Why it works: Sugar and condensed milk work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 804 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Chilean Aflajores
Ingredients
Directions
Make the cookies
Cream together butter and sugar; add egg and flour and mix well.
Drop by scant teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
Pat with a floured finger into very thin little circles (quarter to half dollar size).
Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until just starting to brown around edges.
Make the filling and assemble
To cook condensed milk, place entire, unopened can in a large saucepan, cover with water.
Bring to boil and simmer about 2 hours. This turns it into caramel.
Sandwich two cookies together with cooked condensed milk.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
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.
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Sugar + condensed milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Butter
- Creams with sugar to give the cookies a tender, rich texture.
- Sugar
- Creams with butter and adds sweetness and browning to the cookies.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and adds structure and moisture.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the thin cookies together.
- Condensed milk
- Cooked slowly in its can, it turns into a thick caramel that fills the cookies.
The step that matters
Simmering the unopened can of condensed milk. The can must stay covered with water for the whole simmer, because if it boils dry it can overheat and may burst. Cooking the milk slowly turns its sugars and milk proteins into caramel.
“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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