Perfectly chewy and delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies without margarine or butter!
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Edit: November 2019: five years and close to 2 million views later, I’m continuously awed and humbled by how many people have viewed and loved these cookies. It’s important to adhere as closely as possible to the recipe, as written, to yield the perfect results that tens of thousands of people have raved to me about. This recipe is simple, but there’s perfection in simplicity and these will change your life. Millions of viewers can’t be wrong!
Want your cookies to be even better? Here are a few tips:
- Bake them properly on a good quality baking pan. My preference is these cookie sheets from Nordic Ware, which are well priced. I don’t like silicone mats, because they are tricky to clean, so I use parchment paper instead for easy cleanup.
- Using a cookie scoop is vital to ensuring the cookies are evenly shaped. This isn’t just about the aesthetic, but rather about even cookies. Cookies that are not the same size will require different cooking times. This recipe works perfectly with the OXO medium cookie scoop.
- There’s nothing better (in my opinion) than the combo of sweet and salty. You can take these cookies up a notch with a sprinkling of Maldon Sea Salt on the top. The shape of this particular size ensures a burst of salty goodness in a bite of sweet cookies, making these truly memorable! This specialty salt is certified kosher and is also great on top of steak, grilled chicken or fish, or grilled vegetables.
- Make sure to use good quality chocolate chips for the best possible results! In fact, I like to take a bar of good quality chocolate, and cut it up into chunks and use that in place of the chips. You can also play around with alternative chips, such as milk chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter or nougat, as well as using a combination of flavors.
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I couldn’t just let you keep subbing oil in chocolate chip cookies when I knew that if I put my mind to it, I could come up with a recipe meant for the oil – that’s far better than simply subbing.
Well ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to say that I’ve done it. These cookies are perfect. Chewy. Delicious. And they are made with no margarine. No butter. Just oil.
You’re welcome.
{I know. This is super short. I feel like I should apologize for not being more chatty, but y’all know how overworked and overtired I am! Anyway, I promise there will be more chit chat coming up. Soon. Well, soon-ish. Don’t hold your breath though.}
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FAQ about Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Margarine or Butter:
After 5 years and what feels like 5 million questions, I’m adding some of the more frequent ones to the post to help you out!
I don’t have cornstarch. Can I skip it?
Cornstarch is a big key to making Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Margarine or Butter as good as they are. It adds a great chewiness that you’ll absolutely love. Many people have told me that they have started keeping cornstarch around just for this recipe! If you don’t have it, you can use potato starch, which has a similar textural effect. If you don’t have that either, use an extra quarter of a cup of flour instead.
Can I bake these into blondie bars instead of cookies?
Sure! This recipe makes delicious blondies instead! Simply spread dough into a 9×13 inch pan. You’ll need to increase the baking time to about 25 minutes.
Should I use dark brown or light brown sugar in this recipe?
Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Margarine or Butter will work well with either one! Dark brown sugar will give your cookies a stronger molasses taste, so use it if you prefer that flavor. If you don’t want that brown sugar-molasses flavor to be too strong, use light brown instead, which has a more subtle flavor.
How can I change up these Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Margarine or Butter?
There are so many fun ways to change up these cookies! Instead of chocolate chips, you can chop up a bar of your favorite dark, milk or white chocolate (or use some of each). You can also use flavored chips, such as peanut butter, caramel, cappuccino or nougat. If you like extra texture, try adding some chopped nuts such as pecans. Another fantastic way to elevate the flavor of these cookies is to sprinkle coarse flakey salt, such as maldon, on top of the cookies before baking.
Can I use imitation vanilla extract in this recipe?
In general for baking, but specifically for a recipe like this with subtle flavors that really allow the vanilla to stand out, I strongly recommend against using imitation! I know vanilla has gotten really expensive over the years (I’ll never forget the time Amazon was selling a 32 ounce bottle of vanilla bean paste for $5! My biggest regret in life is not buying 100 bottles!) but this is a case of a little bit goes a long way!
What type of oil should I use in this recipe?
This recipe is best made with a flavorless oil. I personally use canola oil, but you can use grapeseed oil or avocado oil too. If you prefer to use olive oil, make sure to use one that’s extra light and has a very mild flavor.
Do you have more cookie recipes that don’t use butter or margarine?
Absolutely! Most of my cookie recipes are made with oil instead of butter or margarine. Here’s a roundup of 9 Amazing Cookie Recipes without Butter or Margarine. You can also check out my first cookbook, Something Sweet, which has about 90% or more of the recipes calling no butter or margarine!
Originally featured in my column in Ami/Whisk Magazine Plan Ahead: These cookies freeze well in an airtight container or bag. For best results, cool completely before freezing, so steam from cooking cookies doesn't make them steamy inside the bag. Variation: In place of standard chocolate chips, you can use other chips in this recipe, such as milk chocolate chips, buttercotch chips, peanut butter chips, nougat chips, or any other flavor you like. You can also use a combination of flavors. 
Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies {without margarine}
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
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Like these? You’ll love my Coffee Crinkle Cookies without butter or margarine too!
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This is like my regular recipe for chocolate chip cookie bars. I just don’t use the corn starch. I never use margarine in my chocolate chip cookies.
Most chocolate chip cookie recipes are very similar. The difference between good and amazing lies in the small details.
I made these cookie, but they came out so thick so it wasn’t very crunchy or chewy.
Mine too! The batter was super thick and when I went to put it in the mixer there wasn’t enough BATTER for it to mix at all!
Mine were the worst I HAVE EVER MADE!!! If you are going to make these you should just use garbage!!!!!!!!!!!
This can be done in a bowl easily
I made these tonight but mine were not nice and thick I followed exactly and they got thin they chewey but I like thicker cookies
These cookies were DELICIOUS!!!!
They were nice and chewy. I used maple syrup for one of the tsp. of vanilla extract and it worked fine, I would definitely make these again…
Hi, I don’t have brown sugar at home so what would I replace it with? Of should I leave it out and just have only granulated sugar?
Do not leave out the brown sugar in this recipe, and don’t replace it.
You can make your own brown sugar with granulated sugar and molasses.
I’m out of granulated sugar so I need to know how to make granulated sugar!??
I just made these cookies. And they turned out perfect!
Thank you so much!
I didn’t have any butter in the house, but I did have chocolate chips and I wanted something chocolaty. I looked this recipe up and decided to give it a whirl. Because we are a large family, I doubled the batch. I didn’t have my hopes too high, but i was pleasantly surprised at how delicious these were. My kids love how thick and soft they are. And it’s less expensive for me to whip up a batch of these as a treat than it is to invest in all that butter.
This recipe is fantastic! I did read the comments before making the cookies…and it really helped. Make sure to scoop SMALLER balls of dough for the best cookie shape. Using less dough can make the cookies less thick. Also, I underbaked them just a tiny bit and they turned out chewy and delicious. I used this recipe for chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches and they turned out great! Thanks!! 😉
Hi can i know what type of flour r u using? Can i use wheat flour? 🙂
Yes, regular all-purpose wheat flour.
I tried your cookies with oil and they came out perfect. They are the same recipe I always use with margarine except for the addition of cornstarch. I am looking to try this with other cookie recipes , Is there a formula that you used for this. I want to try it with the craison oatmeal cookies on the craison package I do not use a mixer, just a wooden spoon so was glad to see that they turned out so well.
Great recipe!!
Used 3 tbsp oats instead of cornstarch
And substituted the sugers for a healthier alternative of coconut sugar and stevia. Worked perfectly.
These are just so awesome as a ‘good’ treat. Thank you
Charmaine, your comment sounded so right for my always complaining dear husband. who is diabetic. Could u please share the exact amount of sugar substitutes u used to make yr delicious cookies. This would be a dream come true 4 my hubby,Sandy
The trick is, don’t deviate! You have to use the mixer! Hand mixing does not work. My family loves these!
I’m just a regular 23 year old and can’t afford a mixer right now. I make half batches by hand and they are great.
Goblin, I got a really chip trusty hand mixer from Target for $20!
I found one at Fred Meyer for $8!! I bet oh could find one similar in price on Amazon
I make half batches by hand, too!
I tried this recipe exactly as is except my second batch I added peanut mnms. Amazing. Even with milk chocolate chips. This is the best chocolate chip recipe Ive tried by far. Thx for sharing.
I would like to try these, however I do have one question — instead of individual cookies — can you make simply put the batter in a rectangular pyrex and bake as one? I know I do that with the Toll House recipie — it’s so much easier than making batches of cookies and they come out really good as well. Just wanted to check first — becuase if you do not recommend that method, I will do cookies. Thanks,
You can, but you’ll have to bake it longer.
I was about to ask whether the same recipe would work for cookie bars (blondies). I sometimes prefer making them because it’s a bit less fussing.
Thank you so much for the wonderful receipe!This is my favorite cookie after I been tried so many different one.They taste so yummy when they are still warm.
You do mention don’t overtake it.I am glad I followed your instructions.I personally don’t like over sweet cookie,so I cut down the sugar a little bit,other than that,it’s is the BEST!!!!
what does the cornstarch do for it??? that is so interesting!
i’ve tasted some cornstarch based cookies, it has that melts in your mouth effect, maybe it does the same for this.
Hi can I make these by hand??
It had never occurred to me that you could make chocolate chip cookies with oil – good to know though, they look delicious!
Is the brown sugar dark or light?
Should only Vegetable oil be used?
I used dark sugar and vegetable oil if that helps, they turned out really really nicely 🙂
Is it okay if the oil and sugar doesn’t turn out creamy and smooth? Mine isn’t turning out well…
i know its probably too late to matter for your sake Nina, but in case anyone else was wondering… i used coconut oil (melted to liquid) and light brown sugar and they turned out great. in fact, i didn’t have any granulated sugar in the house so i just used 1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar and the cookies turned out like, seriously perfect.
oil has the same amount of calories as butter and margarine. I would use unsweetened applesauce, pumpkin puree, or bananas.
Its not only about calories it is the type of fat you use! Pumpkin and apple sauce will change consistency and taste; coconut oil is another healthy alternative
I’m making these cookies using coconut oil. My calcium level is low, and my daughter recommended adding coconut oil and coconut milk to my diet. I would like to try using pumpkin because I love the flavor, and I think it would compliment the chocolate.
Pumpkin will mess around with the texture and is not recommended with this recipe. If you take a look at the recipe index, you will see some pumpkin cookies.
I read your comment about using applesauce or bananas instead of oil in the chocolate chip cookies. What quantity would be substituted for 1 c. oil??
Thanks, Vandi
These sound absolutely wonderful! I love chewy chocolate chip cookies!
I’ve never baked with corn starch, but hey there is always a first for everything!
What is granulated sugar please? excuse the ignorance
Regular white sugar.
Your recipe looks delish, I’m going to try it … but what IS the reason for oil vs. butter or margarine ??
Is this for lactose-intolerant folks ? I haven’t tried cornstarch in cookies, does it make them puffier ? Thanks in advance …
Yes, it’s mostly geared at folks who want to avoid butter (for dairy reasons, or any other reasons) and want to avoid margarine, the non-dairy sub, because it’s unhealthy.
The corn starch has an effect on the texture!
Hi, thank you for sharing these w/o butter cookies recipes 🙂
I have tried this recipe n it surprised me. It was a thick dough n an idea just came up in my mind to just pinch some of it, make it like a small ball, pressed on it, cut the shapes out using olive oil bottle cap ? n just some details on it i used fork to poke lightly on top of it.
ok i know mine sounds reeeaaalllyy different haha thats because im using olive oil n the measurement was just half of the indicated one..due to run out of olive oil?
but that doesnt stop me there. I cut down a little bit here n there on the other measurements. Since i dont have any chocolate chips left in the kitchen, i substitute it to cinnamon powder.
Tadaaaa it came out just nice. The taste n shape is like a ginger bread cookies but it does turn out well 🙂
Though it may not be the same as it supposed to be?
My mum loved it. We loved it.
Thank you so much! ?
#cookiesadventure
It’s also great for someone (like me!) who ran out of butter and needs to make cookies without running to the store 🙂
That’s why I looked up “cookies no butter.” We just had a big snow. No butter in the freezer. Oops!