How to Replace Butter in Pastries
Sometimes when we are cooking, we realize we don’t have enough butter and need to replace it with something. Some people want to stop eating butter that contains a lot of fat, so they choose healthier alternatives, such as bananas, applesauce, or avocados.
5-Minute Crafts is going to tell you what you can replace butter with in different recipes.
Greek yogurt
When to use it: It’s a great low-calorie replacement for butter if you are making pies or cookies. The dessert will be tender with less fat. But yogurt (depending on the type) can change the taste of the dough or pastry.
Proportions: Use 100 grams of yogurt instead of 100 grams of butter.
Margarine
When to use it: Margarine is often used as an alternative to butter when making cookies, cakes, or donuts. Margarine allows you to create a clearer, finer shape in cookies.
Proportions: Use 100 grams of margarine instead of 100 grams of butter.
Avocado
When to use it: If you use avocado mash instead of butter, you can decrease the concentration of fat in the pastry. But because avocado has a different way of interacting with dry ingredients, it’s better to use more liquids (water, milk, cream, and others).
Proportions: 100 grams of avocado will replace 100 grams of butter. You can replace butter partially, like 50% of it, for example.
Bananas
When to use it: Bananas are another great alternative to butter. They are good when you are making cakes, biscuits, muffins, cupcakes, or cookies. But the pastry will be thicker and taste a bit like bananas.
Proportions: Use 100 grams of banana for 100 grams of butter.
Coconut oil
When to use it: Coconut oil can replace butter in almost any pastry and give it a “tropical” flavor. It’s great for cakes, biscuits, brownies, cupcakes, muffins, corn and yeast bread, and makes cookies really crunchy.
Proportions: Use 100 grams of coconut oil instead of 100 grams of butter.
Shortening
When to use it: Can be used instead of butter in any pastry and it will be more tender and soft without the buttery taste.
Proportions: Use 100 grams of shortening (or a little more) instead of 100 grams of butter.
Applesauce
When to use it: Applesauce is a great alternative to butter for those that want less fatty cookies, muffins, and other pastries.
Proportions: It’s recommended to use applesauce in a 1-to-1 ratio, but a lot of things depend on the specific case. You can combine the products, like, for example, 1/4 cup of butter and 3/4 cup of applesauce instead of a full cup of butter, or replace 1/2 of the butter with applesauce if you need the dough to be thicker.
Pumpkin purée
When to use it: It can replace butter in muffins, cakes, cupcakes, and biscuits. But it can make pastries sweeter and dough firmer and change its color (cookies might become orange, for example).
Proportions: Use 3/4 cup of pumpkin puree instead of 1 cup of butter.
Vegetable oil
When to use it: Olive or any other vegetable oil can replace butter if it’s used in the dough in any pastry.
Proportions: 3/4 cup of vegetable oil can be used instead of 1 cup of butter.