Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Pompton Cookies
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
Beat the eggs until light, separating the whites and yolks.
Cream the butter with the sugar.
Work the beaten yolks into the butter-sugar mixture.
Add the egg whites alternately with enough flour to form a soft dough.
Shape and bake
Mould the dough with well-floured hands into round cakes or rings.
Place on buttered paper and bake in a 400°F (200 °C) oven.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Eggs
- Provide structure and richness, with whipped whites adding lift and airiness to the dough.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and creaming it with sugar traps air that gives a tender crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dough and, creamed with butter, helps create a light texture.
- Flour
- Gives the dough its structure so it holds its shape when moulded and baked.
The step that matters
Add the egg whites alternately with the flour. Whites hold air that gives lightness. Adding them gently, alternating with flour, and not overworking the dough keeps that air from collapsing, so the cookies stay tender rather than dense.
“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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