Why it works: Ginger and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Ginger 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.
Make the dough
Combine sugar, molasses, and butter in a saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from heat.
Stir in ginger, cinnamon, vinegar, baking soda, egg, and water, then mix well until combined.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a baking sheet.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until golden.
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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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + cinnamontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,928 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cookies brown and crisp at the edges.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, sweetness and deep flavor, and keeps the cookies chewy.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender texture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic vinegar and molasses to release gas that lifts and loosens the dough.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and gives it structure as it sets in the oven.
The step that matters
Mix well until combined. Baking soda must be evenly distributed through the dough. Unmixed pockets can leave bitter, soapy spots and uneven rising.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, butter, cinnamon, vinegar, egg):
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Clovefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, butter, cinnamon, vinegar, 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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