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Dessert

Checkerboard Cookies

A chocolate and plain cookie with a checkerboard pattern made from two doughs, one with cocoa.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Vanilla and cocoa work together. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 357 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Checkerboard Cookies

Oven350°
Time12 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Sift together flour, dry milk, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

  2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and stir in vanilla.

  3. Gradually add sugar; beat until light and fluffy.

  4. Add well-beaten eggs, blending until smooth.

  5. Add dry ingredients and mix until well blended.

  6. Divide dough in half.

  7. Stir cocoa into one half, blending well.

Shape and chill

  1. Shape each half into a rectangle, about 2" x 2" x 6".

  2. Tightly wrap in waxed paper. Chill at least 30 minutes.

  3. Unwrap dough.

  4. Cut each rectangle into quarters, lengthwise.

  5. Alternately place dark and white quarters side by side to form checker design.

  6. Rewrap in waxed paper and chill slightly.

Bake

  1. Slice dough into 1/8-inch pieces and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

  2. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1000Calories
29 gProtein
35 gFat
138 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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. Vanilla + cocoatop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together357 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  2. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

  5. Milk + cocoatop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together643 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

Vanilla and sugar 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 cookie shape as it bakes.
Butter
Adds fat for tenderness and rich flavor, and helps the dough cream to a light texture.
Sugar
Sweetens the dough and, creamed with butter, helps create a light, fluffy texture.
Eggs
Bind the dough and add richness and structure.
Cocoa
Gives one half of the dough its chocolate flavor and dark color for the checker pattern.
Baking powder
Releases gas during baking so the cookies rise slightly and stay tender.

The step that matters

Chilling the dough before slicing. Cold dough holds its shape when cut and assembled into the checker pattern. Warm dough smears the dark and light quarters together and spreads in the oven.

Swap the cocoa

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, milk, butter, vanilla, sugar, egg):

  1. Almondfits better
  2. Chestnutfits better
  3. Hazelnutfits about as well
  4. Cocoathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, milk, butter, vanilla, sugar, 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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