HELP! gingerbread cookie recipe without baking soda/powder?

[hermanne]

Does anyone have a recipe for gingerbread cookies, that I can roll out and use cookie cutters, without the baking soda or powder? (Baking soda doesn't agree with most of the family.) My internet searches are coming up empty, and I need this ASAP.

TIA, thank you, thank you!

[Outdoor Girl]

My sugar cookie recipe uses cream of tarter as the leavening agent.  Maybe try substituting with that?

[hermanne]

Would that been an even exchange, i.e. 1 teaspoon of baking powder = 1 teaspoon of cream of tarrtar?

[camlan]

Both baking soda and baking powder are leavening agents--they make cookies and cakes rise. Baking soda needs an acid to work, which is why you often find recipes using both baking soda and buttermilk. Baking powder is baking soda with the acid already added--and that acid is often cream of tartar, which is an acid. Cream of tartar by itself won't make the cookies rise.

Since baking soda is high in sodium, I tried googling low sodium gingerbread cookie recipes, but they all seem to call for at least 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda.

There is a salt-free baking soda out there. It might not contain whatever ingredient your family is sensitive to--I think it is also gluten free and free from a couple of other things I can't remember off-hand. I realize this doesn't help you right now, but it's something to look into for the future.

You could try the cream of tartar. Or you could try your regular recipe without the baking soda/powder. The cookies might not come out the way you expect, but they might taste okay.

I did come across a gluten-free recipe that didn't have baking soda, but it required brown rice flour, which most people don't have in their kitchens regularly.

[Outdoor Girl]

Try a one to one exchange.  There is no other leavening agent in my sugar cookies and they do puff up a bit.  My gingerbread recipe doesn't have very much soda in it; they don't really puff up at all.  So they might work just fine without anything for leavening.

[jedikaiti]

I asked my BF (the chef) and he suggests using about 1 tsp of yeast, and letting that sit for 30-45 minutes, or using 2-3 times the eggs called for, and whipping them up (whole eggs, not just whites) until they're about 2x normal volume, before mixing them in with the other ingredients.

Let us know what you do, and how it turns out!

[hermanne]

Thank you everyone for your replies!

I'm going to go the simple route and just omit the baking powder. (I'm trying to avoid all stores for the next couple of days.) I'm hoping to make it tomorrow; there's some kind of stomach bug that's hitting us one by one. DS and I had it, DH came home early because of it, and I'm crossing my fingers that DD doesn't get it.

I'll let you know!

[hermanne]

Update:

I made my regular recipe without the baking power, and the cookies came out good, and good tasting! The lack of leavening is not noticeable.

My recipe doesn't have eggs (I guess because I got it from a kids' cooking site, and they expect kids to lick the spoon/bowl/fingers), so I really whipped up the wet ingredients. Either that was a mistake or my math was faulty (I halved the recipe) because it came out too sticky. I had to knead in more flour until it felt right.

But it rolled out and baked just right. Thanks again all!

[Chip2]

Some baking powders contain aluminium; that might be causing the discomfort.  However, it's very easy to find the aluminium-free stuff.

But you don't necessarily need to use chemical leavening in cookies as long as the acid/base combination is in balance.  You'll just end up with a crispier cookie.  You'll almost definitely need it in a cake, though.