Baking Soda And Powder: Which Leads To Better Cookies?
If you were to clean out your entire pantry and restock it from scratch, there's a really solid chance that both baking soda and baking powder would make the shortlist of essential ingredients needed to replenish your shelves' reserves.
The real answer is to say "it depends." Each ingredient will yield you different results, and their final product will appeal to different people depending on what kind of cookie they're making and how they like them. But that's an unsatisfying response, so let's dive into what you expect from your cookies when using baking soda and baking powder, respectively, so you can make that call for yourself.
Two ingredients that give two kinds of cookies
Baking soda is a multipurpose ingredient that can be used for anything from cleaning to tenderizing steaks, but how does it fare when used in cookies? Baking soda gives cookies that are flatter, denser, and darker than their counterparts. Baking soda elongates the cookies' setting process, allowing them to spread. It also helps proteins bond more tightly, creating a denser, chewier cookie. And baking soda also facilitates the Maillard reaction (the process by which cookies, meat, and even beer get their brown color). So baking soda is better if these are the qualities you look for, and baking powder is best if you prefer the opposite. Some cookie recipes even use both, so as long as your ingredients are fresh, you can give that a shot and experience the best of both worlds.
