Alright, so 'ask' here is just synonym for 'request', then.
Looked it up... most dictionaries don't have a noun form of 'ask', though macmillan has a separate page just for it. (It's also a Scandinavian myth about the first man made from an ash tree, but that's probably not the intended use from the OP)
As I said before, the word is more specific than "request". Yes, it's an ugly term, but no, you can't make it go away by pretending it means something different.
If that were the case, to 'make an ask' would in this case mean to make the cookie, which it doesn't.
It seems like 'ask' is a verb, not a noun - in which case it is synonymous with 'request'.
People seem to be arguing that it's a 'more specific' form of 'request', but I can't really see how you could make a nonspecific request.
Edit: Ha! I even confused myself... 'Ask' here is indeed a noun - like 'request' when used as a noun - but it still seems to refer to be entire request, not just the object (which is the point I was trying to make).
"Request" is a pretty broad term. An ask is focused, specific, planned. It's something more like "negotiating point" or "initial position" or "requirement" or "demand".
Looked it up... most dictionaries don't have a noun form of 'ask', though macmillan has a separate page just for it. (It's also a Scandinavian myth about the first man made from an ash tree, but that's probably not the intended use from the OP)