Why it works: Sugar and molasses 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 ↓
Oatmeal 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.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the dough
In a bowl, mix the flour, ginger, oatmeal, and sugar.
Dissolve the baking soda in boiling water and add it to the mixture.
Incorporate the lard and enough molasses to form a stiff dough.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet.
Bake until golden brown.
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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Ginger + molassestop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cookies together as they bake.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses and heat to leaven the cookies and help them spread.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderizes the dough and contributes to a crisp, short texture.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, sweetness, and depth of flavor while binding the stiff dough.
- Oatmeal
- Adds chewy texture and a toasty, grain-like flavor to the cookies.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dough and promotes browning at the surface during baking.
The step that matters
Dissolving the baking soda in boiling water. Baking soda must be fully dissolved so it disperses evenly through the dough; clumps can leave bitter, soapy spots and uneven rising.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, coffee, sugar, molasses):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, coffee, sugar, molasses. 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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