Jean's Cookie Crunchies

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 + oatstop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,532 recipes

   Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

2. Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together10,020 recipes

   Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

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

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

4. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Butter + oatstop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,939 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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 the sugars to add fat and tenderness to the cookie texture.

Eggs

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

Flour

Provides the main structure that holds the cookies together as they bake.

Baking soda

Reacts with the dough to help the cookies rise and spread while baking.

Brown sugar

Adds moisture, chewiness and caramel flavor, and helps the cookies brown.

Quick quaker oats

Add chewy body and a toasty, nutty flavor to the cookies.

The step that matters