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Yes, butter can be substituted, however, butter and butter-flavored shortening change the texture of a cookie. Stick butter has a lower melting point than shortening which will cause the cookies to spread more during baking and result in a flatter, more crispy cookie. Butter provides a great deal of flavor and a nice, fine grained texture. Cookies made with butter-flavored shortening have a higher melting point so cookies will not spread and will retain their shape better than those prepared with butter. Shortening also produces a softer, cake-like texture. So determine the desired characteristics for your cookies and base your fat selection on those.