Why it works: Molasses and ginger are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,116 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. 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.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, mix together the molasses and shortening.
Make the dough
Dissolve the baking soda in hot water and add it to the mixture.
Stir in the ginger.
Gradually add flour until the dough is manageable for rolling out.
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
Bake
Bake in the preheated oven until golden.
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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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Ginger + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + flourtop 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
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture and a deep flavour to the dough.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that keeps the cookies tender and helps the dough hold together.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidity in molasses to lift the dough and help it spread and brown.
- Ginger
- Provides the warm, spicy aroma that defines the cookie.
- Flour
- Provides structure that lets the soft dough be rolled and cut into shapes.
The step that matters
Gradually add the flour. Flour builds structure, but too much makes the dough stiff and the cookies dry and tough. Adding it gradually lets you stop once the dough is just workable for rolling out.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, flour):
- Jalapenofits better
- Cinnamonfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, 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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