Everyone has their favorite cookie recipe…or at least their favorite cookie brand! But the secret behind how chewy or fluffy a cookie is, lays in the ingredients. Specifically baking soda versus baking powder. While the two ingredients may sound interchangeable, they give cookies different properties.
Baking soda and baking powder are both leavening products, meaning they help the food product rise. Baking soda is a naturally occurring ingredient that creates a reaction when mixed with an acidic liquid (sour cream, yogurt, honey, brown sugar, molasses, etc.) It can also give food a brown tint because of its pH levels.
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Baking powder actually has baking soda in the ingredients! Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda, acid, and cornstarch. This combination makes it four times stronger than baking soda, so it’s included in a recipe for a reason!
So what should you use? Baking powder produces fluffier, puffier, cake-like cookies, while baking soda creates more dense, chewy ones. Depending on how you like your cookies, you can experiment with different levels. Look at this quick Instagram guide for more changeups:
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