When baking soda combines with other ingredients, the chemical reaction will result in lighter and higher baked goods.
To make crisp sugar cookies with tender textures, I will panic if I do not have any baking soda. By knowing how to make cookies without baking soda, I will still enjoy these spiced, buttery biscuits with their slight nuttiness and perfect crunch.
Baking Soda vs Baking Powder
Many of us get confused between baking soda and baking powder. Baking powder is composed of sodium bicarbonate as the primary element and acid as the auxiliary component. This substance helps almost all baked goods, including cookies, to rise.
You can activate such a leavening effect by combining baking soda with an acidic ingredient like vinegar and buttermilk or vinegar. This is the reason some cooks prefer using a baking powder which contains powdered acid and baking soda to activate that effect.
However, it is ideal to use baking soda which is four times more efficient than baking powder when baking. Furthermore, this substance has almost an indefinite shelf-life while baking powder does not.
Why Do We Need To Use Baking Soda To Make Cookies?
In baking, we can find acidic properties in various sources such as vinegar, chocolate, yogurt, brown sugar, lemon juice, or buttermilk.
When the acidic components of each ingredient mix with baking soda, it will neutralize and create carbon dioxide which makes the baked goods tender. So, almost all cookie recipes require baking soda.
When the acid integrates with the particular flavor, baking soda proves to be useful to make cookies. Also, it works and combines well with baking powder to serve the purpose of acidic counteraction, especially when acidity toughens the baked goods.
What Do You Need To Replace Baking Soda?
There are several options you might consider to replace baking soda. Let’s look at some of them:
Baking Powder
The traditional cookie recipes need only baking powder. Sugar cookies, for example, do not contain lemon juice or molasses. Without the powder, it is easier to counteract the leavening ability.
So, baking soda may encourage additional browning when making cookies. However, such consideration may not arise with sugar cookies.
Shortbread
If neither baking powder nor baking soda is in your pantry, consider shortbread. It will eschew the remaining taste of any chemical in the cookies which rely much on the exact combination of sugar, flour, and butter.
To make them crumbly with the tender texture, our cookie recipe mainly calls for one part of the butter, one part of sugar, and two parts of white flour.
Remember to add the right amount of flavors like almond or vanilla. To replace baking soda, shortbread should be cut into wedges, rounds, or rectangles when having the dough formed.
Butter
You do not need baking soda to make your cookie recipe work. We suggest you to use butter to replace this substance and create the incredible flavor depth. To brown, it, place it in a heavy-bottom saucepan over high or medium heat.
Remember not to step away and stir constantly. The butter can turn murky, clear up, and melt before turning to amber color.
Next, remove it from your heat right whenever it has the amber color at the typical level. You should let the butter cool for 15 minutes before using it.
Other Leavenings
If you want to stick to other traditional leavenings, potassium carbonate, pinch or potash replace for baking soda. They show their particular characteristics in some typical cookies, especially in gingerbread or honey cake.
For potassium carbonate, you should use the exact amount compared to that of baking soda. But only extract 3/4 the volume of baker’s ammonia or ammonium carbonate in comparison with the amount of baking soda.
Remember to reserve these ingredients for your cookies recipes. The flat shape of cookies will dissipate such ammonia taste when baking.
Now I would suggest a wonderful cookie recipe having no baking soda. It is incredibly easy to do. Try it now and enjoy your crispy shortbread cookies!
Shortbread Cookies Recipe Without Baking Soda
Ingredients
- 4 grams or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
- 260 grams or 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 226 grams or 1 cup of unsalted butter (You should place it at room temperature)
- 2 grams or ¼ teaspoon salt
- 60 grams or ½ cup of powdered sugar (icing or confectioners)
- 180 grams bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (Finely-chopped type are preferable) for baking Chocolate Dipped Shortbreads.
Instructions
- Step 1
- Step 2
- Step 3
- Step 4
Prepare The Flour Mixture
First, you should whisk the salt with the all-purpose flour in a bowl. Then, set it aside. You can use the hand mixer or electric mixer to stir the mixture. Next, put the butter in and beat until it is creamy and smooth.
It takes only a minute to achieve this result. Add the sugar into and mix until smooth for 2 minutes. Next, put the vanilla in and continue beating. After that, stir the flour mixture gently until incorporated.
Chill And Preheat Oven The Dough
Second, flatten the incorporated flour mixture into a disk shape and cover it using a plastic wrap. Chill this dough until firm or for a minimum of an hour.
Preheat oven to 177 degrees C or 350 degrees F with a rack placed in the middle of your oven. Remember to separate two baking portions with a parchment paper.
Roll, Cut, And Put In The Refrigerator
Now, roll out this dough into the circle of 6 cm or ¼ inch thick. Use a cutter designed for the floured cookie to slice into shapes, typically rounds. Place them on the baking sheets before putting them into your refrigerator for 15 minutes.
This step will firm up this dough, and your cookies can maintain the shape when you bake them for 8 minutes. You should stop whenever cookies are lightly browned. After that, cool them on the wire rack.
To Make Chocolate Dipped Shortbreads
Put 90 grams or 3 ounces of the finely-chopped chocolate in one heatproof bowl. Pour the simmering water into the bowl. Remove the chocolate from the heat when it melts.
Add the remaining chocolate in and stir the mixture by using one wooden spoon. You only stop stirring when it melts completely and is glossy and smooth.
Dip one cookie end in the above-melted chocolate before placing the cookies on the parchment baking sheet. You should take cookies one-by-one.
When all cookies are dipped in the melted chocolate, place all baking sheets in your refrigerator until such chocolate hardens or for 10 minutes.
You can keep shortbread cookies in the airtight container for a week. You may freeze them if you want to keep them longer for future use.
It is a fantastic recipe to make shortbread cookies without baking soda, which you have ever known. They are melt in my mouth. Hope you can bake and taste them. We hope to receive your feedback in the comment section below!
Laura Smith
I'm Laura, I like all the kind of delicious grilled foods which makes me hungry all the time I see them. That's why I built this blog to share with you all of my Grilling experiences, recipes, and all the tips about foods that I've learned from food experts.