Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Ginger Snaps
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, molasses, ginger, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, red pepper, lard or butter, and eggs. Mix until well combined to form a dough.
Shape and bake
Roll the dough very thin on a floured surface.
Cut into desired shapes and place on a baking sheet.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until crisp.
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.
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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Ginger + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Molasses
- Adds dark sweetness, moisture and a deep flavour that gives the snaps their colour.
- Lard or butter
- Provides fat that tenderises the dough and helps it spread and crisp in the oven.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough together and add moisture and structure to the mixture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to lift the dough and promote browning.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the cookies brown and crisp.
The step that matters
Roll the dough very thin. Thin dough dries out and crisps through during baking, while thick dough stays soft in the centre. Even thickness also helps the snaps bake evenly.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, clove, cinnamon, pepper, butter, egg):
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, clove, cinnamon, pepper, butter, 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.
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