PORTLAND, ORE. – The Cookie Department no longer will make its cookies using palm oil. The company already is using algae butter in all its cookie flavors except for the Great Full oatmeal cookie.

“For us, algae butter is a fabulous enhancement to dairy butter because it essentially has the same texture, binding capabilities and taste, but with half the saturated fat,” said Akiva Resnikoff, founder and chief executive officer of The Cookie Department.

He added feedback indicates customers cannot tell the difference in taste.

“The concept of algae butter may sound unappealing, but when used to bake with, there is no taste difference,” he said.

The company also noted deforestation issues associated with palm oil that are affecting the orangutan population in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Cookie flavors include Tough Cookie, a peanut butter toffee cookie with 10 grams of whey protein; Great Full, a sweet potato, cranberry, oatmeal antioxidant cookie that is vegan; Snap Back, a ginger and cayenne spiced cookie; Chocolate Chip Nookie, a chocolate chip cookie infused with maca root and made with dairy butter instead of algae butter; and Awaken Baked, a double chocolate chip cookie that contains 40 mg of Fair Trade coffee. The cookies are available nationwide at specialty retailers and markets, juice and smoothie bars, gyms, college campuses, cafes, sporting goods stores, movie theaters, hotels, and grocery stores.