Chocolate chip cookies are truly one of a kind - their slightly textured surface on the outside, along with an insanely soft and chewy interior, create an incredibly delicious treat that is simply mouthwatering.
While every ingredient in a chocolate chip cookie recipe serves its unique purpose, there’s one component in particular that gives a chocolate chip cookie its specific personality. We’re talking about nothing else than chocolate, of course.
Although the name “chocolate chip cookies” clearly indicates that it’s the chocolate chips that give the cookies their chocolate vibe, many bakers like to mix in chocolate chunks to the dough, which can truly make a difference to the taste and structure of the cookies.
Read our article and learn about the best chocolate for chocolate chip cookies and enjoy a delightful cookie-baking experience today.
Chocolate Chips
We obviously couldn’t ignore the most traditional chocolate ingredient of chocolate chip cookies - chocolate chips.
First of all, it’s no coincidence that chocolate chips have become the classic ingredient used in chocolate chip cookie recipes. They have been developed specifically for baking by manipulating the fat and sugar content so that they can slightly melt during baking without burning.
The thing about chocolate chips is that even though they undergo the baking process, which softens them, they normally retain their shape.
So, what kind of chocolate chips for cookies should you use for your chocolate chip cookies?
Well, this solely depends on your individual taste. There are many different kinds of chocolate chips you can use for your cookies, including milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or semisweet chocolate chips. If you’re after a sweeter flavor, opt for milk or white chocolate, but if you want to break down the already sweet cookie dough, go for semisweet or dark chocolate.
Semisweet Chocolate Chips
Semisweet chocolate chips, which we have already briefly mentioned above, are one of the best options for chocolate chip cookies if you’re after a more balanced sweetness.
Thanks to their cocoa solid content of 35% to 65%, semisweet chocolate chips create a perfect contrast with sweet cookie dough.
The lower sugar ratio and cacao percentage make those not-too-sweet chocolate chips keep their original shape throughout the baking process. What’s more, just like other chocolate chips, they shine through the cookie dough perfectly and guarantee an excellent dough-to-chip ratio.
Chopped Dark Chocolate Bar
While chocolate chips will give you a traditional chocolate chip cookie, chocolate chunks will offer indulgent melty pools of chocolate in your freshly baked, warm cookies. If you want to experience the extra softness and chewiness of your favorite chocolate chip cookies, chop up a bar of dark chocolate and mix the chunks in the dough.
Dark chocolate, which contains from 50% to 90% cocoa solids, is often referred to as the best chocolate for cookies. The best type of dark chocolate for chocolate chip cookies will be the one that has at least 60% of cocoa solids.
Many bakers claim that the bitterness of such high-percentage dark chocolate works extremely well against the sweetness of the dough, which as a result creates an incredible eating experience.
Apart from the unique taste that dark chocolate chunks give the chocolate chip cookies, it’s the fantastic texture they get that truly steals the show. Unlike chocolate chips, chocolate bars don’t contain any stabilizers and have more cocoa butter than solids, which makes them melted and velvety during baking. Even after the cookies cool down, the chocolate chunks will retain their softness.
The trick is to chop the chocolate bar into fairly large chunks - this way, you’ll get that gooey texture every chocolate lover craves.
Chocolate A’Peels
Chocolate a’peels are also one of the best chocolate options for chocolate chip cookies. They are a great alternative to chopping chocolate bars as they are relatively flat and can form those perfect chocolate puddles in the oven, just like the chocolate chunks do.
The great thing about them is that they don’t have the waxy texture that some chocolate chips have, which makes them incredibly smooth and creamy in the baking process.
Chocolate a’peels tend to melt beautifully and still retain their shape, unlike chocolate chunks that simply spread over the cookies. They also have a fantastic chocolatey flavor which is sweet enough to blend well with the sweet cookie dough, but also bitter enough to keep the cookies from being overly sweet.
Chocolate Chips and Chocolate Chunks Combined
If you’re a lover of molten chocolate on your cookies, then chopped chocolate or chocolate a’peels are the way to go. However, if you want tiny bursts of chocolate evenly distributed in your cookie dough, go with chocolate chips. Another great option is to mix those two chocolate types together to get the best of both worlds.
One of the best combinations worth trying is semisweet chocolate chips and dark chocolate chunks. You will not only get a more complex flavor of your chocolate chip cookies but also a pleasant mixture of small chocolate pieces that almost disappear into the baked dough, along with chunks of melted chocolate. Such a combination will bring incredible sensations to your taste buds.
Best Chocolate for Baking Chocolate Chip Cookies - Key Takeaways
We learned that a particular type of chocolate can not only change the taste of your chocolate chip cookies but also significantly impact their structure.
When it comes to picking the best type of chocolate to use in your chocolate chip cookie recipe, there are some of the crucial things to keep in mind:
- Chocolate chips don’t melt completely. Due to their waxy texture, chocolate chips retain their shape throughout the baking process and melt only slightly.
- Chopped chocolate drastically changes the structure of cookies. Chocolate chunks make the cookies denser and fudge-like, which ultimately improves their look and texture. The tiny shards of chocolate melt into the dough, while larger bits create gooey chocolate that stays soft even after the cookies cool down.
- Choose chocolate with at least 60% of cocoa solids to balance the sweetness of the cookies. The bitterness of dark chocolate will break through the sweet notes of the dough, preventing your cookies from turning excessively sweet.
The Bottom Line
Undoubtedly, the most significant ingredient of chocolate chip cookies is, as the name suggests, nothing else but chocolate.
The Holy Grail of chocolate chip cookies can take many forms, depending on your preferences and expectations. Chocolate chips will guarantee a more shaped and defined structure of cookies with evenly distributed chocolate morsels, while chocolate chunks will provide incredible chewiness with decadent pools of creamy melted chocolate.
There are many possibilities for creating mouthwatering chocolate chip cookies, and all of them are equally delicious. Feel free to experiment with different types of chocolate to find the one that will make your cookie dreams come true!
