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 ↓
Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
In a bowl, mix together sugar, molasses, lard, and egg yolks.
Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and add to the mixture.
Stir until cool, then add enough flour to form a soft dough.
Bake and frost
Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) until done.
Frost with icing flavored with chocolate or lemon extract.
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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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 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).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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, deep flavor, and a dark color to the cookies.
- Lard
- Provides fat for tenderness and a soft, crumbly texture.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help bind the dough.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses's acidity to produce gas that helps the cookies rise.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the dough and holds the cookies together.
The step that matters
Stir the baking soda mixture until cool before adding flour. Hot liquid added to baking soda reacts quickly and loses leavening power, and adding flour to a hot mixture can make the dough greasy or loose. Letting it cool lets the dough firm up to a soft, workable consistency.
“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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