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Dessert

Spicy Star Cookies

Cookies made with margarine, honey, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and apple juice.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Spicy Star Cookies

Oven375°F
Time8 to 10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Cream the margarine, honey, sugar, and eggs together in a bowl until smooth and fluffy.

  2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

  3. Divide the dough into thirds.

  4. Flatten each one into a circle ½ in thick.

  5. Refrigerate overnight until firm.

Cut and bake

  1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick.

  2. Cut out the dough with a star cookie cutter and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

  3. Bake in a 375°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

868Calories
20 gProtein
19 gFat
155 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Apple Juice1 medium (182g)95
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Honey1 tbsp (21g)64
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6

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

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Cinnamon + appletop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,598 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  5. Clove + appletop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,774 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the dough and add structure and richness as they set.
Margarine
Adds fat for tenderness and a soft, rich crumb.
Honey
Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the cookies brown.
Flour
Forms the main structure of the dough once baked.
Baking powder
Releases gas during baking so the cookies rise and lighten.

The step that matters

Chilling the dough overnight. Chilling firms the fat so the dough rolls out cleanly and holds its shape. Skipping it leads to sticky dough and spreading cookies that lose their star outlines in the oven.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (honey, sugar, egg, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Raisinfits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against honey, sugar, egg, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove. 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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