What happens if you leave out the salt in a cookie recipe?

Answer 1

If you've already done it, then you can increase the rest of the ingredients to equal the extra salt you added. For example, if you added a tablespoon of salt instead of a teaspoon, then triple all of the remaining ingredients as well. It will make a larger batch of cookies, but at least it will save you from throwing the whole batch out. Depending on the type of cookie you're making, you could freeze the extras and bake at a later time without any additional work.

If you didn't add that much extra, then you could just add some extra sugar, or dried fruits, to offset the saltiness. The texture of the baked cookie, however, may turn out differently since the chemistry of the recipe has now changed. Since sugar melts when exposed to moisture or when heated, your cookies may turn out thinner and crispier than they otherwise would be.

Normally, when cookie recipes call for any fat other than butter, regardless of what the recipe says, I simply and quite literally add just a 'pinch' of salt per recipe. (If I make a double batch, then I'll add two pinches, and so on.) When recipes call for butter or unsalted butter, I always use 'salted butter' and add no additional salt whatsoever. The cookies always look and taste great, and I never have to worry about them being salty.

Answer 2

You can quite easily just omit the salt in any cookie recipe, since it does not affect how the cookie rises or the texture, just the taste. However it's wise to keep a pinch in there for flavour - if you've ever made bread and accidentally forgotten to put salt in, you'll realise why it's necessary in baked goods.

Answer 3

You could put a lot more baking soda in than is needed without ruining the cookies. The baking soda would cook out and make some extra bubbles in the batter but probably would not be noticeable.

Answer 4

I just did this the other day and I added about 1/4 of brown sugar and a little bit extra flour (1-2TBS) and it solved the problem.

Answer 5

Double the recipe or throw it out and start over.

Answer 6

There is no way to remove baking powder after it has been mixed into the cookie dough. You should bake a few cookies from the dough to determine whether the results are palatable.

Answer 7

Nothing significant. The salt will just help to bring the flavor out a little more.

Answer 8

You can add a little milk or water. If you added a lot of extra flour and the cookies called for eggs you could add an extra egg.