K is for Cookie
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011Actually K is for Kekse, but I don’t think the Cookie Monster song translates well into German. Another thing that doesn’t translate well are my Christmas cookie recipes. I started out with 5 target recipes and went shopping. I found the ingredients for 3 of them. Some things like Reese’s chips or instant oatmeal just don’t exist in our village. It’s not that Austrians aren’t into baking. There are huge displays in the grocery store of flour, sugar, nuts, spices, and all the stuff needed to make cakes, gingerbread, and all sorts of Christmas treats, just not cookies.
I should have taken the hint when I tried to buy an extra cookie sheet and couldn’t find one among the 20 types of cake pans and spring forms. Instead of swapping between two trays, I decided to just use the one that I had brought from the US. This would have been a good plan except that when I went to put the first batch into the oven, it didn’t fit. It was about 2 inches too wide. After a brief panic, we ended up using the broiler pan set on a higher rack.
Considering the pan situation and a few ingredient substitutes, the M&M (yes! they have those) cookies turned out close to normal, but a little crunchy (read: rock solid). We’ve been eating them anyway, so they can’t be too bad.
A few other things I’ve learned: Vanilla is called Bourbon Vanilla and is a powder, not a liquid. Backpulver is something like baking powder, there is no baking soda, and cream of tartar is called Natron and sold in organic health food stores. I’m going to try my new knowledge out on batch of peanut butter cookies tonight. Stay tuned.
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