Name: Date Macaroons
Ingredients: one pound dates chopped fine; one pound blanched almonds chopped fine; one cup granulated sugar; one cup nuts ground; one-half cup sugar; one-fourth cup sugar; one-half cups sugar; three-fourth cup butter; one teaspoon nutmeg; one teaspoon cinnamon; one teaspoon soda; one-half cup sour milk; one cup nuts; one cup raisins; one-half cup butter; two cups of flour mixed; one-half teaspoon cloves; one-half teaspoons baking powder; one-half cup each chopped nuts; four eggs beaten to a stiff froth; two eggs; 82 tllk arizona cook book marguerites; two eggs stiff; one dozen crackers; one egg; seven eggs; three eggs; half cup-sugar; two eggs slightly beaten; lemon juice

Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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.

Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Almond + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,514 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Almond + nutmegtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,115 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Almond + nutstop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together394 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Dates + cinnamontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together283 recipes

Shared aroma: anethole (sweet, anise).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Dates: Provide sweetness, chewy moisture and body to the macaroon mixture.
Blanched almonds: Add bulk, texture and nutty flavour to the mixture.
Egg whites: Whipped to a stiff froth, they give the mixture lift and help it set when baked.
Granulated sugar: Sweetens the mixture and stabilises the whipped egg whites.

The step that matters

Beat the whites to a stiff froth. Whipped egg whites trap air that gives the macaroons lift and a light texture. Under-whipped whites will result in a dense, flat result, and sugar should be added gradually so the foam stays stable.

Swap the nuts

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (dates, almond, sugar, butter, nutmeg, cinnamon, milk):

Pistachiofits better
Walnutfits better
Chestnutfits better
Nutsthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against dates, almond, sugar, butter, nutmeg, cinnamon, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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
Sour Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Date	1 date (24g) medjool	66
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Walnut	1 walnut half (4g)	26
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Nuts	not in our table	0

Date Macaroons

Date Macaroons

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Make the mixture

Bake

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)