Lost a whole batch of cookies at a church bake sale because of one ingredient swap

I was at St. Mary's annual bake sale last Saturday and thought I'd try using margarine instead of butter to save a few bucks. Everything looked fine going in, but they spread out into flat, greasy puddles. I had to toss 4 dozen cookies in the trash and buy store-bought ones to fill my table. Has anyone else had their recipe totally ruined by swapping butter for margarine?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph_murray810d ago

Tried that exact swap last year for a batch of sugar cookies and it was a total disaster too. What actually worked for me was using half margarine and half shortening next time. The shortening gave them a better texture and they held their shape way better than the margarine alone. Also threw them in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking to stop the spread. Still saved a bit of money but didn't end up with greasy puddles lol.

king.aaron10d ago

Honestly, the fridge trick is a total game changer. I never would have thought of that but now I'm genuinely shocked I didn't try it sooner. Ngl, my cookies always ended up like flat greasy pancakes before I started doing that. It's wild how just 30 minutes can make or break a whole batch. Thank you for sharing that tip because I'm definitely stealing it for next time.