Why it works: Chocolate and chia work together. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and 32 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-methylbutyraldehyde, which smells malty, chocolate. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 25Ingredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Soak the soft pitted dates in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes to soften, then drain well.
Blend the drained dates, the peeled ripe banana and the melted coconut oil in a food processor until a smooth, sticky paste forms.
Transfer the paste to a bowl and stir in the flax seed, chia seeds and hemp hearts until evenly combined.
Mix in the oats, most of the pumpkin seeds and the chocolate chips until the dough holds together, setting aside a small handful of pumpkin seeds for decorating.
Scoop rounded spoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and flatten each one slightly with your fingers.
Press a few reserved pumpkin seeds onto the top of each cookie.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are golden and the tops look set.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to a rack to finish cooling.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Chocolate + chiatop 13% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together32 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
-
Banana + coconuttop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together549 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Chia + coconuttop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together66 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Oats + chiatop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together65 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Chocolate + coconuttop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,107 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the dates
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (banana, oats, pumpkin, chocolate, chia, coconut):
- Vanillabetter flavor fit
- Blueberrybetter flavor fit
- Cherrybetter flavor fit
- Datesthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against banana, oats, pumpkin, chocolate, chia, coconut. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.