I know it's been asked. I looked up the differences and similarities, but i'm still confused. i have unsalted margarine, but the recipe calls for unsalted butter. could you really tell if you used butter or margarine, or do the cookies taste pretty much the same? and if they don't, could i just use margarine and add a little bit of artificial butter flavor?

You'll get a ton of different responses. I think a lot of it is based on personal preference. I will only bake with butter, I prefer the taste and the texture. But just as many people will only bake with margarine. Try it, see how they turn out and if you like them. Then when you get some butter, try it that way. That's really the only way you'll know the best way for you.

Thanks for replying and you're right. It should be the best way for me to really know. I'm doing a bake sale thing at an elementary on the 13th, not too long from now, as you can see, and I just want everything to go well. Thanks for the advice, I'll try that

I also prefer butter, but the biggest difference in the two is the temperature in which they melt. Like vstar_pilot said, everybody has a different preference.

I found a few links that are very informative. Probably more info than you want, though! In the baking911 link she suggests using a combination of margarine and butter, not using all margarine.... has to do w/ fat percentage, I think. I love the taste of real butter so that's all I bake with. Are you using margarine for the cost?

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Desserts-747/cooking-baking-margerine-v.htm