Cookies are baked around the world with countless variations.
Each home baker has their favorite recipe, often developed over years of trial and error.
If you’re new to baking, you can skip the error by learning about the basic ingredients of the perfect cookie.
Baking powder is one of those ingredients.
It’s often used in place of baking soda, with some bakers finding it to be more convenient because it doesn’t need an activating ingredient.
Now let’s dig a bit deeper and find out if baking powder is necessary for cookies, and see the results that you can expect when using this ingredient.
How Does Baking Powder Work?
Baking powder is a leavening agent used in baking that helps baked goods rise and become fluffy.
It contains a mixture of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), cream of tartar, and sometimes cornstarch.
When combined with liquid, the acid in the cream of tartar reacts with the baking soda to produce carbon dioxide gas.
This gas creates bubbles in the batter, causing it to expand and rise.
The cornstarch in baking powder helps to keep the ingredients dry and prevents premature activation of the baking soda.
This Argo Baking Powder is popular with home bakers.
Overall, baking powder helps to create a light and airy texture in baked goods.
Does it Make Good Cookies?
Some cookie recipes specifically call for baking soda to be used. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate.
In these cases, avoid baking powder.
Substituting could lead to brittle cookies with a caky flavor and texture.
For recipes that do recommend baking powder, you can get great results with a few extra steps.
To combat the problem of brittle cookies, you can use brown sugar instead of white.
Brown sugar is made with molasses which have a high moisture content.
The darkest brown sugar contains around 6% – 7% molasses.
The moisture helps to activate baking powder while also ensuring that the ingredients are bound together and cooked thoroughly.
Cookies made with brown sugar will be chewier yet still firm.
Most people prefer their cookies this way.
If you use an artificial sugar substitute then cookies made with baking powder won’t come out great.
You’ll lose moisture and the necessary acidity.
You could offset this by whisking egg whites until they are fluffy before adding them into the recipe, but there’s no guarantee that your cookies will come out as you intend.
The Bottom Line – Do Your Cookies Need Baking Powder?
Cookies need a leavening agent for texture and consistency.
Whether it’s baking soda or baking powder is typically dependent on the specific recipe.
Both can work, but baking soda usually produces a chewier cookie.
You can get a similar result by using brown sugar in recipes that recommend baking powder.
The bottom line is that you need one or the other, so in many recipes, yes, baking powder is necessary.
Experiment as much as you can until you find the combination of ingredients that suit your baking style and your taste.
