Why it works: Sugar and flour 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 ↓
Sugar Drops
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Beat the egg whites and yolks separately until light and foamy.
Dilute the yolks with 2 teaspoons of water and combine with the egg whites, beating well.
Gradually add 1 pound of powdered sugar while constantly beating the mixture.
Sift in 4 ounces of superfine flour and continue to beat until well combined.
Shape and bake
Drop the mixture onto white paper on a baking sheet in any shape you like.
Dust the tops with powdered sugar to prevent spreading.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 10 minutes.
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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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 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).
Egg and flour 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
- Eggs
- Whipped whites and yolks provide the airy structure that lifts the drops as they bake.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the batter and, beaten in, helps stabilise the foam and give the drops a fine texture.
- Superfine flour
- Provides just enough starch to set the drops while keeping them light and tender.
The step that matters
Dust the tops with powdered sugar. Sugar on the surface forms a thin crust as it heats, which helps keep the drops from spreading too far on the sheet before the structure sets.
“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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