Why it works: Milk and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,655 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Taylor Cookies
Ingredients
Directions
Combine 1 pint molasses, 1 pint brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon butter; boil together for five minutes.
When the mixture is cold, add 1 pint sweet milk.
Add 1 tablespoon soda and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
Add 3 eggs and 4 scant cups flour; bake in gem pans or drop by spoonfuls on a large pan.
Keep for any length of time.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
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.
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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 (in the method)
- Adds sweetness, moisture and dark color, and its acidity reacts with the soda.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the cookies brown.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as the cookies set.
- Flour (in the method)
- Provides the structure that holds the cookies together as they bake.
- Soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that lifts the batter.
The step that matters
Add the soda after the mixture cools. Soda reacts with the acid in molasses to release gas for lift. Adding it to a cooled, well-mixed batter lets it disperse evenly so the cookies rise uniformly rather than in patches.
“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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