Spectrum both make one and I've had great results with both. They would probably be the closed to crisco in flavor and profile. Butter has water in it which might affect the texture of the cookies (probably not too terribly).

I forgot about Earth Balance.

Coconut oil apparently makes things taste vaguely of coconut, so keep that in mind when substituting.

[ehirsch83]

Ghee!!!

[warneral]

palm oil is better for the heart and is supposed to be a great substitute for crisco. it doesn't have the coconut taste. I have some but haven't had a chance to try it. I believe it is medium chain fatty acids. Definitely better than trans fat

http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/whole-wheat-pie-crust

[shootingstar]

Reading this whole thread reminds me how long ago I have baked with butter. Of course for shortening that was...3 decades ago.

Have a great holiday luncheon party.

[Susan]

Ghee!!!

As much as I like Ghee for cooking, it's not a good alternative for baking. Ghee works good to roast sth. because the protein part of butter has been removed and thus can not be dangerously altered by the high heat. It also doesn't spray at high heat.

Still, Ghee consists of nothing else than Butter, just without most of the protein and water that is in butter.
For baking it's better to use Butter because of the consistency that Ghee can't provide. You don't bake cake or cookies at very high temperature, so it's not a problem to use just plain butter. Used at moderate temperatures, Butter is healthier and lower in calories than Ghee.

[crazycanuck]

Sorry to hijack the thread but i want to ask..

How bad is Ghee for you???

[Susan]

I'm not sure if I understand your question

I didn't intend to say that Ghee is bad for you, only that it's not well suited for baking. It's intended to be used in small amounts for cooking at higher temperatures that would destroy polyunsaturated fats and proteins contained in seed-oils or Butter.

[ehirsch83]

yeah.. I have never baked with Ghee actually, i use it for everything else though(I am just not a baker..) I do know that the container says you can bake with it! So that was a very uneducated answer on my part.

Ghee, coconut oil and olive oil are the 3 that I use religiously... I don't own anything else.

If i do try to bake in the future, I will now know not to try to use ghee. thx! (I don't bake b/c I have a huge sweet tooth and problems with self control... so I opt just not to make anything that can get me into trouble)

[cygnia]

The grass fed butter and virgin coconut oil suggestions are solid. If those don't appeal to you, you may want to try "Melt" - its a new butter substitute that just came out and its super yummy delicious. Its organic, high in omega 3s and medium chain fatty acids (the good stuff), and I have had good success baking with it. I made my mom's thin flaky pie crust with Melt and my husband couldn't tell the difference between the Melt crust and my butter crust. Melt makes a softer dough, but it bakes up nicely. I didn't have to tweak any recipes either - it is a straight conversion.

[nscrbug]

The grass fed butter and virgin coconut oil suggestions are solid. If those don't appeal to you, you may want to try "Melt" - its a new butter substitute that just came out and its super yummy delicious. Its organic, high in omega 3s and medium chain fatty acids (the good stuff), and I have had good success baking with it. I made my mom's thin flaky pie crust with Melt and my husband couldn't tell the difference between the Melt crust and my butter crust. Melt makes a softer dough, but it bakes up nicely. I didn't have to tweak any recipes either - it is a straight conversion.

Where would one find this "Melt" product? I've not seen it in my neck of the woods yet.

[indysteel]

Where would one find this "Melt" product? I've not seen it in my neck of the woods yet.

I've never heard of it myself, but I did--after a little digging--find their website: http://www.meltbutteryspread.com/

[channlluv]

Indy, I owe you a giant thank you. I went out and bought some grapes at Trader Joe's yesterday morning and served them along with some brownies and oatmeal cookies for dessert...there were brownies and cookies left over, but the grapes were all eaten!

There were no leftovers for the vegetarian chili, either, or the spinach casserole. All gone.

I just converted the recipe from the inside lid of the Quaker Oats box. I subbed coconut oil (melted) for the butter, whole wheat flour, half the sugar (next time I might try honey), and added chopped walnuts and dark chocolate chips. They baked up great, and there was a hint of coconut flavor that really enhanced the cookie. I will definitely make these again. They weren't very sweet, which I liked.

[indysteel]

Indy, I owe you a giant thank you. I went out and bought some grapes at Trader Joe's yesterday morning and served them along with some brownies and oatmeal cookies for dessert...there were brownies and cookies left over, but the grapes were all eaten!

There were no leftovers for the vegetarian chili, either, or the spinach casserole. All gone.

I just converted the recipe from the inside lid of the Quaker Oats box. I subbed coconut oil (melted) for the butter, whole wheat flour, half the sugar (next time I might try honey), and added chopped walnuts and dark chocolate chips. They baked up great, and there was a hint of coconut flavor that really enhanced the cookie. I will definitely make these again. They weren't very sweet, which I liked.

That's great! I'm glad that the whole lunch--desserts and all--was a success.

[channlluv]

Grown-up cookies

Yep, must be. I let my daughter take the leftovers, about a dozen cookies and ten or so brownies, to a sleepover at school last night. When I picked her up this morning, there were two brownies and six cookies left. Go figure. Maybe I'm the only one who likes them. Ha!

Roxy