Chocolate Chip Cookies without Baking Soda or Baking Powder
A simple chocolate chip cookie recipe without baking soda or baking powder. These cookies are soft in the middle and slightly crispy on the edges. You don’t absolutely need baking soda or baking powder to make your favorite cookie!
OVERVIEW
- Skill Level: Beginner
- Technique Used: Creaming Method for Cookies
I’ve recently been in a scenario where I didn’t have baking soda or baking powder on hand but wanted to do some baking. Can I make chocolate chip cookies without it? Turns out, you can! This recipe makes a classic chocolate chip cookie with crispy edges and a soft, chewy middle.
Let’s go over the why’s of why you don’t absolutely need baking soda or baking powder to make drop cookies!
WHY THIS RECIPE IS GOOD TO HAVE ON HAND
- You may not always have baking soda or baking powder on hand and want to make cookies!
- This recipe eliminates the stress that comes with starting a recipe and realizing you don’t have all the ingredients.
- With baking, it’s important to understand how each ingredient works so that you can substitute, eliminate, or customize!
INGREDIENT FUNCTIONS
Let’s go over the 2 ingredients left out of this recipe: baking soda and baking powder. Understanding how they work in recipes helps us to come to the conclusion that they aren’t absolutely necessary in this scenario (making chewy chocolate chip cookies).
Baking Soda (also known as Bicarbonate of Soda) is just sodium bicarbonate. In order for it to do its job, it needs an acidic component to interact with and create a chemical reaction. In baking, some common acidic ingredients include vinegar, yogurt, lemon juice (or other citrus juice), buttermilk, brown sugar, and chocolate– now you know why almost all chocolate chip cookie recipes call for baking soda as the leavening agent.
Baking Powder is baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) already mixed with an acid (usually cream of tartar). Therefore, baking powder on its own is used in baked goods that do not already contain an acid. It works in the same way baking soda does, by creating air bubbles which cause the batter to rise. If you find yourself without baking soda you can always substitute baking powder for baking soda. This is not true the other way around.
Keep in mind that baking soda is much more powerful than baking powder so when substituting you need more baking powder to equal the same strength.
HERE ARE A FEW SCENARIOS:
My recipe calls for baking soda and I don’t have any: You can substitute the baking soda in the recipe for baking powder if you have it.
The general rule of thumb is that 1 teaspoon of baking soda = 3 teaspoons (or 1 tablespoon) of baking powder
Since the original recipe called for baking soda then the recipe must already contain an acidic ingredient. And since baking powder also contains an acidic ingredient (cream of tartar) then you are all set. You do not need to add more cream of tartar.
My recipe calls for baking powder and I don’t have any: In this scenario, the recipe is asking for baking powder which is baking soda plus cream of tartar so you need to add both.
1 teaspoon baking powder = 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
It’s important to use this conversion and not add too much baking soda. Too much can cause your baked goods to have a metallic or soapy flavor to them.
I don’t have either baking soda or baking powder: Determine how important it is for your baked good to rise. Is it very important, like a cake? Or is it okay if they are a little flat, like cookies? Are there eggs in the recipe? Eggs can help a baked good to rise. If there are eggs in the recipe and it isn’t that important for the baked good to rise, then you can probably leave out the baking soda and baking powder.
I do not suggest this for cakes, muffins, biscuits, etc. To date, I have only successfully tried this with drop cookies.
How to make chocolate chip cookies without baking soda or baking powder
Without baking soda or baking powder, these cookies will remain a little flatter then other recipes but because of the eggs and creaming of the butter and sugars in this recipe they will still puff up a little in the oven. They will have crispy edges and a soft, chewy center.
STEP 1: Cream butter and sugars
Using the paddle attachment in a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, cream together the soft butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Creaming them together for several minutes will help lighten and leaven the cookies.
Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
STEP 2: ADD THE DRY INGREDIENTS
Stir in the salt and flour. Scrape down the bowl and mix until you no longer see any streaks of white flour. Stir for an additional 30 seconds to develop the gluten to make chewy cookies but then stop. Do not overmix.
STEP 3: ADD THE CHOCOLATE CHIPS
Add the chocolate chips to the bowl and fold them in until evenly distributed.
STEP 4: SCOOP THE DOUGH
Using a cookie scoop or spoon, scoop dough balls onto a cookie sheet. Scoop about 2-3 tablespoons per cookie. If desired, top each cookie with a few extra chocolate chips and flaky, coarse salt.
STEP 5: BAKE
Bake cookies until the edges are set but the middle looks slightly underdone. They will continue to set as they cool. Let cool completely.
MORE articles FROM BAKER BETTIE!
If you love to learn the why’s of baking, you might like to read about other baking science topics!
Chocolate Chip Cookies without Baking Soda or Baking Powder
This recipe is for simple chocolate chip cookie recipe without baking soda or baking powder. These cookies are soft in the middle and slightly crispy on the edges.
Ingredients
- 113 grams (½ cup, 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 100 grams (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 50 grams (¼ cup) brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 150 grams (1 ¼ cup) all-purpose flour
- 150 grams (1 cup) chocolate chips (I prefer at least 60% dark chocolate)
- coarse salt for sprinkling if desired
Instructions
PREP:
- At least 30 minutes before making, remove the butter (113 grams, ½ cup) and egg (1 large) from the refrigerator to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
TO MAKE THE COOKIES:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, or a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar (100 grams, ½ cup), and brown sugar (50 grams, ¼ cup) until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium-high speed.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract (2 teaspoons) and mix until combined.
- Add the salt (½ teaspoon) and flour (150 grams, 1 ¼ cup) to the mixing bowl. Mix until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and mix until to make sure the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Add the chocolate chips (150 grams, 1 cup) into the mixing bowl and mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
- Scoop large rounded mounds of dough onto baking sheets, about 2 tablespoons in size. Do not overcrowd the pan.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers are still slightly underdone. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool further.
- Sprinkle the warm cookies with coarse salt if desired.
- For best results, store cooled cookies in an airtight container for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
*If you do have baking soda on hand, here is a recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies with baking soda.
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165 Comments on “Chocolate Chip Cookies without Baking Soda or Baking Powder”
II am just beginning to “search out” recipes for baked goods without baking soda and/or baking powder due to low sodium requirements for a friend with recent bypass surgery. I am going to try your recipe for the cookies but I cannot find any nutritional info re how much sodium is in the recipe or one cookie. I found one website that states white all purpose flour has 400 mg of sodium per 1/4 cup., without the sodium in the egg and the 480 mg per 1/4 tsp. of Kosher salt,. If I calculate that correctly . the recipe contains 2880 mg of sodium and 233 mg per cookie. Please let me know if I did not calculate if appropriately as I would like to make them for my friend but he is limited to 2000mg per day. Thanks for all the work you have done for this recipe.
Hi Sunny. Where are you finding that white all purpose flour has 400 mg of sodium? I have never seen that. According to my bag of flour and to all my research online flour should have 0mg of sodium. You can also use this calculator http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator to enter in ingredients for a recipe to find out the nutrition contents. According to my calculations of the recipe if you make it as stated (being 1/2 tsp of kosher salt) and you make 12 cookies, it should have 56mg of sodium per cookie.
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Thanks for the info. I am developing my first cookie recipe. I was planning to make raw vegan kale chocolate chip cookies so I left out baking soda. When I tasted the batter, I decided to bake them so the chocolate would melt. in the middle of forming cookies on the baking sheet, I realized I might need baking soda. Oops! So i hopped on Google and found this comforting post. My cookies look good.
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This is a super useful post, not just because I found myself craving cookies with no baking soda in the house. This is the first time I’ve had the difference between baking soda and powder explained. Great work!
So glad you found the post helpful!
Instead of milk, try chocolate cookie and yogurt. It’s really delicious
Ok, so can I use this recipe with honey instead of sugar? Using whole wheat flour too? Trying to eat healthier AND observing Passover. Thus the reason for coming here, thanks.
Leesa
sodium bicarbonate It is the sodium that is my reason for looking for baking soda free recipes. I am restricted to a low sodium diet but love cookies. The sodium level in baking soda is 1280 mg per teaspoon i can have only 200 per meal so most baked goods are not allowed.
Thanks for this post. I tried this recipe with an additional ingredient , Cocoa powder. I guess it reduced the sweetness a little bit too. Cookies were crisp and chewy.
I was happy that it was not cakey. Absolute rich and delicious choco chip cookies!
I just had a question can i make these without vanilla or chocolate chips?
and instead use coconut and pineapple or peanut butter coconut?
or brown sugar?
I wanted to make it now but i just wanted to know can i use those ingredients 🙂
I don’t think it’s always a question of “why don’t you have baking soda in your pantry”. I have baking soda in my pantry but I absolutely HATE the taste of bitter soda in my baking, not to mention I ABHOR cakey textured cookies and brownies, so I’ve given up using leavening agents except in cakes.
Also it’s partly a cultural norm to use baking soda/ powder, in every baked good recipe, that prevails in US/ UK/ Australia but not always the rest of the world. Germany, Austria and Switzerland, countries which are so mad about baking that it’s a cultural custom to eat cake and other baked goods everyday at 4pm, rarely include leavening agents in their cookie / brownie / pancake recipes. My German in laws (who are also crazy about baking) always respond with derision regarding the widespread use of leavening agents in the US/ Australia.
i listened to the recipe and browned the butter for the first time…i let it cool a few minutes and then added in the sugar…of course it did not ‘cream’ its all gooey and now i have no idea what to do 🙁 i didnt realise you were supposed to let it cool back to a solid…you should probably add that in here so that others do not make this mistake!!!
Great recipe! It turned out great. It tastes amazing. Altough I replaced powder sugar with brown sugar it’s amazing. I made dough for 3 batches, the chocolate chip amount is too much. Better eyeball the chocolate chip amount.
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These cookies were phenomenal. I did make two small changes to the butter (i used half Earth Balance Buttery Spread and half coconut oil) and I didn’t use brown sugar (I used coconut sugar). I might double the recipe next time because 12 doesn’t last long within my reach!
Definitely double the recipe! So glad you enjoyed!
I found your recipe because we are vacationing in a condo and I want to make chocolate chip cookies but forgot to bring baking soda or powder. So happy I can still make them! Thanks so much! Also, I knew the difference between baking soda & powder but didn’t know that adding more brown sugar makes the cookies chewier! Yay!
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I just made these and OMG they are amazing!!!
I added a little bit of cinnamon with the vanilla and it was quite a nice taste! I would recommend this recipe to anyone! This will be my go to cookie recipe from now on! Love it!
I’m fond of making giant cookies in cast iron skillets. When you pack the entire bottom of the pan with cookie dough, the dough expands but it has nowhere to go except up. So, it rises and produces a thick cake-like cookie, often an inch and a half thick. Now, the only thing wrong with that is that it’s more of a cookie-cake than a cookie. So, I tried the recipe without baking soda as you write here. The result was a batch of very soft, gooey cookies. 🙂
Thank you so much, Baker Bettie. I just moved into a new place and in the midst of all the moving, shopping, wine drinking, etcetera – I completely forgot to pick up an essential in the kitchen. And at midnight when all you want to do is bake cookies, there is not much one can do about it.
I loved the science lesson and appreciate all the tips and tricks! Browning the butter? Stick, please. Salting the tops? Dat rise, dough! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Also. You writing is quite witty. 🙂
-Sarah
This is an awesome post.
If you were to add peanut butter and cocoa, how much would you add?
Just to add some interest to your day, I live in a country in South America, and here, baking soda is apparently NOT a common pantry ingredient. I asked my neighbors here if they had any on hand, and they said, “No, sorry.” They apparently don’t often use it in baking. You can’t even get it in grocery stores. If you want it, you have to get sodium bicarbonate at a pharmacy!
Thank you for sharing.
I followed the recipe and all the steps to the tee, but my cookies kind of just melted down filling the whole pan nice and soupy like. Is there something I’m missing? Everything was spaced right, it was just that the cookies literally melted into just a liquid.
Your question,”Why don’t you have baking soda, baking powder in your pantry?” The answer is restricted low sodium diet due to chronic kidney disease, heart disease, and or diabetes.
Your search engine has so many hits due to people, yes, not having these pantry staples on hand but also due to what I said previously. Living with these restricted diets is extremely hard. Processed foods are out. Finding foods and trying to convert recipes for Low sodium life isn’t easy for a lot of people. That’s why we thank you for the lesson and for the recipe.
One site suggests potassium bicarbonate as a sub for baking soda, equal amounts.
I just took these cookies out of the oven and tweaked the recipe a tad. I simply added a half a cup of chopped walnuts (since I had walnuts on hand and like them in cookies) and 1 tsp of baking powder (since I only had this and not baking soda and I still wanted a little rise in the cookie). I was fortunate enough to have 60% large Ghirardelli’s dark chocolate chips, too. I like the amount of vanilla called for, especially since I had organic vanilla. I especially liked the technique of browning the butter beforehand and agree this made the batter taste extra scrumptious. I had coarse sea salt on hand and sprinkled it on the tops before baking and thought this was a great idea as this will definitely amp the flavor up! So I ended up making 1 dozen cookies, using a 1/4 measuring cup, but filling it about 2/3-3/4 full and the cookies ended up the perfect size. I might eat some warmed up with some vanilla ice cream on top, like a pizookie (BJ’s, lol) . Thanks for this recipe!
The cookies came out so goopy! Eww!
My cookies didn’t flatten in the oven, so they came out as balls. Do you have any idea what may have caused it and how I can make them flat next time?
Thank you for recipe 🙂 yet to try it. I read the first part of your blog and I thought I would answer your question regarding the baking soda. I have the soda in my pantry – but I can taste it in cookies so prefer not to use it.
Hi I just wanted to say that this was very helpful and I have been looking for recipes without the baking soda part in them and I couldn’t really find any so I just wanted to say thank you. (Writing while I am eating the cookies I just made from this recipe)
I’m so glad this was helpful!
Made this cookie, great base recipe, I made a few changes or rather additions, I used butter at room temperature, added 1 teaspoon of cocoa as I thought the cooikes in the image here was too white, used only the egg yolk of one egg with 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract, and finally I added 1 table spoon of almond flour, just becauseI thought the dough was way too soft. Then I put the dough in my freezer to stiffen up a bit, while the oven pre heated. I WANTED and Got a crunchy cookie. They are awesome. So this is my new go to cookie recipe. No baking powder or soda! Thanks so much.
That’s awesome Nicole! Thanks for sharing your tweaks!
Praise the Lord for these delicious cookies! For some reason mine don’t flatten as much as the ones in your picture but they are so delicious! My husband and I just got married and haven’t picked up baking soda/powder at the store so these have been a life saver for those sugar cravings.
Thanks for sharing!!!!
You’re so welcome, Kaitlin! And CONGRATS to you two newlyweds!!!
I just made these cookies and have to say they have been quite disappointing 🙁 the batter did not taste good when I tried it before baking, but felt hopeful that the cookies just needed a good bake. However, now that the cookies are out and cooled, the taste of the flour in the cookies is so prominent you can hardly enjoy anything else in them. Maybe need to add more sugar and butter or something.
Hi Briana,
So sorry to hear these didn’t work out for you. It sounds like you may have over-measured your flour, as this is a common issue in baking. Can I ask how you measured your flour? You want to lightly spoon it into your measuring cup without packing it down at all and then level it off. I am going to update the recipe and include weight measurements as well as this is the most accurate way to measure your ingredients.
Thank you! I’ve been looking for this simple answer for EVER. I think using powder might help my flat cookie syndrome so I’ll start at 2 1/2 times of powder per the called for soda. And yes, I have tried ALL the other ‘tricks” to reduce spreading. Thanks again, Louis
You’re welcome, Louis!
Thanks so much this recipe is a life saver!
You’re welcome, Kim! My pleasure 🙂
very nice
Thank you!
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these cookies were terrific! family loved them. only iddue is they came out in balls and didnt flaten. any suggestions for next time?
A couple things could be the issue with that. Make sure not to pack the flour down into your measuring cups, but lightly spoon it in and level it off. Too much flour could cause them not to spread. Other than that, it’s possible your oven is baking too hot causing the outside of the cookie to set before the butter starts to melt. Maybe try turning the oven temp down a bit so that they have more time to spread out before setting. Hope that helps Mike!
Excellent recipe. Cookies turned out AMAZING!
Wonderful! Thank you, Teri Lynn!