Name: Almond Crescent Cookies
Ingredients: 1 cup shortening; 1/3 cup sugar; 2/3 cup ground, blanched almonds; 1 1/2 cups flour, sifted; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup confectionery sugar; 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Why it works: Almond and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,514 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Almond Crescent Cookies

Oven325 °F

Time14–16 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

Thoroughly mix shortening, sugar and almonds together.
Sift salt and flour together and work into shortening, sugar, almond mixture.
Chill dough for 4 hours.

Shape and bake

Roll the dough with your hands until pencil-thick. Then cut into 2 ½-inch lengths and form into crescents.
Bake at 325 °F for 14–16 minutes or until set.

Finish

Cool, but while still warm dip into mixture of cinnamon and confectionery sugar.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

619Calories

14 gProtein

13 gFat

110 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Salt	1 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.

Almond + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,514 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,673 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,341 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together30,779 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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

Shortening: Provides fat that makes the cookies tender and short in texture.
Flour: Forms the structure that holds the crescents together as they bake.
Ground blanched almonds: Add nutty flavour and a tender, slightly crumbly texture.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the cookies brown lightly during baking.
Confectionery sugar: Forms a sweet, fine coating when the warm cookies are dipped.

The step that matters

Dip while still warm. Confectionery sugar and cinnamon cling best to a warm cookie surface. Once fully cooled, the coating tends to fall off or stay patchy.

“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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Almond Crescent Cookies