You Butter Beware
- Tracy Scheckel
- Dec 3
- 3 min read
No, 'butter's not a typo!
It's cookie baking season and if you use store-bought butter to bake with, you need to read this.
For about 5 years, since the beginning of the pandemic, I've been baking these Tate's knock-off cookies from a recipe I found at bon apetit while looking for uses for the 50 pounds of flour I purchased (hoarded) from Amazon. For 5 years, there has not been more than a day or two that our cookie jar has been void of these cookies. The point here is that I have made them so many times that I can do it in my sleep.
For the last 6 months or so, I have been having this issue where the cookies spread too much and get all burnt and lacy around the edges. After rechecking the recipe several times, I blamed it on summer humidity, and old baking soda and powder. Replacing them didn't fix the problem so I started refrigerating the batter before baking. It helped a bit, but the cookies are still giving me trouble.
Now I'm in the throes of my Christmas cookies and my Snickerdoodles did the very same thing. I double checked the recipe, confirmed that my oven temp was spot on, got out the vinegar and rested baking soda, cream of tartar, and baking powder and everything was operating as it should. Then I went to Google and found numerous threads about people having the same problem. Many theorized that off-brand butter, in the interest of keeping the price down, is being produced with a higher water / lower butterfat ratio. According to what I read, the excess water is what's causing the spread and burn issue in cookies made with only butter and no other fats. I think I proved that theory when I made a second batch of Snickerdoodles with up-brand butter from Vermont Creamery as opposed to the first batch with Walmart butter.
Butter Requirements
US FDA requires that butter have at least 80% butter fat, but be aware that the FDA allows rounding on nutrition labels. A serving listed with11g of fat could be anywhere from 79% to 82% butterfat.
European butter low grade is 82% butter fat.
This is supposedly the equation to tell us how much butterfat is in our butter:
(𝑔 of fat per serving ÷ 𝑔 per serving) ×100
(why it's not clearly listed on the label baffles me)
When I did the math, Vermont Creamery 12% / 14g serving) is about 85% butterfat and the other three -- including Kerry Gold land at around 79% which flies in the face of FDA rules until you allow for rounding. Even though they list 11g / serving, I will be trying the Kerry Gold to see if the results are better than with the store brands, they certainly are with the Vermont Creamery.
One thing to note it that other cookie recipes that include a combination of butter and other fats like sour cream or cream cheese are coming out fine, and that's a good thing because, 4 pounds of high-end butter ran me about $50 and I'll only be using it where I absolutely have to.
Something else to consider......
A friend suggested that I substitute some shortening for some of the butter in my recipes, I just can't bring myself to do it though.
As an afterthought I asked Google if the FDA has changed any rules regarding butterfat in butter and here's what it returned:
USDA change to butterfat testing
A final rule was issued in January 2025 by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) that changes how butterfat testing records are reviewed for graded butter.
This change offers an alternative to duplicate butterfat testing by a USDA inspector, which is expected to reduce costs for manufacturers.
The new process will involve annual reviews of a plant's internal butterfat test records, rather than a separate USDA inspector test.
Hmmmm, timing-wise, this makes perfect sense..... Anyway, just beware of your butter if your cookies are not baking properly.
