Why it works: Ginger and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the dough
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the molasses and egg, mixing well.
Stir in the baking soda, ginger, and cloves.
Gradually add flour until the dough is soft and manageable.
Shape and bake
Roll the dough into small balls and place them on a baking sheet.
Sprinkle the tops with sugar.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Molasses + clovetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,483 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps the cookies stay tender when creamed with sugar.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dough and helps it brown during baking.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, deep flavor, and a darker color to the cookies.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and adds structure as the cookies set.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to lift the cookies and help them spread and brown.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cookies together as they bake.
The step that matters
Gradually add flour until the dough is soft and manageable. Adding too much flour makes the dough stiff and dry, producing hard, dense cookies. Stopping when the dough is soft keeps the cookies tender.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, molasses, egg, ginger, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, molasses, egg, ginger, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
More ginger cookies recipes
You might also like
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Ginger Cake93 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipes
Soft Ginger Bread85 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.