Low-calorie Low-fat Chocolate Chip Cookies

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. Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together10,020 recipes

   Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

2. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together35,032 recipes

   Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

3. Vanilla + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together19,241 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together15,404 recipes

   Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

5. Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together92,116 recipes

   Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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

All-purpose flour

Provides the structure that holds the cookies together as they set.

Margarine

Adds fat for tenderness and helps the cookies spread and brown.

Granulated sugar and brown sugar

Add sweetness and moisture, and brown sugar adds chewiness and caramel flavor.

Egg white

Adds moisture and helps bind the dough and set the structure.

Baking soda

Reacts to lift and spread the dough and promotes browning.

Chocolate chips

Add melting pockets of sweetness and rich chocolate flavor.

The step that matters