I found a recipe that I really like, but sometimes it gets too "airy" and I'm wondering if it's the baking powder. I Googled BP and it said that it makes tiny gas bubbles in dough, and I don't want gassy dough!! I have already cut it down from 2tsp to 1tsp for 5 cups of flour, what happens if I just take it all out, or substitute a tsp of baking soda? TIA!!

When you mix the butter/sugar/eggs, its incorporate air also... so I will say it again, don't over mix it... I tell you that because I know you are using the same recipe as me..

I'm not sure what would happen if you take it out completely - I've never tried that. I also reduce the amount in my recipe.

As for substituting baking soda, I think chemically they react differently - one needs an acid to react, the other doesn't (If I understand correctly).

There are some cookie recipes out there that don't have either baking powder or baking soda and they work fine. I've tried it and they are OK, just a little more dense than usual.

the cookie craft recipe has no baking powder in it, and it is light and lovely.
i use it all the time because it rises evenly and has a nice flat surface to decorate on.

you get the rise from the creaming of the butter and sugar. creaming the sugar into the butter incorporates air into the dough. they are not dense or heavy. but, and this is a big but, do not overcream. to much of a good thing will not make good flat cookies. a minute is about what i do.

The thing is, is that I know not to overcream the butter and sugar, so I do it until the lumps are *just* out of of butter, like 30-45 seconds, if that. And they STILL get crinkly and fluffy sometimes. I love this recipe but it seems like each time I like a recipe I like it at first and then it starts doing wierd things that it didn't do in the beginning and then I don't like it so much. I hate the NFSC recipe and I thought I really found my recipe in The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies. I think I need to try a few more.

I never use BP or BS on my cookie decorating dough . I find that without it they do not loose their shape

I never use baking powder in my recipe for decorating cookies and they come out with very good shape.

Oh good, now I'm excited to try it without next time!! Thank you for the advice/opinions!!

i get the crinkly "elephant" thing going on when i roll my cookies out if the dough is too warm. i have no idea why. so i make my dough, refrigerate it a tad in disc form, no rolling (15 minutes), then bring it out, roll it, cut and refridgerate again before baking to prevent spread.