Name: Sugar-free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients: ¾ cup vegetable shortening; sugar substitute equivalent to 1½ cups sugar; 1 egg; ¼ cup water; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 3 cups uncooked oatmeal; 1 cup flour; 1 tablespoon salt; ½ teaspoon baking soda; 1 cup raisins

Why it works: Flour and raisin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

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 + raisintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar substitute + sugartop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together79 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Vanilla + raisintop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together782 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Vanilla + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,241 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

Vegetable shortening: Provides fat that gives the cookies tenderness and a soft, short bite.
Sugar substitute: Supplies sweetness in place of sugar, shaping flavor and the cookies' overall texture.
Egg: Binds the dough and helps hold the cookies together as they set.
Oatmeal: Adds bulk and a chewy, hearty texture to the cookies.
Flour: Gives the dough structure so the cookies hold their shape while baking.
Baking soda: Helps the cookies rise and encourages browning in the oven.

The step that matters

Beat together the first 5 ingredients. Beating the fat with the sweetener and egg traps air in the dough, which affects the cookies' lightness and spread. Under-beating leaves a denser cookie.

“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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Oat	1/2 cup dry (40g)	154
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar Substitute	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

Sugar-free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies