<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Hi everyone my earlier post asked "being dairy intolerant, and reluctant to use margarine, I have been using olive oil in my baking, but wonder whether there are any alternatives. Thanks for the responses. The results are as follows. Gayle suggests that "most people who react negatively to dairy are only reacting to lactose (milk sugar) and casein (milk protein) and have no problem with milk fat - heavy cream and butter. In some cases it is better if the butter is made into ghee (check a good recipe book like "Joy of Cooking" Jay wrote: Fleischmann's Unsalted Stick Form Margarine is excellent, works great in baking and has been Parve/Dairy-free and gluten-free. Crisco unflavored shortening has been also gluten- and dairy-free. When using fat, be careful substituting a hard fat for oil and vice versa, as well as solid shortening for butter/margarine. Also many lower fat and tub margarines/butters don't work well in baking. I wrote an article about this in Sully's Living Without that is posted at our site that explains this in more detail. You are also welcome to call me at 800-891-0083.The article "Substitution Solutions" is at our website is www.missroben.com David says: I tend to use oil in cooking, because it works better in my opinion but sunflower seed oil works for pastry too. In GF pastry 1 part oil to 5 parts of flour. Bev says: substitute oil for shortening in recipes like quick breads, by using 1/3 less oil than the amount of shortening called for. 1 c. shortening equals 2/3 c. oil. Bev adjusts the flour using "oriental white rice flour & a bit of sweet rice & it doesn't absorb oil as well as wheat flour does. A mix of 3:1 white rice w/cornstarch (w/ 1/4 tsp xantham/cup) can be used in recipes which call for lots of shortening-- the crust for bar cookies, since the cornstarch does absorb the grease better than most g.f. flours.) Some things that need to be crisp, like choco chip cookies, still require solid shortening. There were a number of folks who suggested applesauce or purees. 1.Carol: I used to use olive oil in my baking, but found that it left a bad taste in cake and cookie products. I switched to corn oil and applesauce as alternatives and it works fine. 2.Linda says: In some recipes work with the same amount or a little more of applesauce 3.Another suggestion for applesauce from Theresa "Substitute applesauce equal to the amount of fat in the recipe. Then double the number of eggs asked for and only use whipped egg Add about 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar and the sugar from the recipe". This will work well for cake-like baked goods. Crispy cookies still require some fat. You can also use other pureed fruits and vegetables. (prunes for chocolate dishes will bring out the chocolate in the final product). Baby foods are the most convenient method of obtaining the pureed foods. Some suggested coconut butter as a substitue: 1.Food-grade coconut butter works wonderfully as a shortening substitute. You need to use 1/4 to 1/3 less coconut butter than the butter or shortening called for in the recipe. I first found it through Miss Roben's, but I started ordering it directly through Omega nutrition to save money. You might want to try Miss Roben's first to see if you like it, as you need to place a minimum $30.00 order with Omega nutrition. 2.Coconut oil, coconut cream and coconut milk are all great substitutes for me. 3.Eliyanah also suggests using coconut oil (which is a solid at room temp. like butter) with excellent results. She has also used fat poured off and solidified in the fridge from roast chicken and duck. One suggestion for "CANOLEO BRAND OF MARGERINE FOR BAKING" Three suggestions for Crisco Butter Flavor Shortening when recipes call for shortening. Three suggestions for Fleischmans light or unsalted, but not the regular, it has casein. Two suggestions for Hain's safflower sticks. Three suggestions for Saffola. Several suggestions for corn oil.