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, mix together the sugar, sour cream, and butter until well combined.
Stir in the chopped raisins, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Add flour gradually until the dough is firm enough to roll out.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
Place on a baking sheet and 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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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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Cream + buttertop 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
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dough and helps the cookies brown and develop flavor as they bake.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and acidity, giving the cookies a soft, tender texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat that enriches the dough and contributes to tenderness and flavor.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the sour cream's acidity to produce gas that helps the cookies rise.
- Chopped raisins
- Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout the cookies.
The step that matters
Adding the flour gradually. Flour develops gluten as it is mixed and worked, so adding it gradually and stopping once the dough is firm enough to roll keeps the cookies tender rather than tough.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cream, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour):
- Raisinthe original
- Vanillafits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Blueberryfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cream, butter, 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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