The battle of the butters has begun! Last weekend, I pitted Kerrygold unsalted butter against fresh, unsalted butter from Hartzler dairy farm in the battle of the expensive butters. Admittedly, I was surprised at how different the cookies turned out. My personal observation was that the Kerrygold cookies turned out slightly sweeter and chewier, while the fresh butter made for a more crumbly cookie.
Here begins I Wanna Bake!’s first multi-part endeavor. In the coming weeks, I will be testing various types of butter (and some non-butter shortenings) to determine if there really is a noticeable difference. I will be using my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies (the one that comes on the inside of the Land O’ Lakes box), only varying the type of butter for each batch, to minimize independent variables. My trusted group of lab rats taste testers will choose their favorites. Ideally, they will rate each batch on a scale of 1-5 based on taste, consistency, and chewiness, but in all likelihood I will not be present during the taste test, so I won’t be in a position to demand evaluations.
I Wanna Bake! 