Lard alternative

[Susanwusan]

Hi.  I'd like to make Spanish polvorones suitable for vegetarians.  What can I use instead of lard.  There'll be too much moisture in butter, what about Trex?  It's something that should be available in UK.

[Jonathan]

Would vegetable shortening work?

[jimb0]

to be honest i always just make them with butter because i think they taste better. lard may be the tradition but a lot of people use butter these days.

 

with that said there's no real reason you couldn't use vegetable shortening, or margarine, or even palm oil (if you get a responsibly sourced deforestation-free brand).

 

 

[Susanwusan]

I don't want to use butter because of the flavour and I think they are meant to be almondy rather than buttery.  I think I can confidently try trex although it says to use 20% less than butter, I'm not sure I'd have to make the same adjustment from a lard recipe.  Has anybody tried making them with corn or sunflower oil?

[Duvel]

I’d give native coconut oil a try (if you don’t mind the faint coconut-ty aftertaste) or - as suggested - highly hydrogenated shortening, such as Crisco.