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Esther's Christmas Cookies

"I make these every year and tuck them into Christmas baskets for friends and neighbors! Make sure you have a full day to bake as this makes loads of cookies!"

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 13 ingredients
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Esther's Christmas Cookies

Why it works: Vanilla and pineapple match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 911 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Esther's Christmas Cookies

12 dozen
Prep45 min
Cook14 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1551Calories
39 gProtein
60 gFat
219 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 13 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Coconut1/2 cup shredded (40g)283
Oat1/2 cup dry (40g)154
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cherry1 cup (138g)87
Pineapple1 cup chunks (165g)82
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Walnut1 walnut half (4g)26
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Vanilla + pineappletop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together911 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  2. Vanilla + milktop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Vanilla + walnuttop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,730 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, milk, pineapple, walnut):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Coconutfits better
  3. Bananafits better
  4. Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, milk, pineapple, walnut. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.