Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Oatmeal Biscuits
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.
Prepare the dough
Melt the lard.
Mix the dry ingredients together.
Add the melted lard and the egg to the dry mixture.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough thinly on a floured surface.
Cut with a round cutter.
Bake for about 20 minutes in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).
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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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cookies together as they bake.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cookies brown during baking.
- Oatmeal
- Adds bulk and a chewy, hearty texture to the cookies.
- Egg
- Binds the dough together and adds richness and structure.
- Lard
- Supplies fat that tenderises the dough and gives a crisp, short texture.
- Baking soda
- Helps the cookies rise slightly and promotes browning in the oven.
The step that matters
Rolling out the dough thinly. Dough rolled too thick bakes unevenly and stays doughy in the centre. Even thickness lets the cookies bake through at the same rate and keeps them crisp.
“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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