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Oatmeal Macaroons

A baked treat made from rolled oats, sugar, butter, eggs, salt, and baking powder.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Oatmeal Macaroons

Why it works: Butter and oats are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,939 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

Oatmeal Macaroons

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).

  2. Grease your baking pan well.

Make the dough

  1. In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.

  2. Beat in the eggs one at a time.

  3. Stir in the rolled oats, salt, and baking powder until well combined.

Bake

  1. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto the pan, leaving space for spreading.

  2. Bake for 15 minutes.

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.

  1. Butter + oatstop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,939 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  2. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Sugar + oatstop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,548 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  5. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

White sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the cookies brown and crisp at the edges.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, giving the macaroons a tender texture.
Eggs
Bind the dough and add moisture and structure as they set in the oven.
Rolled oats
Form the bulk of the dough, giving the macaroons their chewy, hearty texture.
Magic baking powder
Leavens the dough so the macaroons rise and spread lightly while baking.

The step that matters

Leaving space between spoonfuls. The dough spreads as it bakes, so spooned mounds placed too close can merge and bake unevenly. Leaving room lets each macaroon set with its own shape and browned edges.

“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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