real butter

a lot of people i know substitute ingredients to make recipes healthier, or to replace something they do not have on hand, but how much of a difference does it really make? today, i will show you the major difference made between margarine and butter.

remember those amazing oatmeal chocolate chip cookies i made last week? ed loved them so much that he requested a batch to give to his new neighbors. i had made the first batch vegan since i was anticipating mixed company, but decided to follow the original recipe this time. since vegan margarine is made from vegetable oil, it acts similarly to shortening, keeping the cookies from spreading too much, resulting in a thick cookie you can sink your teeth into; butter, on the other hand, allows for spreading, but more importantly, provides a richer, more flavorful finished product. for comparison’s sake:

so…which is better? well, that depends on the recipe and desired results! sometimes i am looking for a thick cookie, and sometimes one that is golden and glistening. i will say this though– these cookies are phenomenal either way, and highly addictive!

some substitute the fat in recipes with apple sauce, pureed pumpkin, or olive oil, however i tend to only risk this in cake-like things, or at the very least cakey pumpkin cookies…. and now i am daydreaming about fall! don’t be surprised if you see some fall-inspired treats coming from me soon  (o:

ps– did anyone else get blondie’s “rapture” or that “rapture tastes so sweet” iio song stuck in their head when everyone kept talking about the impending rapture last week?