Chocolate Chips
Chocolate chips are small, pre-shaped pieces of chocolate, most often semisweet, engineered to hold their shape when baked, making them the standard mix-in for cookies, muffins, and other baked goods.
How to buy
Check the cacao percentage and type, semisweet, bittersweet, milk, dark, or white, to match the sweetness level you want. "Baking chips" are formulated with less fat and more stabilizers to hold their shape in the oven, while chopped baking bars or couverture melt more smoothly for ganache or dipping. Mini chips distribute more evenly through batter, while chunks give larger pockets of melted chocolate.
How to store
Store in an airtight container or bag in a cool, dry pantry away from heat and direct sunlight, where they'll keep for up to a year or two. Refrigeration or freezing extends shelf life further but can cause a grayish surface bloom from fat or sugar separation if not wrapped well; it's harmless but changes the look and sometimes the texture.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Sweet and chocolatey, with the specific character depending on type: semisweet balances bitterness and sugar, dark is more intense and less sweet, milk is creamier and sweeter, and white, which isn't technically chocolate since it lacks cocoa solids, is purely sweet and milky.
- Texture
- Firm and snaps cleanly when cold or at room temperature, and melts to a smooth, glossy liquid with gentle heat, though baking chips are formulated to soften and hold some shape in the oven rather than fully melt flat.
- Aroma
- A rich, slightly roasted cocoa aroma that intensifies as the chocolate melts.
How to prepare
- Folded into batter — Mixed into cookie, muffin, or pancake batter before baking.
- Melted for dipping — Melted gently, often with a bit of fat, to coat or drizzle over other foods.
- Made into ganache — Melted with warm cream for a smooth filling or glaze.
- Baked whole — Left whole in batter, where they soften into gooey pockets rather than fully melting.
Classic dishes
American
- Chocolate chip cookies — The defining use of chocolate chips, studded through a buttery cookie dough.
- Chocolate chip banana bread — A moist banana quick bread studded with chocolate chips.
- Chocolate chip muffins — A tender muffin batter dotted throughout with chocolate chips.
- Chocolate chip pancakes — Breakfast pancakes with chocolate chips folded into the batter or sprinkled on while cooking.
- Blondies — A dense butterscotch-flavored bar studded with chocolate chips.
- Chocolate chip ice cream — A churned vanilla or chocolate ice cream base mixed with small chocolate chips or shavings.
- Trail mix — A snack mix of nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate chips.
- Chocolate chip cheesecake — A creamy baked cheesecake studded with mini chocolate chips.
- Monster cookies — A loaded oat cookie packed with chocolate chips, peanut butter, and candy pieces.
- Chocolate chip granola bars — Pressed oat bars studded with chocolate chips for a sweet snack.
- Chocolate chip rugelach — Rolled pastry cookies filled with a chocolate chip and cinnamon mixture.
- Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies — A chewy oat cookie dough studded with chocolate chips.
- Chocolate chip bread pudding — A custard-soaked bread pudding with chocolate chips folded through it.
Italian
- Cannoli with chocolate chips — Sweetened ricotta filling for cannoli shells studded with mini chocolate chips.
British & Irish
- Chocolate chip scones — A buttery scone dotted with chocolate chips, served with tea.