Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Vanilla Wafers
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 the dough
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the milk, vanilla extract, and egg, mixing well.
In a separate bowl, combine the cream of tartar and baking soda.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until smooth.
Shape and bake
Roll the dough very thin and cut into desired shapes.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly 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.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Butter
- Creams with the sugar to trap air and give the wafers a tender, crisp texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the wafers and helps them brown lightly while creaming with butter.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and adds richness and structure.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the dough so baking soda reacts properly, helping the wafers rise and lighten.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in cream of tartar to lift and lighten the dough.
The step that matters
Rolling the dough very thin. Thin dough has little moisture to hold and bakes quickly, so it becomes crisp rather than soft. Thick pieces stay tender in the middle and may not crisp evenly.
“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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