Why it works: Cinnamon and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 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. 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.
Prepare the dough
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, molasses, lard or butter, and eggs until well combined.
Stir in the sour cream and baking soda.
Add the cinnamon and ginger, mixing until incorporated.
Gradually add flour until the dough is manageable for rolling.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut into desired shapes.
Place cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
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.
-
Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and a deep, sweet flavor to the cookies.
- Lard or butter
- Provides fat for tenderness and a rich texture in the dough.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add structure and richness.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and mild acidity that tenderizes the crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream and molasses to lift and spread the cookies.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cookies together as they bake.
The step that matters
Gradually add flour until the dough is manageable for rolling. Adding too much flour makes the cookies dry and tough, while too little leaves a sticky dough that is hard to roll and cut. Adding it gradually lets you stop when the dough reaches the right consistency.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, butter, egg, cream, cinnamon, flour):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, butter, egg, cream, cinnamon, 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.
More ginger cookies recipes
You might also like
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Ginger Cake93 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipes
Soft Ginger Bread85 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.