Why it works: Egg and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Cookies
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the dough
In a bowl, mix together the sugar and shortening until well combined.
Add the eggs and sour milk, then stir in the baking soda.
Mix until smooth and well blended.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a baking sheet.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until golden brown.
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.
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.
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cookies brown and stay tender.
- Shortening
- Provides fat that creates a tender texture and carries flavor.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add structure as the cookies set in the oven.
- Sour milk
- Adds moisture and acidity that reacts with the baking soda.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in sour milk to release gas, helping the cookies rise and brown.
The step that matters
Stir in the baking soda after the sour milk. Baking soda needs an acid, such as the sour milk, to release carbon dioxide that lifts the dough. Mixing it in with the sour milk and blending evenly ensures the gas forms throughout, giving a uniform rise and color.
“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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