Can I Use Baking Powder Instead Of Baking Soda

Okay, let’s settle this once and for all. You’re standing in your kitchen, halfway through a batch of cookies, and the recipe calls for baking soda. You open your pantry—and all you see is baking powder. Cue the dramatic sigh. Can you just swap them? Well, sort of, but it’s not a perfect love story.

Here’s the deal: these two are coworkers, not twins. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate—super strong and needs an acid (like lemon juice, buttermilk, or brown sugar) to activate. Baking powder is baking soda with a little acid built-in (hello, cream of tartar). So yes, you can substitute, but you’ll need to adjust. Use three times the amount of baking powder—so 1 teaspoon baking soda = 3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) baking powder. And if your recipe already has a lot of acidic ingredients? Brace yourself for a neutral, slightly metallic taste because you’re adding more acid—and nobody wants a cookie that tastes like a science experiment.

Also, a word to the wise: don’t try this in a recipe with no acid at all (like plain pancakes or shortbread). You’ll end up with flat, sad, soapy-tasting lumps that make your taste buds cry. I once did this to a batch of scones. They looked like hockey pucks. My husband still brings it up.

So, to answer the big question: yes, in a pinch, but think of it like wearing sneakers to a black-tie dinner—it works, but it’s not ideal. Your best bet? Keep both in your pantry. They’re like the peanut butter and jelly of baking—better together, but you can still survive with just one. And hey, even if your cookies aren’t perfect, you tried. That’s the sweetest ingredient of all.