Name: Molasses Cookies
Ingredients: 2 cups New Orleans molasses; 1 cup sugar; 1 cup butter or drippings; 1 egg; 3 teaspoons baking soda; 1 teaspoon powdered alum; ⅔ cup hot water; 1 teaspoon ginger; 1 teaspoon salt

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

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the dough

In a large bowl, mix the molasses, sugar, butter (or drippings), egg, baking soda, powdered alum, ginger, and salt.
Dissolve the alum in half of the hot water.
Dissolve the baking soda in the remaining hot water and add to the mixture.
Mix until soft and well combined.

Bake

Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) until golden.

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.

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.

Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,225 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,116 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together14,054 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Sugar and ginger barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 14,054 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

New orleans molasses: Provides the main sweetness, dark color and rich flavor of the cookies.
Butter or drippings: Adds fat for tenderness and a rich, savory-sweet flavor.
Egg: Binds the dough and adds structure as the cookies set.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acidic molasses to release gas, helping the cookies rise and spread.
Powdered alum: Reacts with the baking soda to add lift and a crisp texture.