Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Potato Cookies
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Cream together the shortening and brown sugar.
Add the well-beaten egg and mashed potato, mixing until smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder, then add to the potato mixture.
Mix until a stiff dough forms, then roll out on a floured board to about ⅛ inch thick.
Shape and bake
Cut into rounds and place on a greased baking sheet.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 15 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.
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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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + potatotop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,355 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + potatotop 29% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,978 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the stiff dough together when rolled and baked.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that tenderizes the cookie and gives a short, crumbly texture.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
- Mashed potato
- Adds moisture that keeps the cookies soft and helps the dough hold together.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cookies rise slightly and lighten.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the cookies brown.
The step that matters
Rolling the dough to an even thickness. Rolling to about ⅛ inch keeps the cookies uniform so they bake evenly; thicker spots stay doughy while thin edges can over-brown.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, egg, sugar):
- Arrowrootfits better
- Sweet potatofits better
- Shallotfits better
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, egg, sugar. 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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