This didn't work

I tried this and it didn't work. I am guessing it is because this recipe calls for 4 teaspoons of baking soda. It has no acid, since there is only white sugar, not brown, and anyway it would be far too much. The cookies almost burned in 10 minutes (and my oven is lower temp than most) and were flat and hard. They have a good flavor initially, but there is so much sugar it almost burns the tongue afterwards.