Can butter be used in place of the shortening?

@nutcakes: Without having my mom's original recipe in front of me, I can tell you to sub oat bran for the rice bran and regular all-purpose flour for the sweet rice and amaranth. Add the water slowly, since you may need more or less than the gluten-free recipe calls for. (I think my mom actually added MORE water to hers than I do, but I'm not sure--it's been 10 years or so.) That should work pretty well for you!

Butter absolutely works in this recipe! It will make the dough a little wetter, as Amanda notes. I just put less hot water into the dough to start out and inch it up from there. It isn't usually a huge difference in liquid. The butter also changes the flavor and texture slightly--it makes the oatcakes richer and a little closer to shortbread.

This is from a previous hotline question -- thought it was helpful so I'm just pasting it here: "Butter contains 14-19% water. Shortening is 100% fat." If you use butter, you may want to use less -- keep in mind, it also may add more moisture to your dough.