Why it works: Flour and corn are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,165 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Fat-free Chewy Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
Make and bake
Stir in corn syrup and egg whites until blended (dough will be thick and slightly sticky).
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
Bake in 350°F oven 7 to 9 minutes or just until set (cookies will be soft when pressed). Do not overbake.
Cool on wire rack.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Corn | 1/2 cup kernels (82g) | 77 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Syrup | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
-
Flour + corntop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Cocoa + corntop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and egg 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
- Egg whites
- Provide structure and binding that hold the dough together without any fat.
- Corn syrup
- Adds moisture and sweetness, keeping the cookies soft and chewy.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the cookie as it sets in the oven.
- Baking soda
- Reacts to lift and loosen the dough as the cookies bake.
- Cocoa
- Supplies the chocolate flavour and dark colour.
The step that matters
Do not overbake. Without fat, these cookies dry out and turn hard quickly once the structure sets, so they should be removed while still soft when pressed and will firm up as they cool.
Swap the cocoa
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, corn, egg):
- Almondfits better
- Milletfits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Cocoathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, corn, egg. 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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