Why it works: Ginger and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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. 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.
Make the dough
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, mix together molasses, brown sugar, and shortening until well combined.
Add the eggs, baking soda, vinegar, ginger, and cinnamon and mix until smooth.
Gradually add flour until the dough is firm enough to roll.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough on a floured surface.
Cut the dough into desired shapes.
Place the cookies on a baking sheet.
Bake for 10–12 minutes or until lightly browned.
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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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + cinnamontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,928 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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, rich flavor and moisture to the dough.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that tenderizes the cookies and gives a soft, chewy texture.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add structure and moisture to the cookies.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the vinegar and molasses to produce gas that helps the cookies rise and spread.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness, moisture and a caramel-like flavor that encourages browning.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that lets the dough be rolled and cut into shapes.
The step that matters
Gradually add flour until the dough is firm enough to roll. Adding too much flour makes the cookies dry and tough, while too little leaves the dough sticky and hard to shape. Adding it gradually lets you stop once the dough is rollable.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, butter, egg, vinegar, cinnamon, flour):
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, butter, egg, vinegar, cinnamon, 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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