Do I really need to put 1 cup of butter in this cookie recipe?

[JustMe]

I was so excited to found a cookie mix with includes whole wheat flour, oatmeal, choc chips, and cranberrry pieces (and a few other ingredients as well). However, the recipe n the back calls for me to add 1 cup of butter (plus an egg and one other thing I cant remember right now). I use smart balance anyway, but 1 cup of that seems like too much too! Can I make a substitution/use less?

Thanks,

[LMPC]

Personally, I feel if I am going to eat a cookie, I might as well eat one with real butter in it KWIM? How many cookies does the recipe make? Maybe if you break up that cup into a per-cookie amount, it won't seem like that much.

Happy eating!

[JustMe]

Hmmn, I'm not sure how many it makes...but it will mostly be dd and I eating them! I really would love to hear if someone knows if there is anything else I can do or if I can cut down on the amount. It is fine if the cookie does not taste as wonderful as it would have with all that butter...and as I said, I will be using smart balance, but dont even want to use a whole cup of that.

[Neatfreak]

If I am remembering correctly, altering the fat ingredient ratio in cookies might create a change in texture in the final product.

[LadyPeter]

Don't do it. I've tried subbing margarine, etc. in cookie recipes and it never works out well. Cookies fall apart, or burn on the outside, etc.

[Melaine]

I'm a big fan of real butter, I think it is a good fat. My mom subs coconut oil for butter in cakes, but I don't think that would work well in cookies. And, again, it's just another healthy fat.

[SnuggleBuggles]

NO, it's a bad idea to change the proportions when baking. Also, I am a big real butter fan too. I think the other stuff doesn't taste as good nor cook as well.

How about this strategy? It's what I do here. I bake one tray of cookies, or however many I think is reasonable (you could bake 2 if you really want to :)). Take the remaining dough and portion it out by rounded teaspoon or tablespoon (per the recipe). Put those cookies on a cool cookie sheet, doesn't matter if they are close, and put them in the freezer for an hour. Take the dough balls off the cookie tray and stick them in a zip-top baggie and put in freezer. Now, whenever you want cookies you can go in there and cook up just as many cookies as you want!! I usually lower the baking temperature when reheating them- lower and slower usually comes out a bit better from frozen.

Beth

[zoestargrove]

I'm in the same camp as Melaine. I think butter is a healthier fat than margarine. In my eyes, it's the sugar in cookies that makes them an occasional treat.

Go for the butter and freeze a portion for later. I love Beth's idea of freezing individual serverings, but I'm lazier than her. I take half of the dough and roll it into a cylinder shape in parchment, freezer paper or saran wrap and freeze it. Then I slice off chunks to bake later on.

If you want to read more about butter's benefits the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon is a good place to start or google butter and health benefits or Weston Price. There is a lot of contradicting information about what is and isn't healthy which is maddening, but in the end I've decided to side with real (natural) foods over processed, industrialized imitations.

[kijip]

Cookies require butter for that cookie flavor and texture. It's unclear to me what a cookie is without butter. 1 cup divided over the 2-4 dozen cookies? Not that much. Just eat the cookies in moderation or share them with friends.

[wellyes]

I'd just use butter too. Baking is a science - proportions for the foundation ingredients are not flexible.