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Thank you for a timely post. As part of a fast I'm doing with others from church, I'm fasting from dairy (except mayo), so trying to stay away from eggs and butter during this time. I love dessert, so looking to replace eggs and butter with tasty alternatives. Thank you all for contributions.

I have only tried replacing oil with unsweetened applesauce in home-made muffins and I think they taste terrific! That goes along with adding other low calorie/and or low fat ingredients to the muffins.

I've only used apple sauce once and I liked the results. I've heard that you should use A.S. in place of all liquids. I don't really bake that much so I can't really say for sure.

What a great thread. I think substituting butter with applesauce works really well in certain applications. I almost always use it (or yogurt) because when I make cakes, I usually make carrot or spice cakes. The flavor and texture the applesauce adds works very well. Also in oatmeal cookies. Makes them super chewy.

However, if I am making something more delicate in flavor, or something where the butter flavor is supposed to shine through I go ahead and use butter. Those things are always for special occasions anyway.

Oh and pie crusts (obviously). I was a vegan for a while. I made a pie crust once with coconut oil which was ok. But nothing can compare to a flaky all butter crust.

Regarding the comments about Splenda: I use Splenda in place of sugar for every recipe that calls for sugar. Especially ice cream. I don't understand the comment about Splenda being greasy. I've never experienced a greasy feeling or taste using it. As a matter of fact, I can't detect any difference in flavor or texture whatsoever.

I've used applesauce as a fat substitute from time to time. I can detect it in yellow/white cakes, but not in other flavors. It does keep the cake moist, but as mentioned above, the cake is much lighter in texture. I will not sub it in carrot or banana cake.

I've never heard of using pumpkin or bananas, but I'm willing to give it a go, just to see what the end product tastes and feels like. Where can I find more information on this?

i just read a recipe for granola that has you swapping out the oil for fruit puree. i think it was on david lebovitz's blog. he says it makes the granola chunky and extra crunchy. i never use oil in my granola, but i do miss the clusters you get in the commercial kind, so i think i'll try it.

I used homemade applesauce once to replace the eggs in a cake mix. The cake was incredibly moist and yummy.

I've used apple sauce in place of half or even all the oil in recipes for baked goods like quick breads, muffins and cakes (never tried pumpkin) and it imparts moistness and an additional, apply flavor.

Side dish Jody uses applesauce on occasion for cooking at home. It is a much more healthy alternative.

Who is side dish Jody you ask?

dogsontheroad.blogspot.com to find out

@foodieteen - I would not go so far as to say butter is "good" for you. It's better than margarine and shortening because a) it's natural and b) margarine and shortening have trans fats ("artery glue"). It's always better to have a small amount of "the real thing" when it comes to butter, than to try and replace it with margarine or shortening.

However, some people have high cholesterol and need to keep an eye on saturated fats. This is my personal reason for subbing part of the butter content of certain recipes with mildly flavored olive oil. It's a heart healthy fat that tastes good, and won't replace one type of damage with another like margarine and shortening.

Butter is good for you (there was an article in the "leftovers" column a few weeks ago) and tastes soooooooo good... I don;t know why you would try to replace it

A Hole in One!!!! My grandfather used to make these for me when I was a very little girl, visiting him in Lancaster, PA. He was not a golfer. He was first-generation American of Swedish descent, who had grown up in Salt Lake City, Utah.