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 Snaps
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.
Make the dough
Boil the molasses in a saucepan.
Remove from heat and stir in baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, sugar, and butter, then mix well until combined.
Gradually add flour until a dough forms.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10-12 minutes.
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.
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.
-
Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + cinnamontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,928 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Cinnamon and sugar 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
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and a deep colour that helps the cookies brown.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas, helping the cookies rise and spread.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the dough together and sets as the cookies bake.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender texture in the baked cookies.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cookies crisp and brown as they bake.
- Ground ginger
- Contributes the warm, spicy aroma that defines the cookie's flavour.
The step that matters
Gradually add flour until a dough forms. Adding flour gradually lets you stop once the dough just holds together. Too much flour makes the dough stiff and the baked cookies dry and dense.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, cinnamon, sugar, butter, flour):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Clovefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, cinnamon, sugar, 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.
You might also like
Ginger Cookies213 recipes
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Ginger Cake93 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.