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 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 the dough
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the egg whites and yolks separately.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together.
Add the egg yolks, water, chopped raisins, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg to the mixture.
Gradually mix in the Bachelor Girl flour until the dough is soft.
Fold in the beaten egg whites gently.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden.
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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Egg whites, folded in last, add lightness and help the cookies rise and hold a soft structure.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and give the cookies a tender, rich texture.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and a caramel flavour, and helps the cookies brown.
- Raisins
- Add chewy texture and natural sweetness throughout the cookies.
- Bachelor girl flour
- Provides the structure that holds the dough together as it bakes.
The step that matters
Fold in the beaten egg whites gently. Beaten egg whites hold air bubbles that give lift. Stirring vigorously knocks that air out, leaving denser cookies.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, sugar, raisin, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour):
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, sugar, raisin, 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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