If you haven’t heard of cream of tartar by now, then the first thing we should get out of the way is that in fact, it is not creamy at all. In fact, if you don’t see a label saying what it is you will easily confuse it with baking powder. Yup, it is a white powdery stuff that comes to be from the process of wine making. It is a much appreciated ingredient among the cooking society especially for recipes that need leavening or stabilizing. But, no worries, even if you don’t have this magical ingredient at hand there is one cream of tartar substitute that you are sure to have around the household.
The Best Cream of Tartar Substitute
The truth is you can omit the cream of tartar altogether, or at least that’s what I’ve read in this interesting article that contains info on cream of tartar substitute, use and more. According to this same article, the best cream of tartar substitute is an acidic element, like lemon juice or vinegar. And we all have these ingredients at hand, right? Honestly, I wouldn’t use vinegar for the life of me because the sole thought on my meringues being tart (at least not vinegary tart) so lemon juice is what I opt for. (You can go for other acidic ingredients sour milk, white wine, buttermilk, yogurt, or kefir being the most sought for cream of tartar substitutes).
To use lemon juice, replace a teaspoon of cream of tartar with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and with baking soda (½ teaspoon of it). If you want to stabilize your egg whites, then add half a teaspoon of this cream of tartar substitute for each egg white.
Needless to say, this cream of tartar substitute goes perfectly well with fruit-based recipes, including my all-time favorite one.
The Best Cream of Tartar Substitute Recipe
My all-time favorite recipe that calls for cream of tartar, and with that cream of tartar substitute is the one for the snickerdoodle cookies. These classic sugar cookies are so irresistible precisely because of their buttery inside and crispy outer side. It turns out, it is cream of tartar that ensures your snickerdoodle cookies are perfectly leavened.
1 cup of butter
1 ½ cups of sugar
2 ¾ cups of flour
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons cream of tartar (or 4 tablespoons of lemon juice and one of baking soda)
A pinch of salt
3 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
In a large bowl mix the butter, sugar (making sure you leave three tablespoons aside), vanilla extract and eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, the lemon juice, baking soda, and salt. Blend everything together, once the dough is formed let it chill. Meanwhile, in yet another bowl, mix the 3 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon. Scoop an inch glob of dough into the cinnamon mixture and coat by gently rolling the balls of dough into it. Bake for around 10 minutes.
Enjoy these beauties with a nice cold glass of milk. The perfect breakfast!