Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Without Butter
Does it get any more classic than a chocolate chip cookie? I think not! Read on to find out exactly how to make the best chocolate chip cookies without butter.
Lard replaces butter for a silky, soft texture that just can’t be beat! Perfectly crumbly outside and moist inside, these no butter chocolate chip cookies will become a favorite recipe whether you are out of butter or not. No lard? No problem… sub it out for coconut oil!
Use a small cookie scoop for regular sized chocolate cookies, a large muffin scoop for big cookies or a 1/4 cup measuring scoop for a giant Crumbl chocolate chip cookie copycat!
Why Make Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Butter?
I am a butter snob… if given the choice, I usually choose butter. Not just any butter, salted butter… give me all the salt! Whether you want to make dairy free chocolate chip cookies or you simply are out of butter or margarine, these classic chocolate chip cookies with lard will not disappoint. Olive oil or vegetable oil can leave other cookies with a weird, dense texture and can even change the flavour of your chocolate chip cookie whereas lard is a flavourless, neutral oil (depending on what kind you use)and mimics butter to create the perfect consistency! Lard is also lower in saturated fat than butter.
Why No Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies ROCK!
How Are These Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Butter Like Crumbl Chocolate Chip Cookies?
This recipe is salty-sweet with a soft inside and perfectly crispy edges that rival the famous Crumbl Bakery’s chocolate chip cookies. Crumbl chocolate chip cookies are BIG, thick, and soft- everything you could ask for in a classic cookie! Mimic Crumbl chocolate chip cookies by using guittard chocolate chips and using a 1/4 cup measuring scoop to make the giant cookies that Crumbl is so famous for.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure that your cookies are uniform in size whether you choose to make jumbo cookies or regular sized. Uniform cookies = evenly baked cookies!
- Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper for quick cleanup! It helps to have two baking sheets lined and ready to keep the baking process going smoothly.
- Make sure that all of your ingredients including your eggs and lard are at room temperature to help everything mix up more efficiently and to properly activate the baking powder and soda.
- To deepen the flavor of your chocolate chip cookies, chill the dough for at least an hour- up to 24 hours. This isn’t a necessity but if you have extra time it does help to take these cookies to the next level.
- Pressing extra chocolate chips into the top of your raw dough balls helps to beautify the cookies but also to make sure that there is good chocolate to cookie ratio- very important!
- Sprinkle the top of the cookies with coarse sea salt before baking (very gingerly). Who doesn’t love a little salty-crunchy surprise?
- Swap out the 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract for 1 teaspoon of almond extract to change up the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Key Ingredients
Pure Lard- You can buy pure lard at any grocery store! Here in Canada, we have a brand called “Tenderflake” …it is AMAZING to cook with. I have successfully made these cookies with other brands of lard too. If you are a DIYer and have your own homemade lard, feel free to use it but beware that any extra flavouring could come through in your cookies. If the flavour is bacon-y, you might just create the ultimate chocolate chip cookie! Other fats you can experiment with include coconut oil and vegetable oil.
Light Brown Sugar: Be sure to pack your brown sugar into the measuring cups.
White Sugar: Any granulated sugar will work.
Vanilla: This chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for a whole lot of vanilla (2 teaspoon vanilla extract)- choose high grade, pure vanilla extract to ensure that your cookies have the best possible flavour.
Eggs– Large, room temperature eggs give the best results. Room temperature ingredients emulsify better, creating a more airy batter or dough- resulting in fluffier cakes and chewier cookies!
Flour: All purpose flour works best for this recipe- bread flour would also be fine. If you want to experiment with whole wheat or white whole wheat flour, consider swapping 1 cup of all purpose flour for 1 cup of whole wheat flour and adjust the recipe from there to suit your needs!
Sea Salt: Use fine sea salt in the recipe and garnish with medium-large flakes before cooking for that refreshing crunch of salt that just can’t be beat!
Corn Starch: Corn starch helps prevent these chocolate chip cookies from spreading, keeping them light and fluffy for days.
Baking Powder
Baking Soda– Make sure that your baking soda is fresh- three months old or less for optimal rising power.
Chocolate Chips- I love mixing chocolate chip sizes in my cookies to create a more unique texture… not to mention it looks pretty! Miniature chocolate chips, regular, and chocolate chunks all work great. These cookies are big and sweet- opt for semisweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate chips to balance out the sweetness. If you are a white chocolate lover, substitute in some white chocolate chips.
Equipment
Size 20 cookie scoop: A size 20 scoop is perfect for making a big chocolate chip cookie! It holds about 3 tablespoons of dough, resulting in large, chewy cookie! If you want to go even bigger and mimic crumbl chocolate chip cookies, you can use a 1/4 cup measuring cup for your cookie scoop. Adjust the cooking time to at least 15 minutes!
Baking Sheets: I love my large USA Pan baking sheets for making cookies. More cookies at once = more time to enjoy them! The non-stick surface means easy cleanup without having to use parchment paper.
Electric Mixer: I love using my Kitchenaid stand mixer for cookie dough. If you don’t have an electric mixer, you can use some good old elbow grease and a strong wooden spoon!
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Butter
Step 1. Preheat your oven to 375°F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper (if your cookie sheets are non-stick, you can skip this step.)
Step 2. Mix wet ingredients. Cream 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of lard with 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup of white sugar in a large bowl. Mix for 1-2 minutes or until completely combined. Add two eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla and mix.
Step 3. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 1/4 cup flour, 3/4 teaspoons sea salt, 2 teaspoons of corn starch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
Step 4. Combine wet + dry. Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until the dough is just combined and no individual bits can be seen being careful to stop when the dough comes together and there is minimal flour left over.
Step 5. Fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
Step 6. Spoon out your dough. Use a size 20 cookie scoop (3 tablespoon scoop) to ensure that you have large, uniform cookies… or wing it with a regular spoon ;).
Step 7. Press the extra 1/4 cup of chocolate chips that you reserved into the tops of the balls of dough and sprinkle them lightly with coarse sea salt or flaked sea salt.
Step 8. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to be golden brown on the outer edges. Larger cookies will require longer baking time.
Step 9. Cool. Leave the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes to further set up and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Step 10. Enjoy with a glass of milk, coffee or treat yourself to a homemade chai tea latte!
No Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Batch and Storage:
- This recipe yields approximately 18 large butterless chocolate chip cookies (3 tablespoon scooper) or 36 regular sized cookies.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 4-5 days. Freeze them in ziplock bags for up to 6 months.
- I LOVE to freeze raw cookie dough balls to bake fresh later on. Scoop them onto a flat baking tray, freeze them, and then transfer them to a freezer safe bag for up to 6 months. Let them come to room temperature for about 30 minutes before baking as usual.
FAQ
Leaf lard is the best for baking because it is flavourless and has a high melting point- this helps to produce amazing baked goodies.
This recipe uses lard to replace butter or margerine! Other fat replacement options include olive oil, canola oil, and coconut oils.
Butter is considered solid at room temperature, this helps with leavening agents to create a more airy cookie. The lard in this recipe mimics butter perfectly because it is also solid at room temperature! Oil usually results in more dense, less risen, flat cookies.
Butter gives great flavour, tenderness, richness, and structure to chocolate chip cookies. Lard is flavorless but still allows other ingredients to shine and maintains the tenderness, richness, and structure in chocolate chip cookies without butter.
Yes! Margerine can be subbed 1:1.
The flavor and texture are minimally changed by lard or oil when compared to butter. The chocolate chips, vanilla, and combination of salt and sugar mask the difference quite well.
Fan of butter free recipes? Check out this Banana Bread Recipe Without Butter– It will knock your socks off!
Printable Recipe Card
Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Butter
Lard replaces butter for a silky, soft texture in these chocolate chip cookies without butter that just can’t be beat! Perfectly crumbly outside and moist inside, this will become your new go-to recipe whether you are out of butter or not.
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons pure lard
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips for adding to the top
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Cream 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of lard with 3/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of white sugar. Mix for 1-2 minutes or until completely combined.
- Add two eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 1/4 cup flour, 3/4 teaspoons sea salt, 2 teaspoons of corn starch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet until the dough is well mixed and no individual ingredients can be seen.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Use a size 20 cookie scoop to ensure that you have large, uniform cookies... or wing it with a regular spoon ;).
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to brown on the outer edges.
- Leave the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes to further set up and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Enjoy!
Notes
To make this recipe dairy free, use dairy free chocolate chips. I like the EnjoyLife Brand.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 189Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 162mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 3g
