Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Fruit Cookies
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the dough
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the eggs, chopped raisins, sour cream or milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda. Mix well.
Gradually add flour until the dough is manageable.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut into cookie shapes.
Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
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.
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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creams with sugar to give the cookies richness and a tender crumb.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add structure and richness as the cookies set.
- Sour cream or milk
- Adds moisture and tenderness to the dough.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidity of sour cream to help the cookies rise and brown.
- Chopped raisins
- Add chewiness and natural sweetness throughout the cookies.
The step that matters
Gradually add flour until the dough is manageable. Adding too much flour makes cookies dry and tough, since flour proteins and starch set the texture. Adding it gradually lets you stop once the dough is soft but workable for rolling.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour):
- Raisinthe original
- Vanillafits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Blueberryfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, 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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