I am very hesitant to use xanthan gum. I generally avoid foods at the grocery store that have it listed as an additive. I know you said the recipe can do without, though the structure of the butter changes. Can you or anyone else recommend some possible alternatives? Finely ground flax meal, for example? Would the structural results be the same?

Hi,
I was told there was absolutely no replacement for margarine when it came to baking - especially the puffs & rolls, because they need layers and layers of flour to be separated from each other during baking.
However, its wonderful to read this and know that the only reason margarine is required is because of its consistency at room temperature.
Here in Indian households we have had an age-old tradition of fermenting and curdling fat from full-fat milk. After reading your article I am sure that the butter we get from that will work fine.
I will try one of the puff recipes today itself and post another comment as soon as its done !
Thanks in advance !

This butter tastes so much better than any vegan margarine that I've tried! Even though mine tastes like coconut because I couldn't find refined coconut oil...
And I can't believe how easy it is to make! I made the regular butter to spread on my toast and add to my morning oatmeal.

Doubled the recipe because my food processor is larger than normal. Worked fine-great instructions. This has such great flavor! Last night I melted a little and drizzled it on some popcorn. It was the closest to butter I've tasted since going dairy-free. Delish! Thanks again!!

Hi Mattie,
Can you use regular vegan butter in a "butter cream" frosting? I don't like the taste of Earth Balance spreads or sticks in my frostings and spectrum organic shortening makes the frosting too soft. Also, have you experimented yet with citric acid granules? Looks like you were thinking about this last year, but the recipe still calls for vinegar. Looking forward to trying the recipe, especially if I can sub regular vegan butter for Earth Balance spreads. Thanks!

this recipe is awesome. i run a vegan baking stall and am trying to kick out the margarine because of the palm oil problem. i just tried my first batch and the texture and mouth feel is spot-on. only problem was a bit of an unpleasant apple cider vinegar aftertaste, but as i was measuring the vinegar, it did go over a teaspoon a bit, so i imagine if i minimize the cider vinegar to what the recipe calls for (and or even reduce it a bit more?) it will come out great (?). im not an acv fan so the vinegary taste puts me off a bit but its to use for baking anyway so i think i can still use this batch. i love how there is a flavor reminiscent of butter (even though ive been vegan for years). now, i just need to eliminate the ACV aftertaste.

I found one source for ORGANIC soy lechithan - mountainroseherbs.com. I'm ordering it and will try it out. Thought readers might like to know.

I eat tofu and tempeh, but I buy the soy-free Earth Balance these days to just cut out unnecessary soy. May I use other alt milk?

Mattie - I came accross you site recently and it is fantastic. Thank you for all the valuable information. I made your vegan butter yesterday and used it today to make the Chewey Chocolate Chip Cookies. I am not a vegan but am looking to eliminate as many animal fats from my diet as possible for cholestoral reasons. I have been looking for a butter substitute because I find that most vegan butters have a flat taste. I have used Earth Balance in other recipes but find it has a bland or oily taste in baked goods. I made a macadamic nut cream and used it as the base and it worked great. The end product does have strong coconut overtones though and that did come through in the cookies. It was not a problem but I would prefer a butter without that flavor. It was also a very expensive butter as coconut oil is fairly pricy these days.I will try the white chocolate version next but I am afraid of the fats in that. If you come across an idea that omits the coconut oil please post it as I think a more neutral flavor would be preferable. No matter what though it was a gret find and the cookies are exceptional and no one with ever know that they are not slathered in butter!!!

Could i use lemon juice in place of the vinegar?

Hi there!

So I goofed up and bought soy lecithin oil online rather than granules. Is there any way to substitute, so should I head back to Amazon?

I just finished making this this morning. I was so shocked as to how easy it is to make. I spent a lot of time checking and rechecking instructions to make sure I didn't skip any steps because it seemed to go together so quickly. Not only is it fast and easy, this is is fantastic. I like the taste so much more than the store-bought substitutes I've been buying. the mouth feel is so much better too. I have found that the one I was buying had such an odd plastic/greasy/odd feel to it. I love this! I can't wait to try all the other versions. Thank you so much for this recipe!!

One questions. The soy milk that you use, do you recommend unsweetened? does it matter? I had both but used just plain regular soy milk.

Thank you!!!

I have been so hoping to find something like this - my little girl is not yet 2 and she's recently been dubbed officially "allergic" to milk itself. Not lactose intollerant - but ALLERGIC. I bake constantly, love it - it's my passion, but I've been trying to figure out substitutes so the flavors weren't going out. No kid likes cardboard when all the others are eatting the good stuff (that she's allergic to) so THANK YOU!!! You've given a mom a piece of mind, and many more ways of experimenting in the kitchen for her little girl. :)

I was wondering, where you use canola oil, can another oil such as sunflower oil be used instead?

This stuff is awesome! I can taste vinegar, no matter the amount, in anything, so I substituted, citric acid granules that I ground to a fine powder, for vinegar. I used 1/4 the amount and let the soy milk mixture sit a little longer.I am not a vegan or vegetarian for that matter, but I dabble in both every so often. And this stuff is equivalent to butter in taste, texture and application, Vegan Sweet Potato Pie here I come!