Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Spice Jumbles and 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.
Make the dough
In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar and cottage or lard until well blended.
Add molasses and eggs, mixing thoroughly.
Gradually incorporate flour and baking soda until a dough forms.
Shape and bake
Shape the dough into cookies and place them on a baking sheet.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until golden brown.
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.
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.
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness, moisture and a deep caramel flavor to the cookies.
- Cottolene or lard
- Provides fat for tenderness and a short, crumbly texture.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color and a rich, slightly bitter flavor.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add structure and richness.
- Flour
- Forms the gluten and starch network that gives the cookies their structure.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that lifts the cookies and aids browning.
The step that matters
Gradually incorporate flour and baking soda. Adding flour gradually keeps the dough evenly mixed and prevents lumps of baking soda, which can leave bitter, soapy spots and uneven rising. Overmixing once flour is in develops gluten and can toughen the cookies.
“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.
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