Lemonia Cookies - a blast from the past
My grandmother used to make a very unusual cookie that had a lemon flavoured, cake-like texture and emitted a faint scent of ammonia. The special cookie ingredients came in a small box, which I believe she purchased at the drugstore. The contents of the box seemed a bit mysterious, not to mention dangerous, but in retrospect, I suppose the box contained the baker's ammonia and lemon oil required to make the Lemonia cookies. I am not suggesting that anyone attempt to make these cookies today, ( too many ingredients that seem like cleaning fluids), but it is interesting to consider what tempted cooks 50 years ago. The recipe that follows must have made a huge heap of cookies.
Ingredients:
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons bakers' ammonia
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup lard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon oil
6 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Dissolve the ammonia in the milk, and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the lard and sugar until smooth. Mix in the lemon oil, eggs, and salt. Stir in the milk alternately with the flour to form a soft dough. Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls. Place 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten the cookies using the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm. Remove from the cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
Editorial Note: Ammonium carbonate or "baker's ammonia" was a forerunner to the more modern leavening agents known as baking soda and baking powder. Ammonium carbonate when crushed is used as a 'smelling salt' to revive someone who has fainted. (You may have seen this sort of intervention in the movies.)
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