Tucked around Savannah’s River Street and beyond the many historic Forrest Gumpish squares, toque-topped birds and cartoony cookie jars greet visitors. Stepping over the Byrd Cookie Company welcome mat, bite-sized cookies in flavors like Key Lime Cooler, Cupcake, classic Chocolate Chip and Georgia Peach are ready for taste testing. At every store’s cookie bar, you can sample all of their ten featured flavors, or focus on a handful of your favorite.
Since 1924, the Byrd Cookie Company in Savannah, Georgia has baked their way into local, and now national fame. The cookie starting it all was their Scotch Oatmeal Cookie. Benjamin “Pop” Byrd sold bite-sized, crispy cookies out of his Model-T Ford pickup at 2-cents a piece. The secret behind their flavorful cookies? Crispy and bite-sized! Much like potato chips…you can’t eat just one! Trust me. I’ve tried.
Another lesser known Savannah attraction in the historic district is the Webb Military Museum. After visiting all of the more well-known things to do, Trip Advisor suggested Webb Military Museum. Son B was immediately interested, and we walked out impressed. Tucked into the relatively small space is a range of military memorabilia and artifacts dating back to the U.S. Civil War.
The museum’s owner, Gary Webb, was inspired by his own family history to begin collecting military memorabilia as a hobby. His father served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II, while his mother was a teenager in London, England at the same time. Her stories of air raids and nighttime bombings intrigued Gary. As he learned more about his mother, Gary discovered one side of her family had strong ties to the German military. Gary’s great uncle, Dr. Friedrich Daeschlein, served as Joseph Goebbels’ doctor in Nazi Germany. He received the white cross ribbon from Hitler for giving first aid to Hermann Goring after he was in a car accident. Having family serving on both the Axis and Allies sides of WWII was quite a juxtaposition for Gary to consider.
Other unique items in Webb’s Military Museum include a bowl hammered out of metal from the USS Maine that sank off the coast of Cuba in February 1898. Vials of Pervitin (aka crystal meth) are on display. Pervitin was issued to German soldiers during the Wehrmacht’s WWII Blitzkrieg, and throughout the war, to help them stay awake for days on end fighting. (Blitzkrieg translates to “Lightning War” and lasted from 1939 to 1941. Webb’s mother experienced this firsthand.)
Another museum piece is a sobering reminder of the atrocities and brutality of war. Scrawled on the back of a photo taken in 1968 Vietnam, Captain Herbert Lloyd wrote:
Left side of LZ VAGEL. You can see we had to blast it a little with arty to take it. We lost 76 men taking it. The valley in the foreground was well fortified and there are 9 helicopters lying in the bottom that were shot down the first two days.
Tucked in among the thousands of items is Savannah’s own B.T. Byrd’s WWII Army Air Corp dress uniform. A chip off of the original Byrd cookie, B.T. was known among his fellow servicemen for the family business, earning him the nickname “Cookie.” 1st Lieutenant Byrd served in the 4th Ferrying Unit transporting planes, supplies, and troops across the U.S. of A. and over “The Hump” in the China Burma India Theater. After WWII, Cookie Byrd helped expand the Byrd Cookie Company in the Savannah region.
This leads us back to the Byrd Cookie Company’s original treat–Scotch Oatmeal Cookies. These deep brown disks of deliciousness are not your typical oatmeal cookie. There’s not a drop of Scotch, or butterscotch baking chips, in them. The oatmeal and sweetness in these are subtle, with notes of cinnamon, raisin and a slight bitterness. Bakers ammonia is the culprit for the bitterness, as well as the distinct crispy crunch.
Bakers ammonia (aka ammonium carbonate) was used as a leavener before the invention of baking powder in the 1850’s. It’s typically used to rise low-moisture baked goods like crackers and cookies like these Scotch Oatmeal ones. A few notes of caution though–Ammonium carbonate is considered caustic, which means DO NOT eat raw cookie dough containing it. The dough also releases ammonia gas during the baking process. You’ll notice this smell as the cookies bake. After baking, the cookies are completely safe though. Also be sure to wash your hands after using and do not rub your eyes/face when handling the powder.
With these crisp sweets, I encourage you to have a glass of milk handy for dunking. You won’t be disappointed. Consider these other oatmeal inspired cookies as well:
Crispy, slightly sweet and cinnamon-y, a glass of milk is perfect for dunking these oh-so-easy to eat bite-sized oatmeal cookies in! Eating one is just not enough!
Author:Erin Thomas
Prep Time:15-20 Minutes
Cook Time:15-17 Min.
Total Time:About 1 Hour
Yield:58–62 2-inch Cookies 1x
Ingredients
Scale
1/3 c. raisins
3/4 c. water, boiling
2–3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1–3/4 tsp. salt (Kosher, table or sea)
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 T. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2–1/3 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. bakers ammonia (ammonium carbonate)*
7/8 c. quick-cooking oats
4 c. all-purpose flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two to three baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Place raisins in a medium-size bowl. Pour boiling water over the raisins and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 10 minutes to soften. Place raisins and water into a food processor. Blend until almost smooth. Set aside.
Using a standing or hand-held mixer, cream sugar and shortening until well combined. Add pureed raisins, salt, cinnamon, honey and vanilla. Blend well.
Pulse oats in a blender or food processor until a mixture of fine powder and broken flakes remains, about 15-20 seconds. Combine with baking soda, bakers ammonia and flour. Add to wet ingredients and combine until a cohesive mass of dough forms. **Bakers ammonia is caustic and should not be eaten in raw cookie dough. It is safe to eat once the dough has been cooked thoroughly.
Scoop dough by the tablespoonful onto prepared baking sheets. (A #30 (2 T.) or #60 (1 T. + 1/3 tsp.) sized ice cream scoop can also be used.) Bake cookies for 15-17 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely before removing. Cookies will harden as they cool.
Notes
*Bakers Ammonia or Ammonium Carbonate can be found online or in specialty cake and craft stores like Michael’s.
