Oil instead of butter for oatmeal cookies?

Hi creamtea, this link from California Oil popped in my email today with an article about replacing butter with oil. If you read it also features a conversion table. http://consumers.californiaoliveranch.com/2013/12/10/recipe-makeover-how-to-substitute-olive-oil-for-butter-in-baking/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=recipe-makeover-how-to-substitute-olive-oil-for-butter-in-baking

Thank you SeaJambon. Agree about Safflower oil. I have recently switched from canola which has a "fishy" taste.

Agree with Sadassa -- I've done it a number of times. FWIW: my favorite substitute is Safflower oil as it is very "clean" and won't leave a bit of the underlying flavor.

I have never had trouble using oil as a sub for butter with this ratio: 1/3 cup oil for each 1/2 cup butter.
Yes the flavor and texture will be different but sometimes the change in texture is a desirable one (softer, less crunchy) and it is a good trick to know for various reasons...

Thanks for your answer, Maedl, but I was asking on behalf of a friend who really won't care that much about perfect flavor or an authentic Italian cookie. She would be unlikely to go to the trouble of double-baking biscotti. She just wanted to make the cookie recipe from the lid of the Quaker oatmeal box--as long as the cookie dough hangs together, she's happy. She did try subbing oil and it was fine for her needs. I on the other hand want all the butter cream and sugar I can get ;)

Someone else asked about substituting oil for butter when making Linzer cookies. I’ll give the same answer to your question as I gave to the first question. Sure, you can make the substitution, but don’t expect the cookies to taste particularly good. Butter adds lots of flavor that oil will not. Oil will also change the texture. Instead of substituting an oil with little or no flavor, why not find a recipe for a cookie that doesn’t call for butter in the first place? Biscotti are a start--most Italian recipes for biscotti (or cantucci) don’t use butter. There are plenty of other cookie recipes from around the Mediterranean that don’t use butter either, so there are many good choices. I understand the parve issue, but I suspect the cholesterol concern is off-target. You might want to check out this article in the NY Times today about whole organic milk: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/health/organic-milk-high-in-helpful-fatty-acids-study-finds.html