I posted about making homemade chocolate chips a long time ago. Since that time, I’ve received several emails asking for more help and detail about how this works. It seems that many of you who tried the recipe are having trouble getting everything to melt and dissolve and mix like it should.
In light of your chocolate chip frustration…I decided to do a more thorough tutorial about how I make chocolate chips. The words Chocolate and frustration should never be in the same sentence together. Ever.
You can use coconut oil or butter to make your chips. I used butter this time because I’m almost out of coconut oil. Butter doesn’t quite work as well as coconut oil. They tend to be softer with butter…but still oh so good. Especially when you put them in these Chocolate Chip Brownies.
Here again is the recipe:
Homemade Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup rapadura or sucanat (you can use white sugar if you want)
1 cup coconut oil or butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (homemade vanilla extract if you have it!)
Begin by placing the cocoa, sucanat and butter (or coconut oil) into a quart sized jar.
Fill a small saucepan with two or three inches of water. Place the jar into the saucepan/water. Turn the heat on medium/high to begin melting the butter.
Stir often. After five minutes, my mixture looked like this:
After ten minutes, my mixture looked like this:
It took a total of thirteen minutes for the butter to completely melt. I then pulled it out of the water, added the vanilla and stirred well.
The mixture in my jar looked and smelled SO GOOD that I wanted to drink it. But I didn’t. That would have made quite a mustache.
Pour the mixture into a 9×13 inch pan covered with parchment paper. Spread it as evenly as you can.
As you can hopefully tell from the following picture, I still have a little sucanat that refused to completely dissove. Can you see the bits of chunkyness? That’s been one of the questions I’ve received from several of you. But…the little bits of chunkyness don’t hurt anything. My chocolate chips tasted just fine!
You like how the ceiling fan is reflecting in the chocolate?
I’m just trying to show off my terrible photography skills.
Place your pan into the refrigerator for 1-2 hours so that the chocolate can harden. Remove it from the parchment paper and break it into chunks. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container (unless you and your family eat them all first).
Just a note: These chocolate chips taste wonderful in Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies, but keep in mind that they are very pure and therefore tend to melt and get runny while baking. Chocolate Chip Cookies with homemade chocolate chips taste wonderful, but might look a little bit funny. No matter, ugly cookies taste good too. :) I recommend eating these chocolate chips plain, mixed with peanuts or in trail mix, in Chocolate Chip Brownies or in Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins.
And now, I do believe I need to use my freshly made chocolate chips to bake brownies. After I eat some green beans and broccoli of course…
Thanks for sharing this again! I recently read that many chocolate chips are GM, and I assumed that organic chocolate chips would be super expensive – this sounds like an easy and cost-effective alternative!
Thank you! I’m so looking forward to trying this. Thanks for the detail so I know what to expect.
Love your blog!
My daughter was just asking me last week if we could make our own chocolate chips! She is going to be thrilled to see a tutorial! thanks so much!
Oh, I’ve wanted to make my own for a while now, this is great!
I was curious if they melted quickly once out of the fridge/freezer. I’m guessing if I used CO, it would melt faster, but butter maybe not.
Esp in your breakfast cookies. :) We love those!
Thanks for the great tutorial!
I actually find that the chocolate chips made with butter melt faster once out of the fridge. I get them out just before I’m ready to add them to my cookies, etc.
This is a great tutorial and I can’t wait to do this. I just have one question. What is sucanat and where in the grocery store might I find it? Thanks.
Sucanat is “dehydrated cane sugar juice” and is one of the healthiest forms of sugar you can find. I order mine through my health food coop. You can try looking at a health food store, or even in your grocery store in the health food section. OR…here’s a link where you can get it from Amazon: Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Organic Sucanat (Brown Sugar), 16-Ounce Pouches (Pack of 12)
I did have trouble with this. I think because I used raw sugar? Also I mixed the chocolate chunk into the breakfast cookies and had a terrible chocolate mess …the cookies tasted fine. (by the way I did chill the whole thing over night).
What is rapadura (or sucanat for that matter) and where do you puchase it?
Thank you so much…I’ve seen it listed in a few recipes but hand no clue what it was. Now I know what to look for and thanks for the link to Amazon.
I’ve made these several times, and they are awesome! My evaporated cane juice doesn’t fully dissolve either, but I don’t mind the crunch in the chocolate chunks. I usually refrigerate the chocolate in the original melting container, and stir frequently. I try to catch it just before it sets up, give it a final stir, then pour it out onto the parchment paper. My theory is that the undissolved sugar will be suspended in the chocolate instead of sinking to the bottom. I’m not sure it’s worth the extra work though.
Thank you so much for posting healthier “sweets” alternatives! I love your site and have told so many of my friends/family about it! I’m a young wife/mom and recently had a bit of a health scare, so now more than ever I’ve committed my health to God…I was harming my body with all the bad food I was eating! ..my first step was to cut out pop..SO hard..but I’m sticking with it! Thanks for posting healthier alternatives that are still yummy!!
Could the butter mixture be melted in the microwave as opposed to the stove?
Hi! We love the chocolate chunks. It’s like a little Almond Joy! I also could not get the rapadura to melt, so now I don’t feel so bad. I tried using the chips in cookies, and they instantly melted and created one large, thin cookie on the pan. Has this happened to you? I followed your directions for cookies in your “What to do with the cocoa in your kitchen”. Would love to know of any solutions to this problem or if I’m the only one that has had it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Good to know about the undissolved sugar. I will not be anxious about them next time. = )
I made this yesterday to stir into homemade ice cream during the last bit of churning. It was delicious, one of my kids picked them all out to save for last!
Hmm…I don’t know. I don’t use a microwave and while I’m sure the butter would melt in the microwave and everything would mix in…I don’t know if the consistency would be right.
You’re definitely not the only one who has had this trouble! Check out this post! https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/healthy-treat-for-today-whole-wheat-chocolate-chip-cookies
ok, thanks! If I try and make this using a microwave, I’ll be sure to let you know!
I don’t see why it would be any different, but who knows!
Wow, I’ve got to try this!
I just made the chocolate chips. So, I haven’t tried them in cookies yet. But, have you tried refrigerating your cookie dough between batches. I have done this with other cookies and liked the way they turned out. But, don’t know if it will work in this case.
Have you ever experimented and tried to make peanut butter chips? I searched for a recipe for them online, but didn’t see any. If find one, or come up with one yourself, can you please post it? Thanks!
Hey, when I’m making recipes that I really don’t want to be chunky from the raw sugar, I blend the demerara, sucanat, turbinado, whatever kind you use, in the blender until it’s powdered. I even made a lemon cake last week that I switched out for whole wheat flour and turbinado. It called for a powdered sugar glaze and I had success using the blended sugar for this. It was a teeny tiny bit grainy still, but if you were melting it in a recipe, I’m sure it would totally dissolve.
This looks so easy and yummy. I’m going to make them today. A perfect rainy day project.
The issue with microwaving chocolate is tempurature regulation. The chocolate has a tendancy to burn, and the butter will pop and make a huge mess. If you can keep the chocolate from burning, and maybe put some sort of vented top on the container, (it would prevent the mess but might cause condensation, which could drip into the mix, possibly binding it up) it might work a bit faster.
what does gm mean?
yay! i have been trying to feed my family (me, 24: my husband, 26; and 2 sons, 18mos, and 3yrs) more healthy foods. In this quest my husband has been asking and asking me if there is an alternative to buying chocolate chips at the store.. i kept saying no, there isnt or that it would be too hard and i didnt want to try it. well, lo and behold… here it is and it looks EASY! thank you!
Genetically modified. :)
Thanks this is a great for the chocolate lover!!! We are trying to avoid all hydrogenated oil, but the grandkids love chocolate chip cookies. I am also looking for a recipe to make peanut butter chips. I have looked extensively online & cannot find one. I was hoping you had tried your hand at making them! Please let me know if you have a recipe for peanut butter chips.
I don’t have one, but it is on my (very long) list of recipes to play with! I’ll post it if I ever come up with a good one that works!
I don’t know how everyone feels about honey, especially those with small children but I used honey when I “basically” made this recipe (except with the addition of some coarsely ground espresso beans) Next time I will cool and stir again before I put it in the freezer. We had some sweet spots and not so sweet spots but all broken up and hiding in the fridge, its a divine little treat.
What a wonderful idea!! I was just about to spend $95 on a 25-pound bag of choc chips through a co-op, but now I’m going to make some!
I just found this recipe and all the replies indicate that it is good….. I am just surprised that EVERYONE has Sucanat or whatever. I have never heard of it. Is there a substitute for it? I just tried to find out on Yahoo Answers, to no avail. Could you guys help? =-)
Sucanat is dehydrated cane sugar juice, one of the most nutritious forms of sugar. You can substitute brown sugar if you like. Here’s more about sucanat that I wrote: https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/the-most-nutritious-sweeteners
I got mine from azure standard for way cheap last month. Just look at azurestandard.com. It was like a buck a pound.
Would it be possible to make this directly in the saucepan while stirring constantly? I have made frosting that way, and I wonder if it would help with dissolving the Sucanat. I’ll experiment.
Hey everyone. If you did butter instead of coconut oil, would you melt it? And would this work:
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup melted butter
1 T. vanilla
Could you substitute the sweetener with agave? Could you get close to the same results?
I’ve never tried it with liquid sweetener, so I don’t know if it would work or not. BUT, my latest research shows me that agave isn’t the healthiest to consume. I’ve thought of trying it with maple syrup…not sure though. I feel like liquid sweeteners would make the chips have a hard time hardening up.
Can this be made in a double boiler?
Yes, I don’t know why not!
Hi!
I tried making these with coconut palm sugar because I cannot have cane sugar of any kind, and they were delicious! The only thing was that the sugar separated a little during cooling. I’ve been experimenting with my own sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free chocolate chip recipe that I really like too: http://thepalatepeacemaker.com/2010/05/18/chocolate-chunks/
Thanks!
I looked through the replies to this post and didn’t see anyone make this suggestion, but I saw on someone else’s blog an idea to solve the “sucanat crystals not dissolving” issue. Anyway, she suggested a food processor, but I tried putting the sucanat in my coffee grinder (which I use basically to grind flax – we’re not coffee drinkers) and it blended beautifully into tiny crystals which THEN dissolved to make a better chocolate chip!
I made the chips just for cookies & after doing all this it only makes
sense to me that these would melt & change the cookies to a thin mess.
It is mostly oil & it’s like adding all the ingredients into your cookie
mix. And I tried refrigerating the cookie dough but it was no match.
I used your “soaked” breakfast cookie recipe for my dough. I think
these would work best in something that doesn’t get cooked- ice cream?
on top of a cake? (or just eating them- ha!) Now I’m going to figure out what to use crumbled up cookies in…
What is rapadura or sucanat? Is that a substitution for these if you can’t buy either of them?
Rapadura and sucanat are dehydrated cane sugar juice…one of the healthiest ways sugar cane can be processed. You can just use regular white or brown sugar as a substitute if you want!
So glad I came across this through another post of yours! I had been wondering how I could afford to buy an organic chip and now I can make them myself! I know it doesn’t have the flavor of butter or coconut oil, but I wonder if organic palm shortening would work better in the recipe for keeping the chips from melting too readily, since the shortening’s melting point is about 97 degrees, whereas coconut oil is 76 degrees?
Going to give it a go. I am always looking for ways to incorporate alkaline food into my diet – especially desserts and chocolate. Sucanat is mentioned on several pH charts as being alkaline. Going to try your chocolate recipe over coconut almond macaroons. . . Thanks
Could this be made with agave or honey. It’s hard to come by anything else other then regular sugar in my nect of the woods.
Wish I would have seen this recipe before I bough my chocolate chips at the store today lol. I got 1 bag for $2.88 at Wal-Mart and though “Wow that’s a lot for 1 bag” I wanted two but didn’t want to spend that much. Of course I won’t have time to make homemade chocolate chips in time to bake my chocolate chip cookies after work but I would have liked to saved money as I have all these ingredients at home already. Will try these next time.
Ps. I’m also assuming that we can use regular honey in place of the sucanat on most all recipes?
Someone else tried it with honey and reported that it worked pretty well.
Yep!
Okay, I’ve made these several times and they turned out great, but for some reason the last couple of batches have been…off. One was really bitter, the other just not very sweet. The only thing I can figure is that I changed the cocoa brand I’m using (first used Hershey’s cocoa powder, now using the Whole Foods brand 100% pure cacao powder). Would this make a difference?
Can I use this recipe to make cinnamon chips? I really want to make some “from scratch” cinnamon chips. Any ideas?
Thanks~
Huh…that’s WEIRD. I suppose the different cocoa would make difference. I’ve never used the Whole Foods variety.
Ooh,that sounds SO good. I’ve never made cinnamon chips. I may have to give it a try!
Can I use regular sugar and when making cookies etc, do you go by weight? Some pkgs say so many cups or ozs. Going by cups is hard isn’t it when you have larger chucks. Maybe I could use our little mincer cutter and keep a eye on size. Glad I found this because I din’t buy ch. chips the other day almost $3 for a small bag. Oh dear cocoa don’t have a date.
Yes, you can use regular sugar. I go by cups to measure usually.
I’m so grateful for spatulas! If I could have crawled into the jar I would have! This was wonderful chocolate!!! Can’t wait to use the final result! Thanks Laura!
From one Husker fan (who relocated to Indiana) to another! ;)
I love these chocolate chips, but always have a problem with the sucanat completely dissolving. Today we blended the sucanat in our coffee grinder into “powdered” sucanat and then followed the instructions just the same. No problems with the sucanat dissolving and the chips are smooth and creamy. Tastes great!
Nichole, thank you for this idea! I finally made a batch (gluten/dairy-free chips are SPENDY) for my daughter, and I would say my sucanat didn’t dissolve AT ALL. The sugar part is sweet, but the cocoa/oil on your tongue stays bitter. I was looking here to see if anyone had a solution. I will try this. Next time (unless I can put it all in the blender hardened? hmmm.. haha!)
Was considering trying something like I do for a quick glass of chocolate milk; I take my sucanat, cocoa, dash of vanilla, then put a little splash of hot tap water, just to dissolve things, before adding the milk. Tasty!
I made these last night. I was very nervous, I have never made chocolate before, so I followed the recipe exacly. For some reason my butter and choclate separated, so I have a layer of hard butter on top of my choclate. Any idea what I may have done wrong?
No, I don’t think you did anything wrong. Mine often separate like that too as they chill, but when I break them into pieces, the pieces all have both layers so it works. I think when I use coconut oil instead of butter they don’t seem to separate as much. Not sure why butter likes to do that!
I am addicted to your website, I am learning how to make all our foods with quality ingredients. And your site has been so helpful, thank you! My family LOVES chocolate milk (while it is raw milk, it is still Nestle powder we use), do you have a recipe for an all-nautral alternative?
We make very tasty chocolate milk (I call them milkshakes, but they don’t have ice cream in them). It’s been on my list to share this idea forever…hopefully I’ll get around to it soon!!
http://thepalatepeacemaker.com/2010/05/16/peanut-butter-baking-chips/
I have not tried this recipe, but they look great!
I am so excited to try these. I have a question Do you ever use Agave instead of sugar? Its a liquid and all natural. I use it in my tea’s and stuff instead of sugar also good for diabetics(better than sugar)..Just wonder if u ever use this and how i could go about using it?
could you use some cocoa butter in the recipe to (maybe) help them keep their shape in cookies? I know cocoa butter isn’t something everyone has access to, but I’m a soaper and I usually have some hanging around the house…might have to sub some for the butter/coconut oil :)
I’ve not been absolutely sure on the health factor of agave, so I quit using it. I don’t think it would work for this recipe anyway because it is a liquid. You want the chocolate chips to firm up so they will break into chunks.
Wouldn’t hurt to try!
From what I understand the cacao powder is much more bitter than cocoa. So you would have to increase your sweetener if you don’t care for the more bitter tasting chocolate, or use less cacao.
I’m ready for that recipe!!!! :O)
thank you thank you!
These look wonderful. Do you think that you could pipe this liquid into candy molds – thinking valentine hearts – or would it not be the right texture? Thanks!
Well, sorry I’m too late answering this for Valentine’s Day, but I think it might work. If you use butter, they might be too squishy, but I think coconut oil would work!
Thanks, Laura.
I did end up making it. It was delicious but the butter separated from the chocolate in the mold, and the sucanat didn’t disolve. Next time, I may use a grinder to make the sucanat finer and try the coconut oil. Thank you!
Even in my organic chocolate chips they were made with soy
Thanks so much for this recipe Im going to try it tomorrow
Hey there! I just tried this recipe and it came out fantastic! I did play with your recipe just a bit, I substituted brown sugar for the sucanat as I really have no way of getting any rapadora or sucanat. I was scared to see how it would come out but it worked really well, the chocolate is all smooth and tastes really awesome. Thanks for putting this recipe up, it was the only simple one I could find! :)
Ha ha, i just made this an hour ago. It’s in the fridge cooling. As i was reading another recipe, i realized i completely forgot to add vanilla to it!! lol
Hi Brandi, i just wanted to let you know about this article from
thehealthyhomeeconomist.com about agave. You might be interested.
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2009/08/agave-nectar-latest-health-food-scam/
Thank you for posting this recipe! I tried it twice and each time, the butter seperated to the top. I was wondering if I used too mach butter?
have you mentioned yet why agave might be unhealthy?
No, that happens when I use butter too. It still tastes good and works, but it separates. I don’t have this problem when I use coconut oil. It stays mixed better!
I talked about it in this post: https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/the-most-nutritious-sweeteners
I’ve been buying these http://www.amazon.com/Paskesz-Baking-Products-Chocolate-10-Ounce/dp/B001FA18FK at my local grocery store. They are Kosher chocolate chips for passover and they are soy free. If I remember right the ingredients were just chocolate, chocolate Liqeuer and vanilla. Pricey, but soy free!
Thanks so much for detailing how to make these!
Looks yummy!
Can I make these with cocoa butter instead of butter or coconut oil? I recently bought some for hard lotion bars (another great, great tip from your blog, works magically on hubby’s eczema!).
Greetings, Reini
I have been looking for a recipe like this! I am so excited to try it. I am a chocolate chip addict, but our budget is really tight, so having the option to make homemade ones is so great! Thanks for posting this.
I’ve never used cocoa butter so I’m not sure. It sounds WONDERFUL though!
So glad the hard lotion bar is working for you so well. I LOVE mine!
I’m looking to make Sugar Free chocolate chips and am wondering if this recipe would work just as well with Xylitol Sweetener? It’s the same consistency as white sugar, and I believe would still melt just as well. My hubby and I love making homemade SF ice cream, and would love to add these to the ice cream or on top of it! :-)
I made these yesterday but just changed the ratio of cocoa to sucanat (since I’m a bittersweet chocolate kinda gal!) I used about 3/4 cup cocoa and 1/4 cup sucanat (give or take a little) and they were perfectly suited to my taste! I’m also thinking of trying to add a little rum or bourbon to make the taste a little more complex. I’m thinking these would be delicious in some dried fruit and nut energy bars! Thanks for the inspiration and great tutorital!
Can you use sugar in the raw with these? I need to get me some coconut oil!
I don’t have experience using this sweetener, so I’m not sure. I would imagine it would work since it is the same consistency as white sugar. I’ve not researched this to know whether I’d recommend it as a healthy sweetener or not.
Yep, sugar in the raw would work.
Thanks Laura. I tried it and unfortunately, the butter separated
and “sat” on top of the chocolate. I don’t currently have Coconut
Oil, but i’ll try that.
Xylitol is a product of a few different fruits, as we all from
Birch Trees (I believe) and doesn’t have any actual sugar content,
but is as sweet as it is. I use it cuz I’m following the “Belly Fat
Cure” diet. :-) I could also try the recipe with Maltitol, which
is another natural sweetener, with the consistency and taste of
Corn Syrup. :-) I’ll keep trying my hand at it, though. Your pictures
look delicious!! :-)
Would you please tell me what brand of cocoa you use? The chocolate chips look so yummy! Thank you.
I just use the bulk organic cocoa powder that I buy from my food co-op Azure Standard.
This looks so good! I can’t wait to try it and also your homemade pop tarts. I love every recipe of yours that I have tried so far. Thank you!
Well, I tried these and flopped. The sugar won’t dissolve, it’s just sitting in the bottom of the pan, the coconut oil and cocoa in the top liquid. I have no idea why. It tastes horrible because there is no sugar in it since it’s all on the bottom. Don’t know if that makes any sense.
Guess I’ll stick with regular chocolate chips although I do hate the ingredients of the store bought.
I have made these several times. If you want the sugar to blend smoothly place in a blender after your fat has melted. That will take care of the sweet/grity bottoms and bittersweet tops you may have ended up with. I enjoy them both ways, though. Try it once more and blend. This recipe has many possiblities; bittersweet, semi-sweet, and dark options by playing with the sugar amounts and types of cocoa.
I did eventually do that since I was thinking of new ways to not waste it. It worked out a bit better. I was even thinking that maybe I should blend the sucanat first before adding it to the mix.
Thank you for the tip, and even though I was frustrated the first go around, throwing the towel in so to speak, I’ll pick the towel up and try again.
You might also try using confectioners sugar (a.k.a powdered sugar). It works well in thermometer-free fudge, and in chocolate butter cream frosting (both easy and homemade)…. Keep in mind I have never tried it myself, it’s just a thought. :)
Yes, it seems there are many options.
Thanks for the ideas.
If you wait until the mixture is nearly cool you can roll it into small balls to look more like chips if you are so inclined.
Hi Laura! I attempted this recipe the other day and failed. It wasn’t you, it was ME! But I’m not sure what I did wrong. When I checked on my chocolate while it was hardening in the refrigerator, I realized the butter was just sitting on top of the chocolate. Don’t you worry, I ate it anyway! But hope to figure this out! :) Thanks!
Thanks for the great recipe!!! One of my kids recently developed a milk allergy, and I was really upset at the thought of making her give up chocolate completely. I’m going to try to make these with a pastry bag and piping tip to make them look like standard chocolate chips. I’ll let ya know how it turns out.
It depends on the type of sweetener substitute you would like to use because some substitutes break down poorly when heated and others do not behave as regular sugar does when heating it. That is why it is suggested you use certain sweeteners for baking verses adding it to sweeten a drink.
I tried these today, as my own milk allergy is worsening to the point that I can’t tolerate milk with chocolate in it, either. I had the same problem with the sugar separating to the bottom and being gritty. My thought for next time is to melt the sugar first, THEN add the coconut oil and cocoa powder.
Also, I just melted it all in a heavy pot, stirring constantly. I didn’t use the “jar in boiling water” method. Is there any particular reason that you should, or is it just personal preference?
Can we sub anything for cocoa powder?
I’ve never tried anything but cocoa powder, so I’m not sure. :)
Same thing happened to me! weird . . . wonder why??
I am going to try these for my son who cannot have many foods. We will have to use the coconut oil (which I haven’t used before, but that is safe for him) Are there any different instructions if we use it instead of the butter? Also I know you told someone they could use sugar in the raw. I am going to use pure organic cane sugar, will that change anything? My Mom, sister and I all swear it completely changes our family recipes when we use it. I have to use it because of my son.
It would also be nice to hear from SuperMom as to how it went using the pastry bag with these. Trying to get foods to look like everyone else’s is a huge thing at my house. It’s hard to be different all the time. :)
These actually turn out better with coconut oil instead of butter. You might want to try mixing everything in a blender before heating on the stove to see if the sugar dissolves better and makes everything mix well!
Thank you so much for the great recipe. I’m defffintily going to try and Prob strat doing all the time after all I always have all these ingerdents in my house but not alys store bought chips and they can cost a pretty penny for one small bag I use for one recipe, not to mention some of the weird things in some of those store bought brand.
Hi…..I have just been told I have to go gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar free……am wondering if stevia in the raw would work in this recipes? Thanks.
Becky Evans
I’m not sure – I think it would change the consistency a little bit. You could try though – maybe cut the recipe in half so that if it doesn’t work, you don’t waste as many ingredients!
This might seem like a silly question, but I don’t have parchment paper on hand. Could I use wax paper instead? I would think so but then maybe the wax would melt?
Yes, wax paper should work just fine!
For all of those trying to make these without sugar…has anyone tried agave or liquid stevia? Being liquid, they should blend more easily. I am slowly switching from using sucanat to agave, stevia, and other natural blends (swerve, zsweet, etc.). I am going to try this over the weekend with agave and coconut oil and will post how it turns out, but was curious if anyone else had tried before I possibly “ruin” some chocolate. (Can chocolate actually be ruined? Surely there is always an excuse to use it!)
Hey there! I’ve been wanting to make my son his own chocolate chips for a while now. He’s allergic to Casein and with Casein Free Margarine, this recipe seems quick and easy! Headed to the kitchen now, Thanks!
if it tastes bitter before you put it in the fridge ad some coffee mate creamer and it’ll take away the bitterness
Is there anyway to make these taste more like milk chocolate chips? I have made them twice and really like them but I am just more of milk chocolate kind of girl. Thanks!
WOW! My kids love them. I am going to make granola bars and see if these work well in the recipe. I have a “picky” eater and I’m hoping the chocolate will melt well over the rolled oats.I made half a batch to start in a pint mason jar. I used the liquid mixer attachment on my handheld blender before pouring into the pan. I had no separation of butter and sugar in the fridge (we can’t use coconut oil here). Fantastic results on the first shot, I think the mason jar is key. THANK YOU!!
Just found this and I am pumped about it! I am a chocoholic and just gave birth to a little girl and my hormones are yelling at me to eat chocolate :D BUT she has a milk allergy… so I switched up the recipe a bit…
First I used our magic bullet to turn my white sugar into a powdered sugar… figured it would mix better if it was lighter.
Then I used soy margarine (willow run. I let it set out on the table for about 10-15 minutes to let it soften a bit.
I put my powdered sugar and softened butter in a bowl and mixed them until light and creamed.
Then I put the butter/sugar in a pot (over a strainer in a bigger pot with boiling water) with the cocoa powder. I stirred for a good 20 minutes… till it was very smooth.
I added a little agave, almond extract and vanilla.
It’s in the freezer now… can’t wait to try it… in liquid form it was very tasty :)
I made these and they were really gross. I thought you could use white sugar and butter?
So I made made my first batch and it went.. okay. Is Cocoa powder supposed to be the “naturally unsweetned” or am I using the wrong thing??? The taste is not too bad, but since I’m used to eating store bought it’s obvisouly different tasting. I have not baked with it yet though. Thanks for helping
White sugar and butter should have worked okay, although I wonder if using coconut oil with the white flour would have made them set up better? Bummer that it didn’t work! :(
If you use butter instead of coconut oil, they taste more like milk chocolate!
Right, naturally unsweetened cocoa powder. They won’t be as sweet as store bought, but in cookies or brownies they’re perfect!
Can you use 1/2 butter and 1/2 coconut oil?
Sure, that would work!
Hi Laura,
I made these with coconut oil and they were TO DIE FOR! Totally curbed my chocolate craving and since I used stevia (to taste) I didn’t feel a bit guilty eating them. :) Even with a spoonful of peanut butter!
I tried them in a batch of cookies however, and had some problems. They melted all over the cookie pan and dripped down into my oven. My cookies weren’t the prettiest, but that doesn’t matter, the problem was with the oil running right off the pan.
Do you think this is because I used coconut oil instead of butter? Has anyone else had this problem?
I think they’d do great in brownies since you have sides to your pan. I’ll have to try that soon!
Thanks for a great recipe – my kids are sooo happy since we had stopped buying chips from the store.
Paula
Mine melted all over the cookies too, making them ugly – I’m not sure how to prevent that!
i made two batches of these chips today- my first batch had the same problem- i realized that sugar has a higher melting point than the oil/butter. to get the sugar to dissolve, you have to melt it first and then add the other ingredients, or cook and stir the whole thing fr a long time- which i did with my second batch- 20 minutes total. that worked great!!!
hi laura, i’m wondering if you make these up ahead and store them? my guess is you need to keep them in the fridge, right? prob not something you can keep in a jar in your pantry??
thanks,
kim
I tried these last night (and again today…) My second batch turned out soooo good and I am very excited! I melted the sucanat and 1/4C butter first over a higher heat and the sucanat totally melted, then stirred in 1/4C coconut oil and cocoa. Oh my! Delish! I also added a couple of sprinkles of sea salt which I thought was yummy…not much though. I am wondering if you stirred the chips in to your cookies straight out of the freezer if they would melt so much in the oven? I may give that a try. Thank you, Laura for adding a little chocolatey sunshine to my life this week.
Amy
I tried this. Smells amazing. I found out after making it that no one in my house like dark chocolate but me! :D All of it to myself. Thank you for the recipe, it’s amazing.
Yes! These turned out great with carob powder.
You will need less sucanat though since carob is naturally sweet.
What about chopping up the chips into finer pieces? Or using cocoa butter?
If the batter doesn’t have time to set enough to hold the chocolate in place before the chocolate turns runny, that might be a problem.
Coconut oil is liquid at room temp…about 76 °F.
Butter turns liquid between 90-95 °F.
Cocoa butter liquifies between 93-100 °F
I think cocoa butter is the best bet & that’s what Enjoy Life uses in their allergy free chocolate chips.
Be careful with those sweetners, they are powerful laxatives as well!
You are right! Go ahead and store them in the fridge in and air tight
container.
does the butter and cocoa powder have to be in a jar? or can it just be in a pan?
I think you could try it directly in the pan, but it is more likely to scald this way. The jar in water method is similar to using a double boiler. SO, if you do in in the pan without the jar, just be very careful to stir constantly and keep the heat a little lower – hopefully it will work fine!
OOPS! I just finished making this and realized I did not poor the chocolate onto parchment paper… is that going to be bad. should I take it out of the fridge and repour??
It should be okay – you may have a bit of a harder time getting them out of the pan is all. Shucks, you might have to scrape out the parts that are stuck and just eat them. :)
Do you think these would work with honey instead as the sweetener?
I’m not sure if honey would work since it’s a liquid. I’m afraid the chocolate chips wouldn’t harden enough.
Awesome! Love your recipes!
How long do you think they will stay good for in the fridge? Do you know if they can be frozen also?
Thanks!
Mine stay good in the fridge for several weeks, so I would say they’d last for months in the freezer!
I tried these a while ago and due to my son’s allergy I am so thankful to have this recipe. I think the CF “butter” i had was salted, because wheeeew they were salty! I also noticed they melt VERY quickly! I’m going to try again with CF Parkey Lite and I’m going to go ahead and make either a double or triple batch and store them in the freezer. My last batch kept well in the freezer.
THANKS!
Hey there! I’ve adapted these to be casein free as well (my son
is very allergic) and have considered using powdered sugar, but
have used white sugar both times I’ve made these. How did the
powdered sugar work out? The 1st time I did these my CF “butter”
was salted and made these REALLY salty :-( OOPS!
I’m also looking for a way to change the
consistency to solve the “runny/melting” problem… maybe shortening?
Anyway! Can’t wait to hear how yours turned out!
Well the chocolate chips frozen were tasty but when I tried putting
them into cookies they just melted and instead of chocolate chip
cookies I got really really flat brown cookies lol… they didn’t
taste bad, but weren’t really what I was hoping for…
I have no discovered my baby girl is allergic to milk AND soy…
so I will have to revise and try again… probably use palm oil
shortening :)
Definitely adding this to my Recipes to Try category!
I’ve tried using unsweetened baking chocolate and break them up
into chunks, for chocolate chip cookies and mint-chocolate chip
ice cream. The sweetener (sucanat or dates or honey) make the
item taste plenty sweet enough (and add the chocolate flavor)
without adding the sweetener to the chocolate.
I think I will try melting it down and adding the coconut oil,
then break it into chunks – so the end product is more tender.
Baking chocolate (unsw) is pretty hard.
Hang in there with those allergies! Both my girls were allergic to soy and milk protien so I know how hard that can be! I really hope this recipe works for you with your revisions!
It sounds as if they’ve grown out of thier allergy?
Is this true? If so when? and what were thier reactions?
My son has been tested for additional allergies-
I really hoping it’s not soy, we really depend on that
to keep him safe from casein- though I know it can be
done. I appreciate your note!
Kayla,
My girls did outgrow their allergies. They started at birth and by the time they were about 2 years old had been able to have soy and dairy again. Their symptoms were
extremely “colicky” behavior, projectile vomit (lovely, I know.) at times my second daughter refused to eat. We did a test for pyloric stenosis on my second and when that came back negative we knew it was allergies. As soon as we made the changes she was like a new baby.
I really can commiserate with parents dealing with allergies in kids. It is so tough.
How would you modify the recipe if you use solid unsweetened baking chocolate instead of the cocoa powder?
I am not sure if someone has already asked this, but I was wondering how long will these keep for in the fridge. (We may eat them all at once-who knows hehe) But just in case we don’t… thanks!
They should last about 2 months. :)
I am not sure on exact measurements, but I did some searching and found that the only real difference is that solid baking chocolate has fat to hold it together so you would want to decrease the amount of fat in the recipe. So in this case try using less of the oil or butter. Hope that helps!
Does the butter need to be soft??
No, because you’ll heat it on the stove anyway to melt it.
Is it supposed to taste like toffee?
Just wanted to let you know I posted about this recipe and linked back to your site for my readers to view it :). Thanks for the great recipe!!
So I tried two batches, and they both failed horribly. Im 19 years old and Im teaching myself how to bake and its a bit of a challenge for me. I cant even get the chocolate chips to harden! 1st i tried margine because its all I had, and I left the chocolate chips over night in the freezer and took them out today and was soft like frosting. so today i used butter (im to lazy to go to the store to buy coconut oil, which might be my problem) and I used less butter and more sugar. they were more hard but when i tried to break them up they melted very fast at my finger and they turned into frosting again after 5 mins of being out. im using organic coco power from my grandpas herb business, white sugar and butter. Do I need to melt the ingredients longer? should i just get off my butt and buy coconut oil? lol HELP ME!:)my cookie dough is itching to get its bake on!
Well, I’ve definitely found that coconut oil works best to make these. Butter works okay, but like you found, it definitely produces a softer finished product.
Hi. A few quick questions about this recipe:
1) Can you use olive or grapeseed oil instead of the coconut oil?
2) Has anyone ever used these chocolate chips in chocolate chip cookies and have them come out good?
Thanks!
I’ve not tried olive or grapeseed oil in this recipe to know for sure if it would work, but I imagine that it would. I use these in chocolate chip cookies frequently and they do great! They melt and spread out more than a store bought chocolate chip, but they do taste good. :)
I tried mine with honey. I didn’t even think about it. Laura was right, they did not harden enough. The top half is hard, while the bottom, still mushy. Tastes yummy though! If I would have spread the chocolate over my granola bars I made today, it would have been an excellent mistake!
Thanks for your fast response! I was also wondering…do you think I can use agave nectar in place of raw sugar or would that ruin the consistency? How about stevia? Thanks for all of your help! :)
Are these like semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate?
Stevia and agave nectar would probably change the consistency a bit.
These are more like semi sweet. But if you want milk chocolate, using butter would do that for you!
What? The were still around several weeks later??
What did you do, hide them in a brown paper sack??
ºÜº
The difference between chocolate chips and a chocolate bar is the fat content (and possibly additives). The fat content in chocolate chips should be between 25 to 30%. If you try adjusting the recipe to reduce the fat they should hold their shape better.
How much does this make? 1 cup?
I’d say this makes more like two cups of chips.
My friend over at Motherhood on a Dime just recently posted this blog: http://www.motherhoodonadime.com/living/make-your-own-chocolate-bars-or-chocolate-chips-3-ingredients/
Thought you’d enjoy trying another recipe that was noted as being very yummy even by itself!
I wonder if this would work for those chex muddy buddies/puppy chow snacks instead of chocolate chips. I am looking for gf/cf treats for my autistic son and this chocolate looks great! Will for sure be trying it! Thanks!
Good to know, thanks!
Has anyone experimented doing this with Xylitol? Curious to know … Looks good.
I was wondering how to make this “dark” chocolate? just decrease the sugar and increase the chocolate? thanks for all the recipes and advice! I’m going to try your applesauce bread tomorrow.
Sure, that would do it!
I was wondering what coconut oil you use for this recipe?
I am so excited to find someone who has recipes for me to try out, using healthier ingredients. Our farm takes our products to a Farmers Market and I always bake. This year I want to use more coconut oils, coconut flours, honey and or maple syrup in my baked goods this year. Since our farm already raises animals on pasture, without drugs, ect. it is nice to also offer some healthier baked goods as well. I know they will cost more to sell, but it will be worth it! ;)
I also forgot to ask, do you prefer butter or coconut oil?
Coconut oil works better for consistency on these, but I prefer to use butter for a milk chocolate taste – so I guess the answer is, Both! Just depends on what flavor I’m going for. :)
I usually use virgin coconut oil, which gives these a nice but subtle coconut flavor. You could also use expeller pressed though.
I tried making this with maple sugar and butter. Everything went fine until it cooled. The butter and chocolate separated, so that I ended up with a layer of hard butter on the top, and a layer of soft chocolate on the bottom…
Next time I will try using coconut oil.
It’s in the fridge as I type. You are sooooooo right! I couldn’t stop sampling the mixture. I like SWEET chocolate so I added powdered sugar after removing from heat. Then I lined the pan with ALMONDS before pouring the hot chocolate. cannot wait!
Just found this recipe and I can’t wait to try it (and to check out the rest of your site)! I do have a question though: Could you use a mix of coconut oil and butter (like a half and half mix)? Hubby likes subtle coconut flavor, and I know a whole cup of it will be too much for him. Have you ever tried it this way? Thanks!
but how can i get those little choco chips with a round flat base and a peak??
Sure, that’s a good idea. Or, you could try using expeller pressed coconut oil, which doesn’t taste like coconuts at all! https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/coconut-oil-why-it-is-good-for-you-and-where-to-buy-it
Is there any substitute for the parchment paper?
Waxed paper should work.
I had to use margarine. I just put it in the refrigerator,
fingers crossed! xD
Laura,
I hope you see this – it might be worth a post update if you test and agree. Emulsification is the key to getting it all to stay together, and boy, did I fail at it. Then I realized this is more or less the same recipe as GNOWFGLINS yummy coconut bark (http://www.cravingfresh.com/2012/01/smart-sweets-winner-plus-peppermint.html), and it uses the food processor to emulsify. You don’t even have to heat everything if you use honey, so you don’t worry about the sucanat dissolving or not. Soooo…I recommend trying a food processor, and you might even like it with slightly less cocoa and sweetener; I thought it rather too “dark” almost bitter, but maybe that’s because all my sucanat wouldn’t dissolve and then my honey separated out on the second go-round… ;)
Anyway – hope this helps! :) Katie
I tried this with half butter and half coconut oil. Didn’t turn out quite as I’d planned. They are much softer than conventional c.chips. I had to store them in the fridge. I tried them in my tried and true cookie recipe and it failed miserably. It all melted and ran in the bottom of my sheet. Luckily, I only put one sheet at a time instead of the 4 or 5 that I usually do. It still tasted good, but did not resemble a cookie in any way. I pressed the rest of the cookie dough into my cast iron skillet and just baked it into a big cookie bar. Haven’t tasted it yet, it’s still cooling, but I suspect it will taste very good. Maybe we’ll have to get used to cookie bars? Perhaps a different cookie recipe may have yielded better “cookie” results?
I just tried this recipe for the first time. Can’t quit eating it and it hasn’t hardened completely. This is really good. By the time it is ready, there won’t be any.
Laura I just made these and they smell great but then when i ate them they were bitter. Could my cocoa be old I also put the vanilla in right away instead of reading the whole tutorial first. What brand of Cocoa do you use. Thanks for posting all of your amazing recipes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Joy
Sounds like you may want to add more sugar/sucanat next time to see if that makes a difference.
That is crazy close to a fudge recipe, or is it just me? LOL I have some coconut oil…must make these!
I made the mistake of using margarine… oops! they’ve been in the fridge for a while, and i’m seeing if they’ll harden. if not, yummy chocolate sauce, anyone?:]
Fruit dip ;)
I was really disappointed with this recipe. Basically, this is the base for no-bake cookies, and it melts extremely quickly when handled. Do NOT use these for chocolate chip cookies. After sprinkling in a small handful, they melted so much that they destroyed the cookies and made them liquidy.
Sorry, this just didn’t work for me.
Do you think things would mix better if I put the sucanat in the blender for a bit? Like using powdered sugar instead?
Good idea!
i did what the recipe said but it never hardened? its just a big glop of mess are you sure you can use butter in this? ah well guess ill use the mixture insie some brownies or something because it still tastes delicious :)
I have used butter successfully, but it certainly doesn’t harden up like when I use coconut oil. Hopefully your mixture will taste great in brownies!
Haven’t tried it, but I imagine you could put the chocolate in an icing bag, let it harden/thicken a bit in the fridge, then dot it, and pull up for the peak, on to waxed paper, then refrigerate til hard. I’m imagining all sorts of pretty chocolate designs with fun icing
tips if this will work.
Ok, just finished making our chocolate chips. I tried piping ‘chips’ from an icing bag, but I couldn’t get a good consistency with the chocolate. The chocolate didn’t thicken at the same time. I ended up with pockets of liquid that squirted out, and then pockets of chocolate that was almost too stiff to get out of the bag, and some that was perfect. It didn’t work as well as I’d hoped, but maybe after a few times of playing around with it, you might be able to get it the consistency you want. I did end up with a few really nice looking ‘hershey’ kisses.
I have just been told by my Dr. that I have a food sensitivity to coconut. UGH ,So I must stay away from all coconut for 6 months , then after I can gradually try it back to see if I can tolerate it without getting inflammation again. So I know you said I can use butter, but what about sunflower oil? :)
I think it’s worth a try, but I can’t say for sure since I’ve never tried it before in this recipe.
if you have a need for salt free, use salt free butter. Always looking for salt free ideas for my dad
Can you just put into the pan or do you have to use a jar?
I think it would be okay to put it directly into the pan, but you have to watch it very carefully so that it won’t scorch. :)
Hello!this looks delicious…but can we use an aluminium foil instead of parachment or waxed paper?????
Sure!
I tried this and for some reason it didn’t harden up at all.I feels more like soft taffy….and ideas what I did wrong? I used white sugar and butter…
Typically when I use butter, it doesn’t stiffen up like it does when I use coconut oil. I don’t think you did anything wrong – butter just gives is a softer consistency.
Question about using the coconut oil for this recipe: do you melt the coconut oil and use a cup of it. Or do you use a cup of it as is (solidified). I’m using coconut oil more and more so I always wonder if a recipe calls for it if you have to liquify it first! Thanks!!
I melted the coconut oil and measured out 1 cup. Am wondering if anyone had a problem with the sucanat hardly dissolving at all? Laura I know you said a little bit of yours didn’t dissolve but it looked like mine hardly dissolved at all. I stirred the mixture the entire time. Still smells so yummy and hoping they turn out!! Thanks so much for this simple alternative to store bought chocolate chips!
Where do you buy coconut oil and can you use lactose free margarine?
These sound like they would make a good alternative for someone who has a lactose intolerance. Can I use lactose free margarine? Where do you buy coconut oil?
THANK YOU!!!!:D NOW I DONT HAVE TO BUY THEM MUAHAHHAHAHAHA oh btw along with the fan in the chocolate… You can also see it in the bowl :)))))
Here are some ideas for where I get coconut oil: https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/coconut-oil-why-it-is-good-for-you-and-where-to-buy-it
Here’s a post detailing where I buy coconut oil: https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/coconut-oil-why-it-is-good-for-you-and-where-to-buy-it. I don’t trust margarine to be healthy so it’s hard for me to know whether to recommend it for this recipe. I’d go with coconut oil!
can i use carob instead of coco my daughter is allergic to all coco products
thanks
Yes, I believe that will work!
Have you tried to make peanut butter chips? Will you do that for me? :)
Thanks for the recipe! I but instant coffee in and dipped my homemade graham crackers in the result! Cooling it now.
You don’t have to melt it first. It works fine just to pack it into a measuring cup.
They make dark chocolate cocoa powder!
Have you ever tried using these (in place of store bought chocolate chips) in a recipe for fudge? Would this be the equivalent of semi-sweet chocolate chips? Or some other variety?)
Hmm, no I haven’t tried these in fudge, so I’m not sure how it would work. The flavor of these is similar to a bittersweet chocolate. :)
Wondering if I could use this recipe to make a coffee chip? I’m thinking very finely ground coffee beans might be substituted for the cocoa powder. What do you think?
Hmm, sounds like something fun to try!
I’m going to try this one, sound tasty. Just to add something, try to add a bit (tea spoon to start with) of corn starch or potato starch, starch makes my chocolate frosting more “sticky” should be enough to hold the chips from melting bit longer.
Okay, so I’m seeing that using butter doesn’t make the chocolate chips harden enough to use for things like cookies, but my mother in law is allergic to coconut… so what other oil can I use that will make it harden, but won’t give her an allergic reaction (she’s allergic to all tree nuts.)
Is vegetable oil okay to use? Will it cause problems in consistency? I’m looking for the milk chocolate taste, with hardened chunks, to make homemade chocolate chip cookies and muffins.
Will this recipe work for me?
I don’t recommend vegetable oil, unless it’s olive oil. That will likely work okay. :)
Yeah, I ended up going forward just using the butter, to see what the consistency would turn out like, and they don’t harden in the slightest. It turns soft and pliable and I knew right then and there that it wouldn’t look anything like yours… but all was not lost. I ended up making doughnut muffins from another recipe I found, and used the chocolate in the pan (it came out of the pan like icing) to make chocolate doughnuts. The coloring was really nice… couldn’t taste the chocolate too much, but the family enjoyed it a lot. I don’t think I’ll use the recipe again until I figure out what type of oil to try… Thanks anyways :D
I have made this recipe twice now and am experiencing mixed emotions. One one hand I am thrilled to have found a dairy free, gluten free chocolate chip that I LOVE. But on the other hand, this now means I need to use more self control and not overindulge!!!
I am never buying dairy free, gluten free chocolate chips again!!!
Thank you for a wonderful recipe!!
Funny thing happened when I made these..
all the sugar hardened on the bottom, leaving a layer of sweet chocolate and a layer of bitter chocolate. how can I avoid this?
I was wondering if cocoa powder could be changed to cacao powder? I have and use both in recipes but i don’t know what the differences are other than cacao looks healthier. Thanks for this awesome recipe cant wait to make some.
I haven’t tried it that way before, but I don’t know why it wouldn’t work. :)
This has happened to several people. You might try melting the ingredients, then whipping it well with your hand mixer to see if the ingredients will stay together better. :)
I think i`ll try this receipe for my autistic son too, but i`ll use goats butter as lactose free & autistic friendly. Just learn`thow to make lactose free ice-cream today as our supermarket no longer stocks lactose free veritity.
150g icing sugar
500ml lactose free cream, or goats, or sheeps
Flavour to taste
Freeze for 3 hours – very simple
Rachelx
Would this work canola or extra virgin olive oil?
I had some success with getting my chips to peak a bit….but I had to change the recipe a bit. My mixture was super grainy as many have described. I kept stirring, even dumped the whole thing in a saucepan to bring the heat up a bit more. I finally added about 3/4 cup whole milk, and viola! The milk works as an emulsifier that gives the chocolate a more creamy texture. I cooled the chocolate enough to put in a quart sized ziplock, then set it on the counter to cool a few hours. When it was semi thick but still sqishy, I snipped a tiny corner out of the bag and piped cute little chips onto wax paper. My 3 year old was impressed and loved the taste of them. As I speak, they are still somewhat soft. If they don’t harden completely I’ll freeze them on the wax paper, then remove them and store them in the freezer. This is a lot of work to get chocolate chips like the ones you buy, but pretty fun to discover that it can be done, sort of.
Have you tried this in candy molds i.e. silicone bunny molds for Easter?
I haven’t tried it, but sounds like fun!
I’d go with olive oil. :)
I was just thinking if anyone has tried freezing the choc chips before trying to bake them in cookies? I will give it a go tomorrow and post the results!
I shared your recipe on my blog. I hope you don’t mind. It inspired some yummy treats. ;)
I was just going to suggest that! I think it would really help the melting issue. ;)
I have an autistic son as well, and I do not let him have casein. is your son doing well without lactose, and still eating casein. All of my research says that the casein is the protien that does not digest for autistic people.
I have a coconut allergy. At the moment, I can only use olive oil. Do you think it will work?
I think it’s worth a try, since the olive oil will solidify in the fridge.
can i use it on black fores cake?
I would imagine so.
I followed the recipe because I ran out of choc chips when I was baking cookies, I was extremely disappointed in the outcome.
http://i.imgur.com/UtuaGSi.jpg
Here is a photo.
It turned into a moose cake and was covered in I have no idea what…. I’m just going to go out to the shops next time to purchase p remade choc chips.
I was surprised that there is no salt in this recipe. Doesn’t just a little salt bring out the sweetness?
Also, could I add a candy wax to help the “chips” keep their shape while baking?
I have the batch cooling now but I can already tell it’s grainy because sugar can’t dissolve in the coconut oil (think coconut oil/sugar scrubs). Would it be better to make a simple sugar syrup and add that with the coconut oil and cocoa? Maybe boil it down a bit to remove the little bit of water from the simple syrup?
Thanks!
I’ve never tried salt, I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt. I’ve also not tried the candy wax and wouldn’t personally want to so that mine would stay healthier, but I would imagine that would also work. I like your sugar syrup idea. :)
Farrah,
I know this was a year ago, but I’m very interested in how that came out as that was just what I was thinking of doing.
Maybe this has been addressed already, but I notice people who tried butter and sugar mentioning that chocolate didn’t harden the way it did with coconut oil. Would it harden better if you froze it or used less butter? I want to try this for chocolate covered almonds, but I’m not a fan of coconut oil. Just curious. Thanks for the recipe!
I tried making them but the mixture turned out a bit soggy even after I left it in the fridge for a whole day, could you give me any tips
I know I’m late to this party, but as I understand the food chemistry of the fat emulsion, you will be best off melting the chocolate and butter completely, whisking vigorously (I’d prefer double-boiler method), THEN removing the mixture from heat before whisking sucanat in well. Also, all sucanat is not created equal. I’ve had grainy batches and finer batches even from the exact same supplier. I love it so much (and prefer it at $1/lb instead of $5-8) that I buy a 50 lb bag about once a year, and even the that settles out in transport so that it is more “meltable” at the start of a sack than the bottom.
Hmm, not sure. Several have found that whipping and stirring the mixture REALLLLLLY well makes these chips turn out much better.
Try these sprinkled on top of homemade granola with a handful of dried cherries or craisins. So delicious.
This is exactly what I was looking for. And you make it sound so simple. Thank you.
I tried with white sugar but even after trying for many times and for hours and hours , sugar didnt dissolve to it , end up pretty worst , pls temme how and what to do ?
Is agave nectar a suitable sweetener?
I don’t really like using agave nectar, so I’ve not tried it in this recipe. :)
Just made this! Whoa – yum!! Very good — just like most everything I try from here. Thank you for sharing not only your recipes, but the thought processes and conclusions you’ve come to regarding whole true foods eating!
can you use shortening in instead of butter or coconut oil, so the chocolate will stay set/ firm… say to use for chocolate covered strawberries.
I think you’re my favourite blogger :) I read your archives while nursing the baby!
Yes, but I’d use palm shortening since it’s healthier. :)
thanks, so much
I made this using Maple Syrup instead of the sucanat… and it doesn’t set up well. I still ate it though… it was just a little sticky! YUM!
wow…fantastic,easy to make.THANKS
I wonder, if you froze the chips until you were ready to bake cookies, would they survive any better? Not that I have a problem with “ugly” cookies. :)
Unfortunatley, it won’t make too much of a difference.
Have you ever seen a mold for making your own choco chips? I’ve been looking for one, but I have not been successful so far. Thanks!
No, but sounds like fun!
Just want to say that I tried this recipe with a few tweaks and they were perfect for chocolate chips.I used a glass bowl over top of the pot (to simulate a double broiler) One thing you have to make sure is not to let the water touch the glass.Also make sure that it is very low. This will be a longer process but will turn out much better. I melted the butter first before I added the sugar and coco. Once that was melted. I used a sifter to sift the mixture of coco powder and granulated sugar, this helped make the mixture smooth and the sugar did incorporate fully. After this I removed the glass bowl from the pot and let it sit until room temp. Then put it in the freezer until thickened. Dont put a hot glass in the freezer, it will bust. After it thickened a little I put it in a decorater bottle and made little chips, then froze them for 1 hour. Made choco chip cookies (making sure not to add the chips until last minute) and they didnt become an ugly mess. :) Hope this helps :) Great recipe!
please guide me that can I use milo powder as a substitute of cocoa powder?
I’m sorry that I’m not sure. I’ve never used milo powder before. :)
These sound wonderful. How much does this make?
Thanks.
Yes, just made this with agave. so yummy
I use 100% pure blue agave Light- neutral, mild flavor.
Its very light in taste. reminded me of little bit of
honey.
Do you have to use the vanilla extract? I’m looking to make something now, but I don’t have any…i am making my homemade mocha frap!! ???? Oh, and can I use just regular nesquik?? Thank you do muc!!
You can leave out the vanilla, but I’m not sure on the nesquick – probably wouldn’t work. :)
Bless you, Laura! My son just got put on a dairy free diet this weekend (got the letter with the lab results in Friday’s mail) and he loves chocolate chips. I had no desire to pay for the soy free, dairy free ones at the rate he consumes them. I’ve spent most of the day looking for a straightforward explanation of the process and someone mentioned you. I don’t know why I didn’t think to come here first.
Also, I want to say thank you to Autumn and her tweaks. I might be able to make actual chips for him
can i make a chocolate chips shape ? u know what i meant right ?
You can try, but I’ve never had success trying. :)
thank you- we’re slowly eliminating processed foods from our diet (baby steps, right?). Have you tried this with actual cocoa butter in lieu of coconut oil/ butter? I think many choclate chips/ bars use soy lecithin as an emulsifier instead of the higher priced real cocoa butter. Thanks again!
what brand of sugar did you use? I was going to try Dominoes (pure cane sugar). That brand and C&H is 100% pure cane sugar. Try to avoid using Crystal Sugar which is made from GMO-beet sugar. It is predicted that 95% of all beet sugar is now GMO.
Making my first batch of chocolate chips,
I supposed I expected the butter to fully
incorporate It is cooling
What we often do to surprise our ‘grands’!
do you think i could use powdered sugar instead?
Yes, I think so, although I’ve never tried.
they are wonderful thank you so much
Unsalted butter or salted butter or any?
Either one. I use salted. :)
I made these and they were great!
Do you have a recipe for homemade peanut butter chips? The ones from the store are yummy but have so many extra ingredients and I’m not interested in eating :(
No, I haven’t figured out a recipe for those yet. :)
I was wondering how much (ie: cups) this particular recipe makes. I’d also like to know how long they can safely sit in the fridge. I like to label my containers with a best by date. If left too long do they get rancid? Thanks in advance!
Kris
It should make about two cups. They will keep in the fridge for two months. Neither Laura or I have had the experience of them going rancid.
Laura uses sucanat. The brand name of that is Rapadura.
I am wondering how to modify this recipe to be either more bitter or more sweet (in other words, do you know how to make dark chocolate chips versus milk chocolate chips)? Are yours that you made considered a semi-sweet? I almost exclusively use Ghirardelli’s bittersweet (because they are one of the only brands that don’t seem to use vanillin AND because we love DARK chocolate :)
Thanks for all the helpful tips and recipes. I really enjoy reading on your blog when I have the time.
Yes, these would be considered bittersweet I would think. You can definitely tweak the amount of sugar in the recipe to make it sweeter/less sweet. :)
I made it it came out great but to much vocal I think next time I’ll use less
Cocoa*
I am trying to go less processed as well as no sugar. I use stevia where sugar is called for. Do you think that would work? This recipe sounds wonderful!!
I’m not sure that would work in this recipe as I’ve not tried it. :)
Well I tried it! It was delicious but I could not get all the ingredients to mix well. They separated when they cooled. Is there a way to mix them so they will not separate?
I also added a little unsweetened coconut to it. It is a GREAT sweet!! It is remeniscent of a Mounds bar!
Does the mixture need to be heated? My sugar wouldn’t melt, so I ended up blending it. I live in India where coconut oil is a liquid at room temperature anyway, so I’m thinking it would be easier to just blend everything together. Do you know if that would work?
Yes, the mixture needs to be heated in order for the sugar to melt and blend in better. :)
It makes about two cups.
Some people who have had trouble with this have said that melting everything together and mixing very well has helped them. Hope that fixes it for you!
Autumn,
I’m getting ready to make these to use in liquid form to coat homemade butterfinger-type bars. Thanks so much for the great ideas!
I have given these a try two times over, but I cannot seem to get it to stick. Is the coconut oil the only oil you can use? I tried with canola oil and natural cane sugar, but it wouldn’t stick.
i tried this but my chips never hardened i even had them in the freezer over night i guess i can use it as a frosting on the brownies
You can use butter, but coconut oil works best. Canola is too runny. :)
do you have nutrition information on your recipes? I am counting calories and would like
to try a lot of you recipes.
No, I don’t – but hope my recipes work for you!
Is there any chance I could use regular butter instead of coconut butter/oil? I don’t have any on hand at the moment..
Never mind about my previous comment. I just saw that someone had already posed the same question. Thank you!
Will the coconut oil give the chocolate chips a coconut-y taste?
I have some, but I absolutely hate the taste of coconut – just the hint of it can ruin a dessert for me.
If you use expeller pressed coconut oil, which is flavorless, that would do the trick!
Your recipe is awesome thank you
Would just a little arrowroot added into the chocolate chip mixture cause them to be a little bit firmer and maybe not become so messy? I haven’t tried to make these yet but was just reading all the comments.
It’s a good idea to try, although I haven’t tried it to know how it works. :)
Hi Laura,
You’re so sweet. I love reading your blog and trying your recipes. Do you think I could make your chocolate chips using honey as the sweetener? if so, how much would you recommend ?
So many have inquired about making them into chips. I like how rawified.blogspot.com does it using an icing piper.
http://rawified.blogspot.com/2012/04/raw-chocolate.html
I am not sure that they would set up well. They may be too liquidy. If you want to try it I would start off with a small amount of honey and see how they do…Maybe try 1/4th cup to start? They may not set up, but I bet it would be a delicious topping for ice cream! :) Chocolate never seems to go to waste around my house.
Cocoa butter made a mess in my cookies! So glad I had them on a pan with a rim, or my whole oven would have been covered in chocolate! I think it was due to the low melting point of cocoa butte.r Palm shortening has a higher melting point. Love them with Palm shortening, but haven’t made cookies yet with that. Works well for muffins and pancakes, though.
We use palm shortening.
These look so good and I can’t wait to try them. I have a question before I start. In the first picture underneath the ingredient list shows one stick of butter in the jar. In the second picture it shows 2 cubes of butter in the jar. Just to be clear for those who noticed it, can you clarify which it is? Thanks in advance.
It is actually 2 sticks (1 cup) in both jars. The second stick is just hiding in the first picture. :)
I had the same problem ! I can’t understand what went wrong because the chocolate never hardened and now Ii just have this deep , thick chocolate paste which I was meaning to use for a surprise for my mom . Homemade chocolate chip cookies , but now I can’t because Ii have no idea how to fix it ! PLZ HELP ! :(
I’m sorry this didn’t work for you! I’m not sure why it didn’t harden. Maybe it needed to be cooked longer? What a great idea to do this to surprise your mom! Maybe you can stir it into the cookies and make chocolate swirl cookies. Lame idea, perhaps, but I bet it would taste great!
Hi! I just tried to make your recipe with butter but I accidentally used salted butter and they turned out salty ????. Warning to anyone making this use unsalted butter!!!
Tried this with coconut oil and cane sugar and the sugar didn’t dissolve at all! So I put it in my blendtec and ran it on the soup/syrup/fondue setting and it came out beautifully. Most of the chocolate got made into dairy free peanut butter cups, but I made what was leftover into chocolate chips by spreading it over a silicone hot pad that has a hexagonal pattern (found at Walmart). Worked just like a mold and they came out perfectly! Next time I think I’ll just melt and use bakers chocolate, as it has no dairy, then I can use it in cookies, etc. If I make this recipe again I’ll definitely use powdered sugar and just use the blender in the first place.
We ran out of chocolate chips and we were snowed in, and I wanted to make cookies. So i decided to make my own chocolate chips and decided that it would be something to do. They did not take long to make or to freeze. Their disgusting bitter scent filled my entire house while I was making them but I figured that I might as well finish the recipe to see. (Keep in mind that the article/recipe says that they smelled delicious) But the moment that this chocolate touched my mouth I wanted to throw up and I totally regretted continuing my experiment. I followed the recipe exactly, and made two separate batches to have extra chocolate, and they both came out disgusting. They were bitter and you could taste the individual grains of sugar and cocoa powder. A lot of people are commenting “can’t wait to try this!” and stuff like that. There aren’t many ACTUAL reviews of this recipe on here, though. So to everyone who can’t wait to try, don’t bother. Find another recipe. Just because this looks so simple, it doesn’t mean they’re good.
Soy is in almost all commercially produced chocolate and confuses the immune system into attacking the thyroid in many people so l was thrilled to see this recipe. They are runny because they are missing the binder (which soy is.) I am thinking xantham gum might work. Will try it and post the results!
Hi, just getting ready to make this yummy looking recipe. Recently the price has gone up on cholate chips, and really no good for you. Happy to see a healthy alternative!!!????????????????????????????
actually it is gmo not gm gmo means genetically modified organism
So separation is normal? I was going to throw out my batch I made this morning…. I’m so frustrated because I thought I messed up the recipe. If using coconut oil, it doesn’t separate? I’m confused…
Separation is normal. Frustrating, but normal. :) Coconut oil separates too, though not as much. :)
Thanks so much for the chocolate chip recipe, I’m about to run to the store but I wanted to offer a tip that I learned from a New Yorker. He was discussing how to make Magic Shell topping from scratch, and mentioned that getting chocolate to be shelf-stable at room temperature requires refined coconut oil; the unrefined stuff has a lower melting point.
Also, we don’t have Sucanat or rapadura here in Southwest Florida… but we do have Zulka, which is a 100% non-GMO unprocessed cane sugar from Mexico. It’s a bit tricky to find in the States, but worth the trip to a Latin grocer. That country threw Monsanto out, so you know they’re serious about good eats.
Hope you don’t mind, I’m looking forward to seeing how your recipe turns out. Thanks again, and enjoy in good health!
Could cocoa butter be used instead of butter or coconut oil?
Thank you for the recipe!
I use special-dark chocolate chips in baking, but was looking for a recipe to make my own, and then using Stevia to replace ‘regular’ sugar. Saw your recipe, so my first ‘batch’ is in the frig, but….added more Stevia as I was doing the stove thing….then even put in some Truvia. Now I’m guessing, and it’s strictly a guess, I’ll be doing this again using only Truvia; bit more ‘sugar’ than traditional brown sugar but still less than ‘regular’ brown sugar…we’ll see.
I’m curious if it would be worth the time and trouble to try and temper the chocolate here, to firm it up?