Chocolate Reindeer 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 + milktop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together19,187 recipes

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

2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

3. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together41,516 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

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

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

5. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together43,450 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

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

Butter

Creams with sugar to give the cookies a tender, rich texture.

Eggs

Bind the dough and add structure as they set in the oven.

All-purpose flour

Provides the main structure that holds the cookie shape.

Baking soda

Reacts with the acidic cream of tartar to help the cookies rise and spread.

Cream of tartar

Acid that works with baking soda to lift the dough and add a light texture.

Sugar

Adds sweetness and helps the cookies brown and crisp at the edges.

The step that matters