What's The Difference Between Baking Soda & Baking Powder?
Three batches, one variable, and a surprisingly big difference. A quick, very edible look at baking soda vs. baking powder.
Or, the science fair project that turned into a cookie masterclass
I may have nudged my second grader toward a food-based science fair project… and found myself fully invested.
I knew the science going in, but it was a great excuse to revisit it, slow it down, and share a little kitchen chemistry. He was mostly focused on eating the results, which, honestly, feels like the correct takeaway.
We kept it simple.
Three batches of chocolate chip cookies. Same dough, same scoop, same tray, same parchment, same oven, same rack. 375°F across the board. The only variable:
- Batch one: baking soda
- Batch two: baking powder
- Batch three: nothing at all
I’ll be honest, I expected a difference. I didn’t expect this much of one.
And suddenly, we were in full food science mode… over cookies.
Yay science.
The Setup (a.k.a. how we kept it fair)
We used a straightforward chocolate chip cookie base. Not my usual go-to recipe, but perfect for testing: