Baking Powder Vs Baking Soda In Cookies
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In this cookie science experiment learn what happens when you use baking powder vs baking soda in cookies. I’ll show you what happens when you use one leavening agent, or both, or forget entirely!
Be sure to read my full tutorial on baking powder vs baking soda to fully understand the differences between these two leavening agents.
Baking soda and baking powder, known as chemical leaveners, play critical roles in cookie baking, influencing not only the rise of your cookies but also their texture and flavor. But they are not the same and will yield different results! So I thought it’d be fun to do a little cookie experiment to show you the differences.
These leavening agents work differently due to their chemical compositions and reactions with other ingredients. You’ve more than likely used baking powder and baking soda in all your baked goods – from buttermilk pancakes, to buttermilk biscuits, and of course the topic on today’s agenda – a chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Letโs explore how using baking soda versus baking powder can affect the appearance, texture, and taste of your cookies, as well as what happens when you combine them or omit leavening altogether.
In this cookie science experiment I’ll show you the differences between using these two common leavening agents.
Watch the video here comparing the different batches of cookies!
Table of contents
Baking Soda: Crisp and Chewy Cookies
Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a potent leavening agent that requires an acidic component to activate its rising properties. In desserts these acidic ingredients could be sour cream, buttermilk, natural cocoa powder or citrus juices.
Maybe you remember from your early science day classes of mixing baking soda, or bicarbonate of soda, with an acidic ingredient, like lemon juice, and watching the bubbles form, also known as carbon dioxide gas.
These bubbles is what is responsible for making out baked goods rise. In your cookie dough, this ingredient usually is brown sugar.
Hereโs how it impacts cookies:
1. Appearance: Cookies made with baking soda tend to spread more during baking, resulting in a thinner, larger cookie. They often have a darker, more golden-brown color due to the faster browning reaction caused by the alkaline nature of baking soda.
2. Texture: Baking soda promotes a chewy texture in cookies. The rapid initial leavening action creates a denser structure with a slightly coarser crumb.
3. Taste: When used correctly, baking soda enhances the flavor of cookies by creating a chemical reaction that neutralizes the acidic ingredient and imparting a distinctive, slightly crisp taste. However, using too much can result in an unpleasant soapy flavor.
In the cookie science experiment you can see using only baking soda caused the cookies to spread more during baking, resulting in a thinner and crispier texture, especially around the edges.
These cookies had a darker color and a slight chewiness in the middle. I found these cookies to have good flavor, but not the same depth and richness as the cookies made with both baking soda and baking powder.
If you love thinner, crispier, chewy chocolate chip cookies, then using all baking soda in your cookies is your best bet! A good rule of thumb is to use about 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for every cup of flour. Baking soda is much stronger than baking powder. Using too much can leave a soapy taste so be careful!
Baking Powder: Softer and Cakier Cookies
Baking powder is a combination of baking soda, a dry acid (like cream of tartar, or also known as tartaric acid), and a moisture-absorbing agent (often cornstarch). It provides a two-stage leavening process. This two-stage reaction is why you will see a baking powder being called a double-acting baking powder, making it suitable for recipes that lack acidic ingredients.
Although not all baking powders are double acting, you may come across a single acting baking powder. I always recommend using a double acting one for the best leavening power in your baked goods. Make sure to check your expiration date on the container so you know it’s fresh!
Here’s how it impact cookies:
1. Appearance: Cookies leavened with baking powder tend to spread less than those made with baking soda alone. They often have a lighter, more uniform color due to the slower browning reaction.
2. Texture: Baking powder yields a lighter, more cake-like texture in cookies. The double-action leavening process creates finer air bubbles throughout the dough, resulting in a softer, fluffier cookie.
3. Taste: Baking powder has a neutral taste, allowing the other flavors in your cookies to shine without interference. It doesnโt contribute to the flavor profile as noticeably as baking soda.
So when I tested cookies with only baking powder, they were soft and chewy throughout. They were taller and had a lighter color compared to the other batches.
These cookies didnโt spread much, resulting in a slightly thicker and cakier texture, not as thick as the cookies without any leavening agents. While they were enjoyable, they lacked the delightful crunch around the edges that I love about a good chocolate chip cookie.
โSo if you love cookies that are a bit lighter and cakier than all baking powder might be the answer for you. Baking powder is not as strong as baking soda, so you will need about 1 teaspoon per cup of flour. If you use too much, your baked goods can have a metallic taste.
Using Both Baking Soda and Baking Powder
Some cookie recipes benefit from using both baking soda and baking powder. This combination leverages the strengths of each leavening agent.
1. Rise and Texture: Combining baking soda and baking powder provides optimal leavening, resulting in cookies that are both chewy and fluffy. Baking soda reacts immediately with acidic ingredients, while baking powder ensures continued leavening during baking.
2. Appearance and Flavor: Cookies made with both leavening agents tend to have a balanced spread and color. The flavor is enhanced by the nuanced interactions of baking soda with acidic ingredients and the neutral action of baking powder.
Using both baking powder and baking soda produced the best results in my opinion. These cookies had a chewy, soft middle and crunchy edges. The combination of leavening agents enhanced the chocolate flavor, giving the cookies a richer taste.
They also had a darker color, indicating a well-baked cookie. Overall, this batch had the best flavor and texture!
No Baking Powder Or Baking Soda
What happens if you leave out baking soda and baking powder entirely from your cookie recipe?
1. Appearance: Cookies made without any leavening agents will likely be dense and flat. They may spread minimally and have a dense, compact appearance.
2. Texture: The texture of cookies without leavening agents will be dense and somewhat heavy. They may lack the characteristic lightness and tenderness provided by baking soda or baking powder.
3. Taste: Cookies without leavening agents may taste bland or overly doughy. They wonโt have the airy structure or slight crispness that leavening agents impart.
Obviously I had zero hopes for these cookies but I gave it a go anyway! Cookies made without any leavening agents turned out cakey and dense as to be expected. They didn’t spread much during baking, resulting in a thicker cookie with a light color.
The lack of very much rise and spread made them less visually appealing and left them with a chewy, cakey texture and flavor.
Conclusion and Recap
Understanding the differences between baking soda and baking powder empowers you to choose the right leavening agentโor combination thereofโfor your cookie recipes.
Whether you prefer chewy cookies with a slight crispness (achieved with baking soda), lighter, cake-like cookies (achieved with baking powder), or a balanced texture from using both, your choice significantly impacts the final outcome. โ
Cookie Recipes To Try
Now that you are a cookie science expert it’s time to start baking! Here are some of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes to try:
- New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
- 1 โ cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
- 1 ยผ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons coarse salt
- 2 ยฝ sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
- 1 ยผ cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ยผ pounds bittersweet chocolate disks at least 60 percent cacao content see note
Instructions
- Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
- Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
- Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.
Notes
- Measure your flours correctly. Too much flour can result in a dense cookie. Donโt just scoop the flour directly into your measuring cup. This can result in a major over measurement! After you have spooned the flour in, then use a knife to level off the flour. Donโt tap the sides of the measuring cup, or pack your flour down. Both can also result in too much flour. You can read a full tutorial on how to measure flour here.ย
- Use the flour the recipe calls for. This recipe actually calls for two kinds of flour- cake flour and bread flour. Different flours can act differently in cookies. And these two acting in unison are what make for a chewy but soft cookie all in one.ย
- Butter softened to room temperature. Does the temperature of the butter matter? It matter so much this quote was added to end of the recipe in the cookbook.”Butter is like the concrete you use to pour the foundation of a building. So it’s very important to get it right: the temperature, the texture, and aeration” So in other words…yea it matters. It matters so much I did an entire post on how butter temperature affects cookies.ย The butter needs to be softened to room temperature, which mean you can slightly indent your thumb in the butter but shouldn’t easily smoosh all the way through. If you forget to take your butter out in time, cut the butter into small chunks and leave out at room temperature. It will soften much faster this way. When you cream the butter and sugars together it’s also important to let this happen for a whole 5 minutes to allow enough air into the batter and helps leavens the cookies. For 3 quick ways to soften your butter, you can read this post.
- Chill the dough. This dough gets chilled for at least 24 hours up to 72 hours. Chilling the dough results in a nice thick and tall cookie that spreads less in the oven. Basically? Perfection. I actually tested a cookie straight from the bowl to see if it made a difference. The cookies that were chilled definitely spread less, but to be honest, even NOT chilled these were still THE BEST. Do yourself a favor, and scoop the cookie dough first before refrigerating. Unless you have Herculian arms, you will have a heck of a time trying to scoop the dough after if it’s been chilled. Scoop, then chill.ย
- Use a large 2-inch cookie scoop and scoop giant balls of cookie dough. Why? Because bigger cookies are better than small ones? Ok, well yes they are. But, there is actually science behind it too. The larger cookie helps to give those perfect crispy edges and soft ooey, gooey, middle we all want. You could also measure out your cookie dough into 3 1/2 ounce balls of dough to ensure they are all the same perfect size. Who would be such a nerd and do such a thing? Oh wait, I did. Moving on…
I love your science experiment–as someone who loves to cook but doesn’t really enjoy baking, I found the differences between baking powder and baking soda so interesting! And that chocolate chip cookie recipe–yum! It’ll now be my go-to.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the information and found it helpful. Happy baking! ๐ช๐
This is the best explanation i have ever had for soda vs powder. I wish everyhing was taught like this, so easy to understand.
Thank you so much! Iโm happy to hear you found the explanation clear and helpful. Happy baking!
OMG this tutorial is exactly what I needed! I’m so tired of always messing up my cookie recipes. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Thank you so much! Iโm glad the tutorial was helpful. Happy baking, and I hope your cookie recipes turn out perfectly!
Baking powder gave my cookies a delightful, fluffy texture, while baking soda resulted in a beautifully crisp and chewy bite. Both versions were delicious, highlighting how these leavening agents can wonderfully transform your baked treats.
Thank you so much for your feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed experimenting with baking powder and baking soda. Happy baking!
This is yet one more reason why I enjoy your content so much! Your delight in the process of baking is fun to watch and we all appreciate the knowledge and skill you bring. Oh, and thanks for the great recipes, too!! ๐
Thank you so much, Deborah! I’m so happy that you’re enjoying the content and finding it helpful. Happy baking!
What an interesting post! This gave us so much insight! I can’t wait to put some of the learnings into practice!!
Thank you! I’m glad you found the post insightful. Enjoy experimenting with your baking!
Oooh, such a fun science experiment! I definitely appreciate all the information and particularly the side by side photos of the cookies.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the science behind it and found the photos helpful!
Wow I had no idea there was such a difference between the two of them in cookies!
Thank you! I’m glad you found the post informative!
These tips and explanation are great. So helpful. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! I’m glad you found the tips helpful!
There was so much information in this post – perfect explanation for a newer baker. I’ve forwarded the link to my teacher friend – she has a culinary club at her school and I think this would be so helpful.
Thank you! I’m glad you found the information helpful. I hope your friend and her culinary club enjoy it too!