Name: Dark Cookies
Ingredients: 10 gallons molasses; 32 lbs lard; 4 lbs baking soda; 2½ gallons water; 1 lb cinnamon; 1 lb allspice; 1 barrel flour

Why it works: Cinnamon and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,536 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Dark 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 molasses, lard, and water.
Add baking soda, cinnamon, and allspice, mixing well.
Gradually incorporate flour until a dough forms.

Shape and bake

Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until firm.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,536 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,341 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Molasses + cinnamontop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,928 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Allspice + flourtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,302 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Molasses + allspicetop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,508 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Molasses: Adds dark color, moisture, and a rich sweetness to the dough.
Lard: Provides fat for tenderness and a short, crumbly texture.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acidic molasses to help the cookies rise and brown.
Flour: Forms the structure that holds the dough together and sets when baked.