Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Oocoanut Dkops
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the coconut topping
Mix grated coconut with half its weight of sugar and the white of one egg to a stiff froth. Mix thoroughly.
Drop the mixture onto buttered white paper or tin sheets.
Bake fifteen minutes.
Make the dough and bake
Combine one egg, one cup sugar, one-half cup butter, one-half cup milk, one teaspoon cream of tartar, one-half cup soda, and flour enough to make a stiff dough.
Drop the dough onto tins and sprinkle over with powdered sugar.
Bake in a quick oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Grated coconut
- Forms the bulk of the chewy, moist texture in the topping.
- Egg white
- Whipped to a stiff froth, it lightens the coconut mixture and helps the cookies hold their shape.
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness to the dough.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the dough and reacts with soda to help it rise.
- Soda (in the method)
- Reacts with the acid in the dough to leaven it and aid browning.
The step that matters
Whipping the coconut and egg white to a stiff froth. Egg white must be beaten until stiff so it traps air and gives the mixture lift. If under-whipped or deflated by overmixing, the topping spreads flat and turns dense instead of light.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.