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Dessert

Chocolate Cookies

A chocolate cookie recipe with butter, sugar, molasses, baking powder, soda, chocolate, milk, eggs, ginger, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Chocolate Cookies

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 ↓

Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Cream 1 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup molasses, 1 egg, 1/2 tablespoon ginger, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon soda together.

  2. Dissolve 2 ounces baker's chocolate in 1/4 cup boiling water.

  3. Add the melted chocolate to the batter and mix until stiff.

  4. Sprinkle with sugar before baking.

  5. Cream 1/2 cup butter.

  6. Add 1 cup sugar gradually while beating.

  7. Beat in 1 egg well beaten.

  8. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and melted 2 ounces baker's chocolate, then beat well.

  9. Add 2 1/2 cups flour mixed and sifted with 2 teaspoons baking powder alternately with 1/4 cup milk.

  10. Chill the dough.

Shape and bake

  1. Roll dough very thin.

  2. Shape dough with a small cutter, first dipping pieces in flour.

  3. Bake in a hot oven.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1048Calories
29 gProtein
35 gFat
153 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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

By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog]. 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. See the original page.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Chocolate + milktop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,128 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

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

Butter
Provides fat that makes the dough rich and tender while helping it hold its shape.
Molasses
Adds sweetness, moisture and dark color, and a deep flavor to the cookies.
Egg
Binds the dough and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
Flour (in the method)
Forms the structure that holds the cookies together once baked.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the dough to help the cookies rise and lighten.
Baker's chocolate
Adds chocolate flavor and darkens the dough.

The step that matters

Chill the dough. Cold dough is firm enough to roll very thin and cut cleanly without spreading or sticking. Skipping the chill makes the soft, buttery dough hard to shape and can cause the cutouts to lose their edges in the oven.

Swap the ginger

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

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

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