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Dessert

Molasses Cookies I

Cookies made with molasses, sugar, butter or lard, ginger, soda, sour milk, and eggs.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Molasses Cookies I

Oven350
Time10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

  2. Add the mixture to eggs, milk, molasses, and lard.

Bake

  1. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

553Calories
14 gProtein
38 gFat
41 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sour Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Lard1 tbsp (12.8g)115
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
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. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together14,054 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Sugar and ginger barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 14,054 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 deep flavour, and helps the cookies brown.
Eggs
Bind the dough and add structure and richness.
Soda
Reacts with the sour milk to produce gas, helping the cookies rise and soften.
Sour milk
Its acidity activates the soda and adds moisture and tenderness.
Butter or lard
Adds fat for tenderness and a short, crumbly texture.

The step that matters

Add the mixture to eggs, milk, molasses, and lard. Soda needs its acid from the sour milk to react, so the wet and dry ingredients must be combined promptly. Mixing too long after the soda is added can lose its rising power, leaving flat or dense cookies.

Swap the ginger

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

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Gingerthe original
  4. Clovefits about as well

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