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.
Make the dough
Beat the egg and mix in the white sugar in a large bowl.
Add the shortening, molasses, and sour milk, and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until soft.
Shape and bake
Chill the dough if necessary, then roll out and cut into desired shapes.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until golden.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 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 deep sweetness, moisture, and a dark color to the cookies.
- Shortening
- Provides fat that keeps the cookies tender and soft.
- Soda
- Reacts with the sour milk to release gas, helping the cookies rise and spread.
- Sour milk
- Adds acidity that activates the soda and contributes moisture and tenderness.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and adds structure and richness.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Adding the dry ingredients slowly and stirring only until soft keeps the dough evenly mixed and prevents overworking, which would make the cookies tough.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, molasses, milk, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, molasses, milk, cinnamon. 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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