If you’re baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies, making Ree Drummond’s dark chocolate brownies, or frosting a sheet cake, there’s a good chance that you’ll grab either chocolate chips or baking chocolate from your pantry. Although all of these varieties of chocolate taste delicious and add a sweet, rich flavor to your baked goods, they’re not all created equal and some varieties are better suited to certain types of recipes than others. Read on to find out the difference between chocolate chips and baking chocolate so that your sweet treats come out just right every time.
What Are Chocolate Chips?
Chocolate chips are a baking staple, but there’s a time and a place for using them. Chocolate chips contain added stabilizers such as soy lecithin and preservatives, which help the chips to keep their shape, even when they’re baked in the oven. However, they don’t melt as well as baking chocolate, which means they’re not the best choice for making homemade candy or fondue.
You’ll also find there are a lot of different varieties of chocolate chips. In terms of the shape and size of chips, you’ll find mini chocolate chips, which are great for decorating, as well as smaller baked goods like protein balls, chocolate chip pancakes, or mini muffins. Regular chocolate chips and chocolate chunks can often be used interchangeably for recipes like brownies, cookies, and even some types of pie (like Ree's no-bake triple chocolate sundae pie or her German chocolate pie).
Beyond different shapes of chips, you’ll also find that there are varying levels of sweetness, which include milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, dark chocolate, and, yes, white chocolate. Most recipes will call for semi-sweet chocolate, but you can easily swap in your favorite variety for a truly enjoyable treat.
What Is Baking Chocolate?
If you’ve ever picked up a bar of chocolate from the baking aisle of your grocery store (no, not a Hershey’s Bar), it’s probably baking chocolate. Unlike chocolate chips, baking chocolate has fewer additives and is ideal for melting. Use baking chocolate for ganache, Ree’s rich chocolate cobbler, and this light-as-air chocolate mousse. You can break up the bars by hand, with a sharp chef’s knife, or even by grating them on a box grater so that they melt even more quickly.
Although you’ll find semisweet and dark chocolate baking bars, the most traditional style is unsweetened chocolate bars, which has no added flavor, sugar, or stabilizers. This type of chocolate is best for recipes where you’ll be adding sugar, vanilla, or other ingredients to sweeten the recipe such as pies and puddings. For something like a simple ganache that is made with nothing more than heavy cream and chocolate, you’ll want to use a semisweet chocolate baking bar so that the final result isn’t too bitter.
Can I Substitute Baking Chocolate for Chocolate Chips?
You can substitute baking chocolate for chocolate chips by chopping up the bar into smaller pieces. This works well in cookie doughs and bars, as well as any recipe that calls for melted chocolate. Pay attention to the sweetness of the chocolate; be sure to use a semisweet or dark chocolate baking bar rather than unsweetened chocolate for the best flavor.
