Chocolate chips for expats
As ubiquitous as they are in the US, chocolate chips are practically unheard-of in the rest of the world’s supermarkets. Sometimes the clever expat must improvise:
1. Unwrap a bunch of dark chocolate bars (extra bonus step – freeze them first)
2. put them in a ziplock bag and seal it
3. break up the chocolate in the manner of your choosing (drop the bag on the floor several times, take a wooden mallet to it, etc. etc. Be creative!)
This little tip isn’t new… in fact American expats have been making their own chocolate chips using this method for decades, if not centuries. But when a fresh-off-the-boat gal from Florida asked me about chocolate chips the other day, it reminded me that not everyone knows this ancient expat secret.
Here’s a little bonus tip: in place of brown sugar, use white sugar plus a tablespoon or so of molasses. Now go forth and make cookies to dazzle your host countrymen!
Bonus tip #2: don’t even think of using those vanilla-flavored sugar packets sold in Germany as a substitute for vanilla extract. In my experience, real vanilla extract is one of the very few food items still worth smuggling over from the US. Unless you live in Zurich and can buy it at El Maiz, that is. If someone has a source in Munich that isn’t absurdly expensive, please share!
I made these cookies for our Eurovision party tomorrow night. I can hardly wait! I think so far Azerbaijan is my favorite, but I haven’t finished watching part two of the semifinals yet. How can you not love this act?
