For years I’ve been trying to make delicious chocolate chip cookies as they are made in America. But here in Switzerland they just never quite turned out like I wanted them to be. In the US they use brown sugar which is nearly impossible to get here, and turns out, it’s a key ingredient for the right flavour! I did my research on different types of sugar and learned:

Sugar from sugar beets:

In Europe this is the most common type of sugar. Mostly we know it as refined sugar wich is the white kind.

Sugar from sugar cane:

Sugar from sugar cane in Switzerland is known as Rohrzucker and can be refined or unrefined. In both cases the sugar’s color is brownish. However that is not the same as brown sugar, which I found out. (Previously I have been using Rohrzucker to make my cookies)
Brown sugar is sugar made from sugar cane AND adding the molasses from the cane as well. This gives it a caramel-y flavor, which gives the cookies a uniquely delicious taste. In Switzerland this is known as Vollzucker. Funny enough we ended up finding brown sugar in the downtown book store called Orell Füssli where they have a section with foods from England and America.

Another problem I’ve run into while baking American desserts is that they use baking soda which also isn’t really used here. We use baking powder (Backpulver) but not the soda. When I was baking pretzel bread I stumbled upon “Natron” and I read the back of the package and it said “also called baking soda”… so I guess I accidentally found my baking soda. :-)

Now to come back to the cookies, I finally also found a delicious sounding recipe on Half Baked Harvest, gave it a try and loved it!

Ingredients:

2 sticks of salted butter
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of chocolate
flaky salt for sprinkling

Instructions:

Melt the butter in a frying pan until it starts to brown. Then pour it into a bowl and let the butter cool down a bit.
Preheat the oven to 170°C (350°F) and cover a tray with a baking sheet.
Mix the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and the melted butter and combine until it is smooth. Then add the flour, oats, baking soda and salt and mix again. Carefully add the chocolate chips. (I ended up cutting chocolate bars into chunks because I don’t like our chocolate chips available)
Form the batter into golf ball sized balls and place them on the baking tray. Flatten them out so they are about 1cm thick. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes. Then take the tray out of the oven and drop it on the counter top twice, to make the cookies flatter. Then bake them for another 2 - 3 minutes until the edges begin to set. Remove from the oven and leave them on the baking tray as they will cook a little more on there.
Optionally you can sprinkle a little bit of flaky salt over the cookies and enjoy!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Browned Butter