Smorster

Ammonia Cookies (1919)

B. Dylan Hollis · 1m 00s · Watch on YouTube · 9 sources

Decision Card

Effort: One afternoon — buy food-grade baker’s ammonia (ammonium carbonate / hartshorn) online for ~$8, then bake one batch of thin, low-moisture cookies (~1 hour active) to taste the “honeycomb cloud” texture for yourself.

Honest take: The video’s reassurance that “heat activates and destroys the ammonia so there’s none left” is only reliably true for thin, dry cookies like this disc — in thicker or moister bakes the ammonia odor can linger, which is the real reason the ingredient fell out of home use, a caveat Hollis glosses over while waving away danger.

Concrete next steps:

  • Order food-grade baker’s ammonia and bake one small test batch this weekend (~1 hr) — see LorAnn’s baking-with-ammonia guide for handling
  • Read the leavening-agent comparison at BAKERpedia to understand why ammonia gives crispness baking powder can’t (~15 min)
  • Skip if you only bake thick, moist goods (cakes, soft drop cookies) — the ammonia smell won’t fully bake out and baking powder is the better tool

TL;DR

A self-described “never uploaded” 2021 clip in which B. Dylan Hollis bakes 1919 “ammonia cookies” leavened with ammonium carbonate (baker’s ammonia), the same compound found in smelling salts. The raw dough reeks of ammonia, but after baking at 300°F the smell is gone and the cookies come out uniquely soft-yet-crisp, “like a cloud of honeycomb.”

Key Points

  • The clip was shelved since 2021 because Hollis feared viewers would think the star ingredient was dangerous 00:01
  • Ammonium carbonate placed under the nose can revive the unconscious — it’s the active compound in smelling salts 00:12
  • It’s also called “baker’s ammonia” because it helps cookies rise 00:16
  • The recipe: ½ lb butter, 1⅓ cups sugar, 1 tsp almond extract, 1 tsp ammonia, 2 cups flour, 1 cup coconut 00:18
  • The ammonia is overpowering in the raw mix — Hollis says it instantly woke him up and smells “like death” 00:25
  • He claims the bake is safe because heat activates and destroys the ammonia, leaving none after baking — you just can’t eat the raw dough 00:37
  • Baked at 300°F for 20 minutes 00:43
  • The finished cookie is unlike any he’s had — somehow both soft and crispy, “like a cloud of honeycomb” 00:53

Notable Quotes

“I didn’t do so because I feared many would think the star ingredient was dangerous — it isn’t, it’s just unusual.” 00:03

“Didn’t know I was going to be baking with chemical weapons today.” 00:32

“Somehow soft and crispy, like a cloud of honeycomb, but I I can’t quite describe it.” 00:55

Verified Claims

  • Ammonium carbonate is the active compound in smelling salts and can revive the unconscious. 00:12 — Britannica: Smelling salts, Wikipedia: Smelling salts. Verdict: Confirmed — the ammonia gas irritates nasal membranes, triggering an inhalation reflex.
  • “Baker’s ammonia” helps cookies rise (it’s a leavening agent). 00:16 — BAKERpedia: Baker’s Ammonia, America’s Test Kitchen. Verdict: Confirmed — it was the primary chemical leavener before baking soda and powder.
  • Heat decomposes the ammonia so it’s destroyed/gone after baking. 00:37 — Heritage Cookies: Chemical Leavening Agents, Tasting Table. Verdict: Disputed/Conditional — thermal decomposition (into ammonia gas, CO₂, and water) does occur, but the ammonia only fully dissipates in thin, low-moisture bakes; thicker/moister goods can retain a lingering odor. Hollis’s flat “there’s none left” holds for this thin cookie but is not universally true.
  • The cookie is uniquely crisp/porous in texture. 00:53 — BAKERpedia. Verdict: Confirmed — baker’s ammonia increases crispiness and porosity by leaving air cells from which moisture readily escapes, exactly the honeycomb effect described.
  • The raw dough smells strongly of ammonia and shouldn’t be eaten. 00:42 — LorAnn: Baking with Ammonia. Verdict: Confirmed — the pungent ammonia smell in unbaked dough is expected and bakes off in suitable recipes.

Tools, Papers & Standards Mentioned

Follow-up Questions

  1. At what dough thickness or moisture level does residual ammonia odor become noticeable, and is there a measurable threshold bakers use to decide between baker’s ammonia and baking powder?
  2. How does the flavor and texture of this 1919 recipe change if you substitute baking powder 1:1 — does the “honeycomb” quality survive at all?
  3. Is the food-grade ammonium carbonate sold today chemically identical to what a 1919 home baker would have used, or have purity/formulation standards shifted?

Sources