Chemistry of Cookies

06Dec,2024

Chemistry of Cookies

BY : Rhiannon Nevinczenko

Did you know that baking holiday cookies is actually a chemistry activity?

There is a reason that cookie recipes require such specific measurements of certain ingredients. If the ratios are incorrect, the chemical reactions will not go quite the way you want them to. Baking soda, when heated, chemically decomposes into water and carbon dioxide gas. This allows the cookies to rise and achieve the correct texture. Salt slows down the decomposition process, preventing the carbon dioxide bubbles from getting too big (which would result in collapsed cookies). The molecules in the egg yolk, butter, and flour are also transformed by the heat of the oven, taking on new shapes. Flour contains the protein gluten. When gluten and albumin egg protein work together, they hold the baked treat together and give it the right structure. Finally, sucrose (table sugar) is broken down into its simpler components: glucose and fructose, to which the cookie owes its toasty crust.

Chemistry can be tasty!

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk via Pexels (Pexels license).

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