Shortening

Shortening is like butter, but it's made a bit differently. It's usually made from vegetable oils like soybean, cottonseed or palm oils. The oils are treated with chemicals to make them solid at room temperature. This makes shortening easier to use in baking because it's easier to spread and mix with other ingredients.

Shortening helps make cakes and cookies taste better and keeps them fresh longer. It also helps the baked goods stay soft and doesn't melt in the oven like butter would. So next time you eat a cookie or a cake, remember that shortening helped make it yummy!