Or: the Trials and Tribulations of an Uptown Girl with a Boyfriend from Old Europe

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Location: Basel, Switzerland

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Three down... a gazillion to go

Heather's comment to my last post reminded me of a cookie recipe that I found on Epicurious a long time ago, when my sister was first diagnosed with her wheat allergy. With peanut butter and chocolate chip as the main ingredients, I suppose it's hard to go wrong. They're so tasty and easy that I used to make them just for myself.

Here's the recipe as originally written. Since my peanut butter's pretty sweet on its own, I usually cut the sugar in half.

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup super chunky peanut butter
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (about 6 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Mix in chocolate chips. Using moistened hands, form generous 1 tablespoon dough for each cookie into ball. Arrange on 2 ungreased baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until puffed, golden on bottom and still soft to touch in center, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool completely.

Makes about 24 cookies.

Incidentally, I think I'll be taking over a bottle of vanilla extract in my suitcase. When I was there last, I had trouble finding it in the grocery stores. I came across imitation vanilla, vanilla sugar, and vanilla beans, but no pure extract.

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8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

yeah tell me about it! i could not even find bread crumbs in the grocery store (in holland) so had to go the old fashioned way and crumb up some crackers! also got blank stares when i asked for sesame seed oil... ehhhh

January 10, 2007 at 1:43 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hope this reply isn't too late, as in, you're no longer in Holland...

Sesame seed oil = sesam olie [sesam ohlee]: Every toko (Chinese food shop) has it.

Bread crumbs = paneermeel [pahnayrmale], to be found in any supermarket near the spice rack.

January 10, 2007 at 12:53 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

hey andreas, thanks for the tip! (yeah its too late but for next time!) i checked the indonesian section of the supermarket but no oil (and we were not in amsterdam where i'm sure there are more international stores)

January 10, 2007 at 7:11 PM  
Blogger Un-Swiss Miss said...

Even in Switzerland they have sesame oil! Next time you're in need I can mail some to you (provided I'm in the continent, of course).

As a side note, in Basel we had the hardest time getting a replacement filter for one of these Bodum French press coffee makers. Swissy Pie ended up having to pick one up in Zürich.

January 10, 2007 at 8:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OMG! :-O
I keep yakking my head off about Zurich, and you're Basel-based. Molte scusi!

El Maíz claims to be the first and only Mexican shop of Switzerland. Luckily you can order online: http://www.elmaiz.ch

Middle East shops and eateries in Basel are most visible in Klein-Basel. Just hop on the Nr 8 Drämli (tram) to Kleinhüningen and keep your eyes peeled. As soon as the headscarf count reaches 50% hop off and shop around :oP

January 11, 2007 at 12:16 PM  
Blogger Un-Swiss Miss said...

Das macht nichts! We do go to Zürich from time to time, and I wouldn't be surprised if it did have more stores. There are definitely lots of ingredients I haven't been able to find in Basel, though partly I don't know where to look. I'll try Kleinbasel - on that side of the river, I've only been to the stores around Claraplatz.

Most urgent questions: 1) Any idea where to get dumpling wrappers? (Not wonton wrappers, but gyoza wrappers.) They're easy to make, but time-consuming, so I'd prefer to buy them. and 2) Is there a good farmer's market in Basel on the weekends? The one in Schifflande is ok, but compared to the fabulous one in Berne it makes me want to cry!

January 11, 2007 at 5:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1) Unfortunately I don't know Basel that well, but the head office of Zurich's New Asia Market is in *drumroll* Basel: New Asia Market AG, Rheinfelderstrasse 1,
http://tel.search.ch/detail/33209d9fa7302ef7
(near Wettsteinplatz, trams 1, 2 or 15 to Messeplatz/Badischer Bhf respectively)
The family running it is mentioned in a Cash article on successful immigrants (it's on page 2):
http://www.ihreschweiz.ch/cash/2006-02-09_Immigranten.pdf
http://www.ihreschweiz.ch/cash/2006-02-09_Immigranten_Seite2.pdf

2) Hmm, the only other farmer market I know is the big one on Marktplatz, a short walk from Schifflände. Open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 8-12. Seems all tramlines except #2 pass through there.

January 12, 2007 at 1:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Vanilla extract, also at El Maíz:
http://www.elmaiz.ch:8080/elmaiz/jsp/user/find.jsp?id=vanill

January 15, 2007 at 9:39 AM  

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