Can melted butter be substituted for softened butter?

Answer 1

Yes it can, but it will most likely affect the texture of the finished product, such as being too dense, dull, soggy or flattened, instead of fluffy, soft, light, crispy, smooth, creamy, delicate, etc. depending on what it is you're trying to create.

Whether it be candies, sauces, frosting, toppings, breads, pies, cakes, muffins, cookies, etc. the texture matters to most people, and can affect the taste too (perception matters!)

Though it's best to plan ahead of time by leaving the butter out at room temperature for at least an hour (depending on the temp in room it can take longer ( a couple of hours if cooler, or earlier (maybe a half hour to 45 minutes, if warmer) before you start your recipe.

If you don't have time, there are a couple of ways to speed up the process;

• Cut the butter into smaller bits and lay them out on a plate in a warm part of the room for 5-10 minutes, and place them in a ziplock baggie, or between pieces of wax paper and pound it soft by using a rolling pin or the heal of your hand.

• Use the microwave: cut the butter into smaller pieces as above but put them in a microwave safe container (preferably not plastic) for seconds 5-7 seconds and at reduced power (the defrost setting or 30-50% power).

  If it is still not soft enough, put the butter in for another few seconds, but switch the butter pieces around. Or you can cut the pieces even smaller and do something else while the butter sits in a warm area of the kitchen until it softens the rest of the way.

or:

• Place the butter in a bowl (metal is best) and float it on top of hot water until softened. If you have a double boiler, use it - and heat until softened. Watch so it doesn't melt. You can make your own double boiler by placing a bowl over a slightly larger pan, fill pan with water, set bowl on top and turn the burner on to soften the butter.

or

• Use a combination of the above to reduce the time. Beat that butter soft, put in microwave for 3 seconds, and leave it sit out as long as you can before you break down and melt it. :)

Answer 2

This depends on the recipe. Sometimes softened butter can be used instead of melted or hard butter without there being any difference in the resulting product. However, in some instances, the phase of the butter can have a major impact.

For example: if you are making cookies, using melted butter will result in a dough that is softer, compared to if you were to use softened butter. This, in turn, can lead to the cookies spreading a lot more during the baking process. And, if the cookies spread more, they may be more prone to over-browning or even burning when being baked at the temperature and duration indicated within the recipe.