This recipe came into our family from a good neighbor, Mrs. Alma Redic.  She was great friends with Mark's grandmother Ruby Sergent (Suzanne's great aunt).  These two ladies lived here on the creek for many years.  After Alma was widowed and got older, she sold her farm and moved to a little house closer to town.  Every day, after "their story" (soap opera), Alma and Ruby would talk on the phone: sharing memories, talking about their current happenings and giggling like two little girls!  They are both gone now and we sure do miss them.  Alma had no children but her niece still keeps in touch with us.  Alma's legacy lives on with this recipe:

Alma's Ammonia Cookies (aka Lemon Crackers)

1 Cup shortening

3 Cups sugar

1 pint milk

4 teaspoons Baker's Ammonia dissolved in 1/2 of the milk (you must buy this from a pharmacy counter)

3 eggs

2 drams lemon oil (these are 2 little bottles of the flavoring also sold at the pharmacy counter)

10 – 12 Cups of all-purpose flour

This recipe makes a LOT of cookies, at least 15 dozen (you could cut the recipe in half).  This recipe is also hard to mix.  We start it out in the Kitchen Aid mixer and then after 1/2 of the flour is incorporated, we move it to the dome of my Tupperware cake taker to finish working in the flour.  It also helps to have a big strong guy to help you stir in the last of the flour.  To roll out an entire batch of these, I usually cover my dining room table with freezer paper that is placed shiny-side up and taped down securely with masking tape.  Seal the seams between rows of paper with the masking tape.  Then when you are done, just roll up the paper and throw it away.

Cream the shortening and the sugar.

Add beaten eggs and remaining ingredients, stirring well with each addition.  You will want to add the flour about one cup at a time.  After about the 5th cup, you will have to move to a biigger bowl.  This makes a very dry, stiff dough. Don't add so much flour that the  dough doesn't stick together.  We usually make these for Christmas, so the house humidity is low when we make them.  We usually get all 12 cups of flour in.

Roll out and cut with cookie cutters.  Roll the dough fairly thin – 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch for the best cookies.  This dough works well with intricately-shaped cutters.  Use a skewer or toothpick to poke the dough out of small sections as you lift up your cutter.  You can also use a straw or something to make a hole in the cookie for hanging as an ornament.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 375 degrees until brown on the bottom of the cookie.  The top of the cookie will look fairly pale.  The bottom and just up the sides should be a golden brown.

WARNING – Keep your face away from the oven door as you open it!  The ammonia will turn into a gas during the baking process (the gas bubbles are what leaven the cookie).  The strong odor of the ammonia coming out the oven door will really hit you if you have your face too close.  It is a good idea to run your stove's exhaust hood on high while baking these cookies.

You can decorate these cookies with any iciing of your choice.  You could also color little batches of the dough with food coloring if you wanted to make colored cookies.

Cool on wire racks or towels spread out.  Store in a cookie tin.

These cookies will keep fresh for up to 3 months if sealed in a tin with a nice, tight lid.  These are also excellent for shipping overseas to soldiers because of their durability and freshness.

These cookies have an excellent, light lemon taste. You CANNOT taste the ammonia after the cookie is baked.  The ammonia floats away in the baking process.

Enjoy!

Suzanne said:

Cindy–yes, it's just because I know, LOL.  They should come up with a new term for it that doesn't include the word ammonia.

Suzanne – You can call them Lemon Crackers.  Remember, you tried and loved ramps so this isn't any worse than that!