Name: Ginger Cookies
Ingredients: 2 cups sugar; 1 cup New Orleans molasses; ½ cup butter; ½ cup lard; scant ½ cup boiling water; 2 heaping teaspoons baking soda; 2 heaping teaspoons ginger; Flour for rolling

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

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.

Make the dough

In a large bowl, mix sugar, molasses, butter, lard, and boiling water until well combined.
Add baking soda and ginger, mixing thoroughly.
Gradually add flour until the dough is manageable for rolling.

Shape and bake

Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
Place on greased baking sheets and bake at 350°F (175°C) until golden.
Cool on wire racks before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,225 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,116 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Ginger + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked 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

Baking soda: Reacts with the molasses acid to lift and lighten the cookies as they bake.
Molasses: Adds moisture, deep sweetness, and a dark color that helps browning.
Butter: Adds fat for flavor and a tender crumb.
Lard: Adds fat that keeps the cookies tender and helps them hold a soft texture.
Sugar: Sweetens the dough and helps the cookies brown at the edges as they bake.