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 ↓
Ginger Cookies, No. I
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 the dough
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, rub together the butter and sugar until smooth.
Add the beaten egg, salt, and ginger; mix well.
Dissolve the baking soda in the vinegar and stir it into the molasses.
Combine the molasses mixture with the butter mixture and beat well.
Gradually add flour until the dough is firm enough to roll out without sticking.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
Bake in the preheated oven 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.
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.
-
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Butter
- Creams with the sugar to give the cookies tenderness and a rich flavour.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dough and helps it brown during baking.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark colour and the deep, sweet flavour typical of ginger cookies.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic vinegar to release gas, helping the cookies rise and spread.
- Vinegar
- Reacts with the baking soda to lighten the dough and adds a subtle tang.
- Flour
- Provides structure so the dough holds its shape when rolled and cut.
The step that matters
Dissolving the baking soda in the vinegar before mixing. Baking soda needs an acid to react and release carbon dioxide. Dissolving it in the vinegar first spreads the reaction evenly through the dough, so the cookies rise uniformly rather than in patches.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, molasses, vinegar, flour, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, molasses, vinegar, flour, egg. 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.