Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Ginger Snaps
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the dough
In a large bowl, mix together the molasses, butter, sugar, cloves, ginger, and baking soda.
Gradually add flour until the dough is manageable for rolling.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) until crisp.
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.
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Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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 + clovetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,483 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).
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 moisture, sweetness, dark color and a deep flavor to the dough.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and rich flavor, and helps the cookies crisp as they bake.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and promotes browning, which contributes to a crisp texture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses's acidity to lighten the dough and encourage spreading and browning.
- Flour
- Provides structure, absorbing liquid from the molasses and butter so the dough can be rolled.
- Ginger
- Provides the warm, spicy aroma that defines the cookie.
The step that matters
Adding the flour gradually. Flour absorbs the liquid in the molasses and butter, and too much at once makes the dough dry and tough, while too little leaves it sticky and hard to roll. Adding it slowly lets you stop when the dough is workable.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, butter, sugar, ginger, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, butter, sugar, ginger, 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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