Why it works: Chocolate and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,020 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
Chocolate 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the dough
In a bowl, mix the melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and grated chocolate.
In another bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder.
Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until well combined.
Shape and bake
Take a teaspoon of dough and roll it into a ball, about the size of a large hickory nut.
Place the balls on buttered baking pans, an inch apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set.
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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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and vanilla 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
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add structure as they set in the oven.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cookies together as they bake.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cookies brown and crisp at the edges.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the cookies a tender texture.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas that lifts the dough so the cookies rise slightly.
- Baker's chocolate
- Gives the cookies their chocolate flavor and deep color.
The step that matters
Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Adding the flour mixture slowly and stirring only until combined keeps the dough smooth and prevents overworking, which would toughen the gluten and make the cookies 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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