Name: Chocolate Drops
Ingredients: 1 cup chocolate, shaved; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon water; 1½ cups powdered sugar; 1 tablespoon almond butter or pine nut butter

Why it works: Vanilla and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,961 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Chocolate Drops

Ingredients

1 cup chocolate, shaved
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon water
1½ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon almond butter or pine nut butter

Directions

Melt the shaved chocolate in a warm place.
Stir in the vanilla extract and water until well combined.
Add the powdered sugar and almond butter or pine nut butter, mixing until smooth.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Vanilla + almondtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,961 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,020 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Chocolate + almondtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,733 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,404 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Vanilla and sugar 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

Chocolate: Provides the main body, and sets firm as it cools to hold the drops together.
Powdered sugar: Sweetens the mixture and thickens it into a smooth, firm texture.
Almond butter or pine nut butter: Adds fat and nutty richness, keeping the drops smooth and tender.
Vanilla extract: Adds aroma that rounds out the chocolate flavor.