Ratio Analysis

Key ingredient ratios that determine cookie character. These are the levers that make a cookie chewy, crispy, or cakey.

Key Ratio Distributions

Box plots showing the spread of each ratio across all recipes. The box is Q1-Q3, the line is the median.

The sugar map

Every recipe by its sugar blend (brown : white, left = all white, right edge = 3:1 and beyond) and total sugar load. Color = chewiness. The red drifts right: molasses is moisture, and moisture is chew. Ringed dots are iconic recipes; click any dot to open it.

Flour : Fat

Higher means drier, more structured cookies. Lower means richer, more tender.

Chewy 1.0 - 1.3

Crispy 1.5+

Flour : Sugar

Sugar competes with flour for structure. More sugar = more spread, more caramelization.

Chewy 0.8 - 1.0

Crispy 0.6 - 0.8

Brown : White Sugar

Brown sugar = more moisture (molasses) = chewier. White sugar = crisper, more spread.

Chewy 1.0+

Crispy < 0.5

Egg : Flour

Eggs provide structure, moisture, and leavening. More egg = puffier, more cakey.

Chewy 0.3 - 0.4

Crispy 0.2 - 0.3

Chocolate : Flour

How chocolatey the cookie is relative to its dough. Higher = more intense chocolate.

Chewy varies

Crispy varies

Hydration

Total liquid (eggs + dairy) relative to flour. More hydration = more gluten development = chewier.

Chewy 0.4+

Crispy < 0.3

Ratio Statistics

Ratio	Mean	Median	Std Dev	Range
Flour : Fat	1.68	1.47	1.44	0 - 31.1
Flour : Sugar	1.44	1.23	1.37	0.14 - 30.0
Brown : White Sugar	0.91	0.70	1.10	0 - 7.00
Egg : Flour	0.26	0.26	0.33	0 - 4.17
Chocolate : Flour	0.90	0.89	0.54	0 - 3.54
Total Fat %	16.7	16.5	5.55	0 - 46.1
Total Sugar %	20.2	20.3	6.16	1.27 - 44.0
Total Flour %	25.1	25.4	6.88	4.16 - 55.4
Hydration	0.31	0.27	0.41	0 - 5.76