Making homemade chocolate chips will unlock a new level in your baking. In this blog, we’ll walk you through simple steps for making dark, milk and white chocolate chips in your kitchen. You’ll also have the freedom to personalize your chocolate chips with a homemade touch. Join us in the world of chocolate-making where we’ll uncover the secrets to making delicious chocolate chips from scratch with no additives!
What are chocolate chips used for?
Chocolate chips are small, sweetened pieces of chocolate that maintain their shape when baked, creating gooey pockets of melted chocolate throughout your chocolate chip cookies. Besides cookies, chocolate chips can be used in various baked goods such as muffins, brownies, breads, cakes, and pancakes. They’re also used in recipes for granola bars and trail mix, adding a burst of chocolate flavor to the final product. Additionally, some people enjoy using chocolate chips as toppings for ice cream or yogurt and more.
Why don’t chocolate chips melt when they are heated?
Chocolate chips are formulated to retain their shape while baking. When it comes to melting, it’s all about the fat in chocolate. The more cocoa butter it has, the quicker it melts.
The key to this is the composition of the chocolate used in making the chips. Baking chocolate chips often contain a higher proportion of cocoa solids, which means less cocoa butter which has a melting point just below body temperature. This allows the chips to hold their form during baking, ensuring that they don’t completely melt and dissolve into the batter. Additionally, some chocolate chip formulations may include stabilizers, emulsifiers and other ingredients to further support the structure of the chips, preventing them from losing their shape under the heat of an oven.
Homemade Chocolate Chips Recipe (Dark, White, and Milk)
Here’s a simple recipe for making your own chocolate chips at home. You can customize the flavor by choosing dark, white, or milk chocolate.
Ingredients:
For Dark Chocolate Chips:
- 1 cup dark chocolate (70% )
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
For Milk Chocolate Chips:
- 1 cup milk chocolate
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Equipment
- Microwave safe bowl
- Spatula
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Piping bag or ziplock bag
Method
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt your chocolate (in a double boiler or microwave at 15-second intervals, stirring after each interval until smooth), then combine with cocoa powder.
- If you plan to bake with your chocolate chips, there is no need to temper them. However, if you plan to eat them out of hand, make sure to temper the chocolate before shaping your chips. That way, they will look shiny and not melt in your hands when you eat them.
- Shape chocolate chips by piping small drops onto the baking sheet. You can use a piping bag or a small zip-lock bag with the corner snipped off. If you want the classic chocolate chip tips, allow the chocolate to cool slightly before piping.
- Let the chocolate chips set at room temperature or put them in the refrigerator for faster hardening.
- After the chocolate chips have hardened, transfer them to an airtight container and store them in a cool, dry place.
We hope you enjoyed making these chocolate chip cookies at home. Remember, crafting small batches of treats at home not only brings satisfaction but also allows you to control the ingredients, free from unwanted additives. So, roll up your sleeves, gather your ingredients, and let the sweet adventure begin!
For more great articles and recipes, check out the rest of our CocoTerra blog.
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