1. Butter can be replaced with coconut oil. Coconut oil comes from the fat of coconut and is a vegetarian food. It's a great alternative to butter. Butter can also be replaced with shortening. The proportions when using shortening are not much different from those when using butter.

2. Shortening. In baking, solid vegetable shortening can be used as a one-to-one substitute for butter. However, recipes baked with shortening may not have as rich a texture as those baked with butter because shortening has a higher melting point than butter. If you want a buttery flavor, use buttery vegetable shortening or add some other flavor.