I'm so glad I found this forum, here in the Netherland we don't have a very rich decorated cookies-history, so it's hard to gain information on this subject. And as a consequence it's also very hard to get my hands on
'special' ingredients such as cream of tarter, meringue powder and Crisco over here. Can anyone tell me what I could use as a substitute for these products?

cream of tarter - I would look for a sugar cookie recipe and royal icing recipe without any cream of tarter
http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe4811&contentGroup=EDF&layout=edf

meringue powder - use egg whites, like they used to do before all the fancy stuff came out for your royal icing, or powdered egg whites

Powdered Egg White Recipe
http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe2330044&contentGroup=MSW&site=weddings

Real Egg White Recipe
http://www.baking911.com/recipes/royalicing/raw_eggs.htm

Crisco - butter (it's better to use butter, shortening is not tasty, and there is no reason why you'd need it for a cookie)

Hello Roos88,

welcome to CC, it´s always nice to see some "neighbours". For the cream of tartar you may try a translation. In german it´s called "Weinsteinsäure" and is availabel in any pharmacy store (and pretty cheap as well ). So you should be able to get it near you.
B

Thank you so much for your replies and Tuggy, thanx for the German translation, now I know what it should be in dutch, 'wijnsteenzuur'. Kinda looks similar to eachother

How interesting. It's sold in the pharmacy? What is it used for other than making beaten egg whites stay beaten?

Hi Ashiana,
Are you from the Netherlands yourself? Leuk om een nederlandstalige hier op dit forum tegen te komen! Did you get that? LOL!
I'm actually from Tilburg, a 20-minute train ride from Breda!

Nee ik ben van Suriname en ben nog nooit naar holland geweest.
Ik heb ook families in Tilburg. Ik heb families die al over 20 jaren in holland wonen . Mijn moeder en broertje wonen in Breda en ze logeren hier elk jaar.
Jij bent de tweede nederlander hier denk ik.
Je gaat van deze site houwen .Hoe lang al bak je taarten??

Vinden mensen het niet vervelend als wij in het Nederlands praten? Ik ben hier natuurlijk nog maar net, dus ik weet niet goed wat hier gebruikelijk is
Ik bak nog niet zo heel lang taarten, ik denk ongeveer een half jaar. En mijn specialiteit op dit moment is eigenlijk vooral cupcakes en cookies, maar ik hoop hier veel te leren!

Hey guys! I just found this site myself and then found the baker from NL. I have been living in the states since August 1985. So I have been living in the states longer then I lived in NL. Although I still consider myself a Nederlander. I used to live in Halfweg, which is right in between Amsterdam and Haarlem. I still have family living in NL. My sister lives in Delft. Great to see some other Dutch.

Have a great day!
Pauline

Hey Pauline

Welkom to cake central.
The dutch speaking group is getting there .
So far i think we have 4 of us.

Hey Pauline!
Leuk, nog een Nederlander, welkom!
I have already learned a lot from everyone here, I'm sure you will enjoy it here!

Hallo allemaal,

Ik ben ook sinds kort verslaafd aan deze site! In Amsterdam/Amstelveen kun je bij enkele zaken aan die speciale spullen komen (wel duur $$$$).
Ook de site http://deleukstetaarten.citywebz.com/index.php

Groetjes allemaal!!

Just wanted to let you know for Crisco you can use any solid vegetable fat (Pflanzenfett) that comes in a 'brick'.

I can't speak Dutch, but it is so interesting to read or hear it spoken...I can understand most of it because it sounds so familiar to German

Welcome to the boards, neighbors!!

Oh no, people! We better learn Dutch - can't understand what they're saying about us! Ha ha ha

Hi guys!

I'm from Amsterdam, the capital! It's got a terrible reputation, but it's not that bad!
I've been baking cakes for a while, but they were usually good-tasting, but not very good-looking.....
I'm sometimes in awe to see what some of you ladies make; it's artwork, amazing....
I'm going to visit a friend in Arlington, VA for a few days next friday (I work for KLM) and hope to bring back some good pans or other stuff they don't sell here!!

O, and dutch fellow bakers, could you let me know if and where you can do cake-decorating courses in the Randstad?! TIA and best regards from sunny (well today, that is ) Amsterdam,
Valerie

Aaahhh klm.... familiar with that one. My parents live in breda and fly that when they come visit us in houston.

Happy baking