Ask Nancy

Many people use margarine and butter interchangeably when they bake and cook, but, it’s important that you use stick margarine with an 80% fat content. Margarine with lower fat content, usually labeled as whipped or spread, has more water and air in it and will adversely affect the quality of your baked goods.

Butter also adds flavor to baked goods, so in some recipes (such as shortbread) where butter is the main or only flavoring component, the butter is essential.