The best baking powder substitute is a mix of baking soda and cream of tartar. The cream of tartar adds acidity to the baking soda—it’s basically homemade baking powder. Use this in a pinch, or make a larger batch and store it in an airtight container for baking powder emergencies.
What happens if I don’t use baking powder?
A neutral-tasting acid, like white vinegar or lemon juice, will react with baking soda to create the leavening powers you need. To substitute one teaspoon of baking powder, combine 1/4 teaspoon baking soda with 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar or ½ teaspoon lemon juice.
How To Make Crispy Cookies – The 3 Tricks. Trick #1: Don’t Use Brown Sugar: It has more moisture than white and is also more acidic, meaning it reacts with baking soda to produce air that helps cookies to rise. Cookie recipes made without brown sugar will be harder, flatter, and crispier.
Good rule of thumb: I usually use around 1 teaspoon of baking powder per 1 cup of flour in a recipe.
Baking powder is, without a doubt, the best baking soda substitute you can find. Use a 1:3 ratio, so if your recipe calls for one teaspoon of baking soda, use three teaspoons of baking powder. It’s tricky to substitute self-rising flour for baking soda, but it can be done by changing the recipe a little.
Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.
A secret baker’s trick is to rest your cookie dough in the fridge. You can rest it for at least an hour, which will evaporate some of the water and increase the sugar content, helping to keep your cookies chewy. The longer you allow your dough to rest in the fridge, the chewier your cookies will be.
Using lower-moisture sugar (granulated) and fat (vegetable shortening), plus a longer, slower bake than normal, produces light, crunchy cookies. That said, using a combination of butter and vegetable shortening (as in the original recipe), or even using all butter, will make an acceptably crunchy chocolate chip cookie.
Mistake: When cookies turn out flat, the bad guy is often butter that is too soft or even melted. This makes cookies spread. The other culprit is too little flour—don’t hold back and make sure you master measuring. Finally, cookies will also flatten if placed and baked on hot cookie sheets.