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Dessert

Ginger Snaps III

A ginger cookie made with molasses, sugar, butter, ginger, soda, and flour, baked quickly.

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Why it works: Molasses and sugar 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 ↓

Ginger Snaps III

Ovena quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Mix molasses, sugar, ginger, and butter.

  2. Stir over the fire until the butter is melted.

  3. Stir in quickly 3 cups of Gold Medal flour that has been sifted with pulverized soda.

  4. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and set on ice, overnight if possible.

Roll and bake

  1. Roll as thin as pasteboard and bake in a quick oven.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

666Calories
13 gProtein
13 gFat
123 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

  5. Ginger + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,564 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

Molasses
Adds sweetness, moisture, and a dark color to the dough.
Soda
Reacts with the acidic molasses to lighten the cookie and help it brown.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the snaps turn crisp as they bake.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a tender texture.
Flour
Provides the structure that holds the thin snaps together.

The step that matters

Set the dough on ice before rolling. Chilling firms the butter so the dough rolls thin without sticking and spreads less in the oven.

Swap the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, butter, flour):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Jalapenofits better
  4. Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, butter, 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.

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