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It took me 4 batches of cookies to realize I was using baking powder instead of baking soda
I kept wonder why my chocolate chip cookies were puffing up like little pillows instead of spreading out flat. My sister watched me bake one day and pointed out the big orange box on my counter because her first words were 'why are you using baking powder for cookies'. Anyone else have that moment where a family member caught a mistake you had been making for years?
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the_drew23d ago
Four batches? Amateur numbers. @michaeljones would be proud of my twelve pancake failures before I switched to buttermilk.
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..."my first words were 'why are you using baking powder for cookies'" - I actually have to disagree with your sister here. Baking powder works fine for cookies, it just gives a different texture. Some people prefer that cakey, puffy cookie over the flat chewy ones. I've used both on purpose depending on what I'm going for, and baking powder cookies can be really good with the right recipe.
The real mistake is not reading the recipe carefully before you start. If you follow a recipe that calls for baking soda and use baking powder instead, yeah that's going to change things. But plenty of cookie recipes actually call for baking powder. It's not wrong, it's just a different kind of cookie.
Sounds like you were making cookies you liked even if they weren't what you expected. Maybe give baking powder cookies another try sometime with a recipe designed for them. They're great for sandwich cookies or when you want something lighter.
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blake_cooper23d ago
Wait, @the_drew, you seriously went through twelve batches of pancakes before figuring out buttermilk was the missing link? That's some determination. But here's what I'm wondering about your point on baking powder cookies being intentional - did your sister laugh at you for the orange box thing, or was she genuinely trying to help you out? I feel like family members either roast you forever or act like they just saved your entire baking career, and I'm curious which camp she falls into. Because if she was cool about it, maybe she'd let me borrow her recipe for those cakey cookies you're talking about.
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