Name: Pumpkin Nanaimo Bars
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 6 h
Yield: 16
Ingredients: 1 cup FOR THE CRUST:; ½ cups Graham Cracker Crumbs; 1 cup Shredded Coconut; ¼ teaspoons Pecans, Toasted; 4 Tablespoons Salt; 1 teaspoon Butter, Melted; ½ teaspoons Cinnamon; ¼ Tablespoons Nutmeg; ½ cups Allspice; ⅔ cups FOR THE PUMPKIN CREAM FILLING:; ½ teaspoons Whole Milk; ¼ teaspoons Pumpkin Butter; ¼ teaspoons Cinnamon; 3 whole Nutmeg; 2 Tablespoons Allspice; ¼ cups Egg Yolks; ½ teaspoons Granulated Sugar; 1 teaspoon Cornstarch; 6 Tablespoons Salt; 4 ounces, weight Vanilla Extract; 2 Tablespoons Butter, Room Temperature; 2 teaspoons FOR THE CHOCOLATE TOPPING:

Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 11,917 recipes mention both. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together5,536 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Nutmeg + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together3,331 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Pecans + pumpkintop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together272 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Cinnamon + pumpkintop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together1,744 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the coconut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pecans, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, pumpkin, cream):

Vanillaabout as good a flavor fit
Figabout as good a flavor fit
Coconutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pecans, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, pumpkin, cream. 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).

Pumpkin Nanaimo Bars