Why it works: Cinnamon and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,514 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
German Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Beat eggs until light, adding sugar gradually, and continue beating.
Add grated chocolate and the remaining ingredients.
Shape and bake
Drop dough from the tip of a spoon onto a buttered sheet.
Bake in a moderate oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Almond | 1 almond (1.2g) | 7 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
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.
-
Cinnamon + almondtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,514 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cinnamon + lemontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Chocolate + almondtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,733 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Beaten until light, they trap air and give the cookies lift and a tender structure.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the cookies brown as they bake.
- German chocolate
- Melts into the dough, adding rich flavor and chocolate pockets throughout the cookies.
- Almonds
- Add crunch and nutty flavor, and give the dough body against the soft egg mixture.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets the cookies as they bake.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, helping the cookies rise and turn lighter in texture.
The step that matters
Beating the eggs and sugar. Beating eggs until light, while adding sugar gradually, dissolves the sugar and traps air in the foam. Under-beating leaves a dense cookie, and the air is what the dough relies on for lift.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, chocolate, cinnamon, almond, flour):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, chocolate, cinnamon, almond, flour. 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.
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