Swedish Ammonia Cookies
Submitted by slloyd
Classic Swedish butter cookies leavened with baker’s ammonia for an impossibly light, crisp, melt-on-your-tongue texture. Just 5 ingredients, shaped into small balls, and baked low and slow. An old-world Scandinavian recipe.
YIELD
2 dozenPREP
10 minCOOK
15 minREADY
3 hrsBaker’s ammonia might sound strange, but Scandinavian bakers have relied on it for generations, and for good reason.
It creates a dry, shattering crispness that baking powder and baking soda simply can’t match. These cookies practically dissolve the moment they hit your tongue.
The dough itself could not be simpler: butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, and that teaspoon of ammonia salt. Cream it all together, chill for a few hours, roll into small balls, and bake low and slow.
What comes out of the oven is a pale, delicate cookie with a rich butter flavor and the lightest texture you’ve ever bitten into.
Chef Tips
- Don’t panic about the ammonia smell during baking. It bakes off completely and leaves zero taste or odor in the finished cookie.
- Keep the balls small. These spread and puff slightly, and smaller cookies get that all-the-way-through crispness you’re after.
- Baker’s ammonia (ammonium carbonate) can be found at specialty baking shops or online. It’s not the same as household ammonia, so don’t even think about substituting.
Ingredients
Directions
Cream the butter; add sugar and cream thoroughly, using an electric beater if possible.
Beat in the sifted flour, ammonia salt, and vanilla.
Put in refrigerator for a few hours, then shape into small balls and bake in a slow oven (300 dgrees F).
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