Chocolate Cardamom Ammonia Cookies

Chocolate cardamom ammonia cookies are a 1930’s chocolate and cardamom spiced cookie containing an old-fashioned baking ingredient – baking ammonia – to give them a characteristically light and airy, yet crispy texture.  

About Ammonia Cookies

Did I say ammonia? Yes! As in baking ammonia. Baking ammonia, also called ammonium bicarbonate, carbonate of ammonia or hartshorn, is an old-fashioned ingredient that was used as a baking leavener before baking soda and powder were commercially produced.

Baking ammonia allows cookies to achieve a characteristically light and airy, yet crispy texture that is hard to replicate. It is also used to achieve a similar texture in crackers. It works well with baked goods with low moisture and provides a more uniform cookie, as it prevents them from spreading too much.

You may have seen recipes for ammonia cookies in older cookbooks, especially in ones with European and Scandinavian heritages. Although it is not as readily available as it once was, you can still find find it today. I purchase mine online here (not a sponsored link). If you can’t find it you can easily substitute equal parts baking powder; however, you will not be able to replicate the same texture that baking ammonia provides.

Baking ammonia smells just like its cleaning counterpart – it’s very strong! Although it is different than cleaning ammonia (which is actually toxic if ingested), it should still never be smelled or sniffed directly. Not to worry though, baking ammonia is perfectly safe and the smell disappears during baking.

About this Recipe

This recipe originated from my family’s recipe files. My great-grandma had many notebooks full of recipes, including many recipes for cookies. For each recipe, she recorded the date it was obtained and this particular one is from 1935. This also happened to be one of my grandpa’s favorite type of cookie.

This version has a light chocolate flavor with a warm and subtle spiciness from the cardamom. The dough is rolled in granulated sugar to give it a slight “crunch” on the outside. These cookies originally contained half butter, half lard. I have substituted half butter and half shortening instead.  

I have also updated the recipe to include step-by-step instructions. This recipe is one of my family recipes that contains no directions (this was actually common for recipes in older cookbooks to contain little or no direction – especially if the recipe was considered simple or easy for a baker).

Tips for Chocolate Cardamom Ammonia Cookies

• The cocoa in this recipe is mixed with melted butter. Don’t skip this step, as this allows the chocolate mixture to incorporate smoothly into the batter.
• You will notice the recipe also does not contain any eggs – which is not a typo! The baking ammonia allows these cookies to still achieve their characteristic texture without them.
• Do not directly smell or sniff baking ammonia directly. Do or eat raw cookie dough containing baking ammonia.
• The smell of baking ammonia will disappear during baking.
• These cookies will continue to crisp as they cool.
• Store in an airtight container for 72 hours. These cookies will also keep frozen in an airtight container for up to 45 days.

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