max388•2d ago

I switched from butter to shortening for pie crusts and it was a disaster

I tried using Crisco in my apple pies last week after reading it makes flakier crusts. Made three pies for a church bake sale in Portland and they all came out greasy with no flavor. My aunt Dottie tasted one and asked if I forgot the butter. Going back to butter for Thanksgiving even if the crust isn't as pretty. Anyone else have a shortening fail story?

2 comments

2 Comments

wadeyoung2d ago

Oh man, I heard somewhere that shortening is actually worse for pie crusts if you don't handle it right - it needs to stay way colder than butter and you can't overwork it at all. Your aunt Dottie sounds like she knows whats up though, butter just tastes better no matter what anyone says.

the_piper2d ago

Butter pie crusts are the hill I'll die on too. I've tried shortening a few times and the texture always comes out kinda greasy no matter what I do. Cold butter is way more forgiving too, you can still patch together a butter crust if it starts getting warm. Honestly (wait, can't say that), shortening just feels like it's harder to work with and the flavor trade off isn't worth it. Aunt Dottie's got it right, stick with butter and you can't go wrong.