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 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 and mix
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, molasses, sour milk, and shortening until well combined.
Add the egg yolks, ginger, and baking soda, and mix until smooth.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are set.
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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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together14,054 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and ginger barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 14,054 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 dark color, moisture and a rich, slightly bitter sweetness.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with baking soda so the cookies rise and stay tender.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to produce gas that lifts the dough.
- Shortening
- Provides fat for a tender texture and helps the cookies spread slightly.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help bind the dough.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cookies and helps them brown and crisp at the edges.
The step that matters
Checking for set edges. Baking soda reacts quickly with the acidic ingredients, so the dough rises fast. Pulling the cookies when the edges are just set keeps them soft in the centre, since they continue to firm up as they cool and overbaking makes them dry and hard.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, milk, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Gingerthe original
- Allspicefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, milk, 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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