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 ↓
Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the dough
In a large bowl, mix together molasses, sugar, and egg.
Add ginger, baking soda, vinegar, and water; stir until combined.
Blend in shortening until smooth.
Gradually add flour, mixing until a dough forms.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
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.
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.
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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Ginger + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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 dark sweetness, moisture and a deep, rich flavor to the cookies.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the dough together and sets the cookie shape.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic vinegar and molasses to release gas, helping the cookies rise and spread.
- Shortening
- Adds fat for tenderness and a soft, short texture in the baked cookies.
- Egg
- Binds the ingredients together and adds moisture and structure to the dough.
- Vinegar
- Acidifies the dough so the baking soda reacts and lightens the texture.
The step that matters
Bake until lightly browned, not longer. Molasses sugars brown and darken quickly, and overbaking dries the cookies and makes them hard once cooled. Pull them when lightly browned for a soft center.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, egg, vinegar, butter, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, egg, vinegar, 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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