We made this chocolate chip cookie recipe without butter to make these cookies healthier and with a smaller carbon footprint. We used walnut oil instead. It is also one of the best chocolate chip cookie recipes ever. They are crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, loaded with flavor and big chunks of chocolate.
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Table of contents
Traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies are a classic, timeless cookie. They have a delicious taste and delightfully crunchy texture that’s complemented by the sweetness of the chocolate chips melted in their centers. Their slightly crunchy exterior, and gooey inside makes them irresistible. Traditionally made with butter, white and brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, flour, baking soda and of course, chocolate chips. They are a traditional cookie that has been passed down through generations. People love to customize and create their own version of chocolate chip cookies by adding nuts, other types of chips or even spices, pretzels, candy or breakfast cereal for a unique twist. We wanted to make a version without butter.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Without Butter
We wanted to give the recipe an update and make chocolate chip cookies without butter, to make them healthier and with a smaller carbon footprint. Not just with no butter, but with no palm oil, tropical oil, or other artificial butter substitute. So we chose nut oil, since nuts are healthy, have the smallest carbon footprint, and the taste of nuts would go naturally in cookies. Nut oil is much lower in saturated fat than butter and produced with a natural process of cold pressing so it’s a very healthy oil.
However, it is not possible to just substitute oil for butter in a cookie recipe. In a traditional cookie recipe, butter and sugar are creamed together to incorporate air into the mixture before adding the eggs. This is done to help the cookies rise. Butter is a solid at room temperature, so it traps the air. But oil is a liquid and will not hold air in the mixture. Additionally, creaming helps to dissolve the sugar crystals into the water that is in the butter, resulting in a smoother dough with a more uniform texture. Butter is about 20% water. But nut oil has no water, so the sugar will not dissolve. We were able to solve both these problems by including the eggs in the nut oil and sugar mixture. This added some liquid so the sugar would dissolve. We also increased the leavening to give the cookies more lift. Because nut oil contains no water, the amount was decreased so a substitution would be about 3 parts oil for 4 parts butter. The oil gives the cookies a fudge like center and a crispy exterior.
Using oil instead of butter also simplified the recipe in several ways. The ingredients did not have to come to room temperature. More of the ingredients were added all at once. And the mixture did not have to be creamed. After the dough was mixed, it was refrigerated overnight which allowed the flour to absorb the ingredients. The cookies made with the chilled dough also kept their shape better. The cookies came out perfect, with a dense, fudgy center and crisp edges. We chose to use walnut oil and include walnuts in the cookies. This gave the cookies the taste of roasted walnuts from both the walnut oil and the walnuts in the dough. We have also made the recipe with canola oil and safflower oil, however, and it works just as well.
Why Make Cookies Without Butter
There could be several reasons why someone may choose not to use butter. From a health perspective, butter is high in saturated fat and cholesterol, which can increase the risk of heart disease and other health problems. Additionally, butter is a dairy product, and some people may be lactose intolerant or have other dairy-related allergies or sensitivities. From an environmental standpoint, the production of dairy products, including butter, can have a negative impact on climate change. Cows are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, and large-scale dairy farming can contribute to deforestation and other land-use changes. Some people follow a diet where butter is not an option, for religious or ethical reasons, as it is derived from animal milk. In these cases, plant-based alternatives such as margarine or coconut oil may be used instead, but these also have health and environmental problems.
Nut oil was the perfect choice. I had worked as an agricultural advisor in walnut, almond and pistachio orchards and knew how sustainable nut crops were. Nut tree crops are very sustainable and can actually help combat climate change. Nut tree crops are grown in orchards, so unlike many crops, the trees continue to produce a crop for decades, making them a long-term investment in sustainable agriculture. Nut trees also contribute to carbon sequestration by storing carbon in the trees and soil. As the trees mature, they provide a natural shade canopy that reduces water evaporation from the soil and reduces the need for irrigation. Additionally, nut trees are often grown without using pesticides or herbicides, reducing the amount of harmful chemicals in the environment. Overall, nut tree orchards are a sustainable way to grow an important food crop while helping to mitigate the impact of climate change. Replacing butter, a product with one of the largest carbon footprints, with nut oil, a product with one of the smallest, was a big step in the right direction.
Use the Best Ingredients for making this Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe without Butter
Making the best cookies starts with using the best ingredients. We have listed the brands for some of the ingredients because ingredients are everything. We have found that these brands give superior results.
No Affiliates Statement
We call this our “no affiliates” statement because we accept no advertising, have no affiliates and accept no payment. We are not paid to mention brands – we just love buying the best, sharing that information and saving the planet at the same time. The effort put into writing and photographing the blog is solely based on our dedication to the cause.
RECIPE
CHOOSING BRANDS:
For certain products, the choice of brand will make a big difference in the outcome of the recipe and in your carbon footprint. So, for those products, we have listed the brand. We are not paid to mention a brand and have no affiliates.
Ingredients
- 300 grams Valrhona chocolate pieces use gluten-free Valrhona chocolate to make this recipe gluten-free
- 100 grams walnuts
- 290 grams Gold Medal unbleached all purpose flour use King Arthur gluten-free measure for measure flour to make this recipe gluten-free
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 165 grams La Tourangelle walnut oil use sunflower oil or safflower oil to make this recipe more economical
- 300 grams Wholesome regenerative organic sugar
- 1 teaspoon Sorghum syrup
- 2 large eggs one whole egg and one egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons Heilala alcohol free vanilla extract use Heilala alcohol free vanilla to make this recipe halal
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients on the counter to make sure you have everything you need.
- Place a small bowl on the scale. Zero the scale and measure the chocolate pieces. Place on a cutting board and roughly chop in half. Set aside.
- Place a small bowl on the scale. Zero the scale and measure the walnut pieces. Place on a cutting board and roughly chop in half. If they are raw, toast them in a dry pan on the stove for a few minutes, just until fragrant and slightly browning, then immediately pour out onto a plate to cool. Set aside.
- Place a medium sized bowl on the scale. Zero the scale and measure the flour, baking soda, and salt into the bowl. Add the chopped chocolate pieces and stir to combine.
- Place a medium sized bowl on the scale. Zero the scale and measure in the walnut oil. Zero the scale and measure in the sugar. Add the sorghum syrup. Stir to combine until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Add the egg and egg yolk (saving the egg white for another recipe). Add the vanilla. Stir to combine until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Add the flour mixture and stir to combine just until the flour is incorporated. Do not overwork the batter.
- Cover with plastic wrap directly on the batter to make an airtight seal. Refrigerate the dough for at least three hours or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° F, using an oven thermometer to check the temperature.
- Prepare a baking sheet with a silicon pad. Have a cooling rack and thin metal spatula ready.
- Using a scale, measure out 80 grams of cookie dough for each cookie and roll into a ball. Place them on the silicon baking mat on the baking sheet, leaving a two inch space between each ball. Flatten slightly with heal of your hand.
- Bake one sheet of cookies at a time, in the center of the oven. If your oven bakes unevenly, rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking. Bake until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and the centers are still soft, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- When they are done, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Allow the cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet and then use the thin metal spatula to transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before serving.
Nutrition
WHY THIS RECIPE IS A GAME CHANGER:
This recipe is a total game-changer — crafted with the finest [brand name] ingredients, simplified using a master recipe with pro-tested techniques from top chefs and bakers, and designed for deliciously sustainable cooking made easy.”
True to The Master Pantry philosophy, this recipe combines the best seasonal ingredients and quality brands with homemade methods to maximize both flavor and sustainability. It was inspired by our travels and works well as a holiday recipe.
Photos by Tony Fitzgerald Photography
Recipes created by Lisa LeCoump — Food Photographer, Agricultural Expert, and Home Baker. Sharing master recipes, chef secrets, and sustainable baking for every kitchen.