What Does Baking Soda Do In Cookies? (2024)

FAQs

What Does Baking Soda Do In Cookies? ›

Baking soda and baking powder are common baking ingredients. They are both leavening agents, meaning they help baked goods to rise.

You technically can leave out baking soda in certain recipes (like chocolate chip cookies or pancakes) in a pinch, but you need to understand that your finished product will not be as light and fluffy as the recipe intended.

One -too much soda makes cookies puff quickly then immediately deflate into cow pie looking cookies. They spread out thinly. Too much makes them taste terrible, like metal and leaves a weird semi sour taste in the mouth. This also happens if too much baking powder or other leavening is used, flat and bitter.

If you don't have baking soda on hand, you can use triple the amount of baking powder instead. Alternative substitutions include potassium bicarbonate, baker's ammonia, or self-rising powder.

Q: What is the purpose of baking soda in recipes? A: Baking soda acts as a chemical leavener. It reacts with an acid to produce carbon dioxide — or loads of bubbles — a process that allows cakes, cookies, and other baked goods to rise.

As with baking soda, the purpose of baking powder is to create air bubbles that give your baked goods their light, airy texture. There are two types of baking powder: single action and double action. Single action baking powder creates the carbon dioxide bubbles upon contact with moisture, similar to baking soda.

If you fail to add a teaspoon of baking soda or however much your recipe needs, the cookies won't have those bubbles inside them to rise up. If you forget to add the acid, too, the baking soda won't be able to react or produce carbon dioxide.

Baking soda is generally about three times stronger than baking powder, so adjust your recipe accordingly. Baking soda and baking powder can produce cookies with different textures. Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies.

Baking soda is a leavening agent whereas cornstarch is a thickener. These two ingredients may look similar, but they have very different purposes in cooking and cannot be used interchangeably.

If your cookies come out of the oven looking flat, you may not have adequately chilled the dough before baking. Chilling times may vary depending on the cookie you're making, but you should typically chill cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours before you pop it in the oven.

Can too much baking soda make cookies bitter? ›

One of the most common misfortunes among bakers is that they are using too much baking soda or baking powder. Know that too much baking soda or baking powder in cakes will not just lead to a metallic and bitter taste, but it can also make a big mess in the oven as it will rise beyond expectations.

Baking Soda Contributes To The Flavor Of Our Cookies

In addition to the Maillard reaction, baking soda is also sodium. Sodium is salt, and salt enhances the flavors of our food.

Without baking soda or baking powder, these cookies will remain a little flatter then other recipes but because of the eggs and creaming of the butter and sugars in this recipe they will still puff up a little in the oven. They will have crispy edges and a soft, chewy center.

It is possible to make cookies without baking soda or baking powder, but the resulting cookie will be dense. This is because carbon dioxide is not being produced by a chemical reaction that typically occurs when baking soda or powder is present in the cookie batter.

For baked goods that don't require too much leavening, such as cookies or pancakes, it's actually OK to leave out the baking soda completely — they just won't be as light and fluffy. If you do go this route when making pancakes, Gan recommends pouring less batter into the pan to cover the same surface area.

You could leave baking soda out of your recipe, but remember, the end product won't be the same. Your cookies will probably be flat and your pancakes won't be light and fluffy. They'll still taste good, but you'll notice textural changes.

Putting a slice of fresh white bread in the container with the cookies will help the cookies stay soft: fresh bread is moist, and that slice will give up its moisture for the greater good: keeping the cookies from drying out. We recommend white bread so that no flavor is transferred to the cookies.

As the butter melts, the cookie's structure loosens, so that the water in the dough is able to combine with the baking soda, dissolving it. The baking soda then reacts to the acidic components present in brown sugar, creating gases that cause the cookie to rise.