Why it works: Molasses and sugar 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
Prepare the dough
In a large bowl, mix the molasses, baking soda, sugar, ginger, butter, eggs, and cold water until well combined.
Gradually add flour until the dough is manageable but not too sticky.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface, but do not roll it too thin.
Shape and bake
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Cut into desired shapes and place on a baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven until set, about 8-10 minutes.
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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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Ginger + flourtop 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
- Molasses
- Adds dark color, moisture and a rich, slightly bitter sweetness.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that lightens the cookie.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cookies brown and crisp at the edges.
- Butter
- Provides fat for tenderness and flavor.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add structure as they set in the oven.
- Flour
- Builds the structure that holds the cookie shape as it bakes.
The step that matters
Rolling the dough. Rolling too thin makes cookies dry and brittle, since there is little moisture to hold. Keeping the dough at a moderate thickness helps the cookies stay soft and set evenly in the oven.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, butter, egg, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, butter, egg, flour. 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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