My sister told me my cookies tasted like soap - she was right about the baking soda

I was making my go-to chocolate chip recipe for a family thing last month, and my sister took one bite and said they had a weird chemical taste. I brushed it off at first, but then I tried one myself and yeah, she was right. Turns out I'd been scooping baking soda straight from the box without leveling it off, so I was using way too much. Now I spoon it into the measuring spoon and level it with a knife, and my cookies actually taste like butter and sugar instead of a science experiment. Has anyone else had a family member call them out on a bad batch like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_dylan9h ago

Used to think leveling was just some fussy baker thing, but after one batch of metallic tasting cookies I started doing it too. Funny how such a small change makes everything actually taste like it should.

logan_dixon189h ago

Gotta say I've been scooping baking soda straight out of the box for like 15 years and nobody's ever complained about my cookies tasting like soap. Maybe my family just has bad taste buds or something, but I feel like a little extra leavening isn't gonna ruin a whole batch unless you're really going overboard. Plus I notice most people can't tell the difference unless you literally hand them a side-by-side comparison. idk, feels like one of those baking "rules" that gets blown way out of proportion on the internet.