Why it works: Tea and ginger work together. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 216 recipes. Both carry (e)-2-octenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Molasses Drops
Ingredients
Directions
One atid one-half cups of molasses, one-half cup of but- ter, one-half cup of milk, one egg, one and one-half teaspoons of soda, three and one-half cups of flour. GINGER SNAPS.
One cup of molasses, one cup of light brown sugar, one- half cuiD of butter and lard, one teaspoonful of salt, one tea- spoonful of ginger, three scant teaspoonfuls of cream tartar, one-half cup of boiling water in which stir two teaspoonfuls of soda. Pour over the other ingredients and add Hour. Roll thin.
SUGAR COOKIES No. 1.
One and one-half cups of sugar, one cup of melted but- ter, one cup of sour milk, one e^g, one teaspoonful of soda. Beat egg, stir in the other ingredients with just floar enough so that the paste can be handled and moulded. Roll thin and bake light but quickly.
SUGAR COOKIES No. 2.
Ona cup of sugar, one cup of butter, one egg, thi-ee ta- blespoons of buttermilk, one-half teaspoon of soda; mix quite hard.
SUGAR COOKIES No. 3.
Two cups of sugar and one cup of butter beaten to cream ; yolks of three eggs beaten and added, one teaspoon of soda, two tablespoons of sour milfe; floiir to make stiff. Roll thin.
MOLASSES COOKIES No. 1.
One and one-half cups of molasses boiled ten minutes, one-half cup of butter, one teaspoon of soda, flour to make stiff. Roll thin and bake quickly.
Imported Vegetables in Glass.
74 MOLASSES COOKIES No. 2. One cup of sugar, two cups of molasses, three-fourths of a cup of butter, two-thirds of a cup of boiling w^ater, two small teaspoons of soda dissolved in the hot water, one tea- spooa ginger ; salt. Knead as little as possible. Roll thin and bake quickly.
BELKNAP COOKIES. One cup of sugar, one cup of butter, three eggs, one quart of flour, one and one-half teaspoons of Royal baking powder, one-half nutmeg.
BAKER'S SQUARES. Two cups of molasses, one heaping cup of butter, one cup of sugar, two-thirds of a cup of sour milk, two table- spoonsful of ginger, two teaspoonfuls of soda in the molass- es and one in the milk, two eggs, flour to knead. Mix over night. Roll thick and cut with a square cutter. Bake a
light brown.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 11 of 12 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Sour Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Ginger | 1 tsp grated fresh (2g) | 2 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Tea + gingertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together216 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + teatop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together738 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
-
Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, milk, flour, sugar, butter, egg, tea):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
- Clovefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, milk, flour, sugar, butter, egg, tea. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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