Today I am sharing a healthy homemade alternative to the store-bought chocolate chips. Here is an amazing recipe for homemade chocolate chips.
I love making wholesome, allergy-friendly substitutes for many store bought items, including Homemade Taco Seasoning, Easiest Coconut Milk, White Chocolate Chips, and Dairy and Sugar-Free Condensed Milk. One of the first recipes that I posted, and also one of my most popular, is my recipe for Homemade Chocolate Chips.
We make these fairly frequently in my home, but honestly, they almost never make it into cookies.
Once they're made my kids regularly ask them ….and since they are made with wholesome ingredients, I pretty much always say “yes.”
The reasons that I initially set out to make my own homemade chocolate chips or homemade carob chips (we usually make them with carob so we don't get overstimulated from too much chocolate), were several.
Reasons to Make Your Own Homemade Chocolate Chips
Basically, the reasons are the same as they are for all of my make your own processed substitutes like:
- Powdered Sugar Substitute
- Moroccan Vinaigrette (this dressing is really good. A new recipe should be coming soon!)
- Homemade Protein Bars
- Homemade Egg Replacer
1. Control over ingredients
A lot of folks are on special diets these days, so more and more of us need control over what goes into our mouths. Here's how this chocolate chip recipe can help:
– there's no dairy in these chips!
– you can make these sugar free. I use xylitol and stevia due to make a candida diet-friendly treat
– No trans fats in these chips (remember what those are? Partially or fully hydrogenated fat. Not good. Fake food)
– No artificial vanilla
– No soy
2. Cost savings:
I almost fall over in the grocery store or health food store aisle when I see the price tags on “wholesome” chocolate chips or carob chips. One bag of allergen-free chocolate chips that I saw the other day cost something like $4.59 for a 10 ounce bag….Whoa! That's $7.34 per pound!! Not on our budget!
3. Time Savings
Sort of.
Recently I've been having a kitchen-time epiphany of sorts.
I used to get really down about my messy kitchen and how much time I spend in it. But recently, I'm doing a little better about not getting down about the mess. A little.
Even if I spend a lot of time in the kitchen making whole foods, at least I'm not spending 1-3 hours in a grocery store with kids who bug me for stuff I don't want. (Really it's just my youngest who does most of that. He's a sucker for modern packaging.)
If you make your own everything (or lots of stuff….) you're saving time and money shopping. So you are probably going to buy less “impulse shopping” deals. Plus you get to save by not buying $3.79 / gallon gas, or whatever astronomical price it is in your neck of the woods.
4. Extra Bonus – Size Control
I personally like chips, but I really like chocolate chunks. You too? I figure it's a growing thing because now the stores are selling chocolate chunks. Well, guess what? It's a lot of work to make chocolate or carob chips, but with a knife and a cutting board, you can make chunks pretty easily.
Reasons I Revised this Recipe for Homemade Chocolate Chips
1. Better Taste. My kids would say now and then that the original Chocolate Chip recipe was good, but they really didn't like it as well as they could.
2. More “Cookie Friendly”. Like I said, the chips don't regularly make it into cookies, but when they have, mine have held together well. Like in my Chocolate Chunk Coconut Macadamia Cookies. (These are grain free, sugar free and great!!!)
A few readers have had trouble with this so I wanted to try another oil to see if they would do better.
And they did.
They taste great and hold much better for baking.
The smell of the cocoa butter while it was melting was a treat in and of itself and lends itself to a rich chocolatey flavor of the chips. My kids said that they were so good and tasted almost as, if not as good as, store-bought chocolate chips.
Molds for Homemade Chocolate Chips
Most of the time I make Homemade Chocolate Chunks, but if you want to make cute Homemade Chips like those in these photos, get these molds!
You can also grab these super cute large chocolate chip molds–aren't they great?
Recipe Notes
- Where to buy oils. I am looking for a good bulk source for cocoa butter that won't break the bank and will be fresh. Most cocoa butter I found was $15/lb or more. This one works out to about $11 per pound and looks like a good source so I'd try that one for now.
- Carob vs Cocoa: You can use either for this recipe, making homemade carob chips if you use carob. However, if you use carob, you can reduce the sweetener since carob is naturally sweet.
- Sweeteners: Stevia extract seems really expensive, but it isn't! – what else would you consider paying more than $8 per ounce for??? Once you find you like it, you can purchase it in bulk. I purchase the 1-lb container and it lasts for a looooong time. You can find it for quite a bit less money on Iherb, one of my favorite places to shop.
These stainless steel mini measuring spoons from Amazon are super duper handy for measuring out stevia. The 2nd smallest is the size of 1/32 of a teaspoon so you can easily measure your stevia powder.
Alternatively, the Low-Carb Sweeteners here are really great and are a favorite of mine. Use code wholenewmom to get 20% off!
Need to substitute for the stevia? Here is my handy post on this fabulous sweetener.
- Sweeteners: I recommend powdering the healthiest granulated sweetener you can have. I used xylitol. This brand is quite reasonable and is made in the USA. For a low-glycemic option for sweetener use 1/4 c xylitol or 1/3 c organic erythritol. Approx. 2 Tbsp Homemade Truvia® would work well too.
- Parchment: You will have an easier time getting the chocolate / carob mixture out of the baking pan if you line it with parchment. I just choose not to do so because I'm
cheapfrugal. - Variations: For a yummy variation, add some extract like in Mint Chocolate | Carob Chips.
- Cocoa Butter: You can use organic palm shortening or organic palm oil instead of cocoa butter.
- Carob: You can use organic carob powder instead of cocoa, but cocoa is a better low-carb option.
- Coffee Substitute: You can use a coffee substitute instead of coffee.
Special Diet Substitutions
AIP: If you are on the AIP diet, use carob instead of chocolate and use an AIP sweetener like maple syrup , coconut sugar, or honey. I haven't tried these, but I'm sure the coconut sugar will work. You would likely want to powder it first, however.
THM: This recipe is THM:S using the low carb sweeteners.
Keto / Low-carb: This recipe fits both diets using a low-carb sweetener.
Paleo: Follow the AIP info above.
Vegan: Using most sweeteners, this will be a vegan recipe.
How can you use these Homemade Chocolate Chips?
- Of course, in cookies and bars
- Eat them “as is” – like eating chocolate chips out of the bag
- Break into bigger pieces and use as a rough-shaped chocolate or carob bar
- Pour into candy molds like I did in my Healthy “Almost Reese's” Candy post and make candies any time of year. I purchased star-shaped silicone molds like these to use on the Fourth of July.
- Add to homemade ice cream like in Chocolate Almond Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream or Mint Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream. With temperatures the way they've been around here, I will definitely be bringing out the ice cream maker soon!
- After melting, drizzle on top of fruit or dip fruit or other things for a special treat. How about chocolate covered strawberries? bananas? nut clusters? Endless possibilities.
- Drizzle on cake – this would be fabulous on a cheesecake. Take a look at these fabulous Dairy-Free Cheesecake Tarts from my friend, Ricki Heller. Instead of apricot, drizzle melted chocolate or carob chips on top – Yum!
What You Will Need for These Homemade Chocolate Chips
Chocolate Chip Mold
or Baking Pan
Saucepan
Homemade Chocolate or Carob Chips ~ {Improved} (dairy, soy, and sugar free)
Ingredients
- 6 2/3 ounces cocoa butter
- 1 cup cocoa
- 1/4 cup sweetener (your choice)
- 1/16 tsp stevia extract powder (or 2 scoops; see Recipe Notes above for more info on and alternatives)
- 1/2 tsp chocolate extract (optional but extra yummy)
- 1/2 Tbsp granulated instant coffee (optional, but extra nice)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Melt cocoa butter over very low heat in a medium pan.
- Transfer cocoa butter to a medium bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix well. I have used my Bamix immersion blender with great success. You could also put the mixture in a blender, but it will be messier to deal with :-).
- Pour mixture into an 8x8 baking pan (other pans will work as well, but your chunks will be thinner or thicker, depending on the size you use.)
- If you want to make chips instead of chunks, pour into a chocolate chip mold.
- Let set to solidify, or chill in fridge or freezer.
- For chunks, use a knife or spatula to break large pieces out of the pan. Chop on cutting board to desired size with a sharp knife.
- For chips, push the homemade chips out of the mold when set.
- Store in a cool place such as the fridge until ready to use.
Nutrition
Coming soon — a recipe for White Chocolate Chips. And maybe–a few will make their way into some cookies!
Hope you love these as much as we do.
How will you use these Homemade Chocolate Chips?
Since I can’t have sugar Does Cocoa butterHave sugar in it and where do I buy it at
Cocoa butter doesn’t have sugar in it. It’s a fat. There is a link in the recipe to one place to buy it. Hope that helps!
Yes and thanks a lot!!
great!! Let me know how it goes!
Hi! Can you by chance use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder? I have a HUGE bag I just bought @ Costco & dont want it to go to waste! Thank you!
Yes!!! I have the same product. It works great. Enjoy!
Could i send the homemade carrot chip recipe to my phone? I have a subscription to your recipes on my email! Thank you!
How would you like to receive it? In an email? You can print the recipe right off of the site – there’s a button to do that. Does that help?
HI! 🙂 How did you get the mixture to look like perfect little chips though? In the photos they look like perfect chocolate chips, though, in the directions is just says to cut up to desired size? How did you get them to look like that 🙂
Hey there. I’m SOOO sorry for the delay. Just added the info to the post. I thought I had done that already so thanks for the heads up!
I’ve just been diagnosed with ragweed and grasses allergies; and then discovered stevia is a type of grass…so now yet another ingredient I can’t use for alternate sweetener! Any suggestions?
Hi there. I’m so sorry about your allergies! Often times those kinds of allergies can be over-diagnosed. In other words, you might not be allergic to all grasses. That would be unusual. I would of course ask your doctor, but you might be just fine. You can use whatever sweetener you like. What would you like to use?
Hello! Is it possible to substitute something else for cocoa butter? I’m allergic to cocoa! 🙁
Hi there. You could try this recipe or try just subbing in coconut oil. They won’t be as stable in heat, however. Palm would be a slightly better choice. Hope that helps! https://wholenewmom.com/desserts/homemade-chocolate-or-carob-chips/
Hey! Are there any nutritional facts for these?? I can’t wait to make them!! Thanks!
Hi there! We have been hoping to have that functionality on the site but we had a big mess w/ our recipe system. We’re working on it! You can use an online one for now — we just made 4 batches this past week :). EnjoyY
Looking forward to your nutrition info. (The one I use is terrible and loves to screw up the info.)
Hi there–it’s in the post now – hope that helps!
Hi,
What is “6 2/3 ounces organic cocoa butter”. “6 2/3 ounces”?
It’s probably me but that doesn’t make sense. 🙂
Thank you,
Chris
Hi there. It means 6 oz and 2/3 of an ounce. Does that help?
Yes, thank you.
Hi ADRIENNE,
I found a website that tells you how to make your own cocoa butter:
(site deleted by blog owner)
Thanks
Rose Brennan
Hi Rose! I checked out that link and it doesn’t show how to make cocoa butter–it simply talks about cocoa butter nutrition. I deleted it b/c I didn’t want to confuse other readers. Hope that makes sense – thanks for reading and for commenting!
hi, can I replace:
• 6 2/3 ounces organic cocoa butter with almond butter?
• 1 cup cocoa = 1 cup carob ? I have carob.
Hi there. No for the first (they have many different properties and you will not end up with chips), but yes for the 2nd :).
Thanks for a great recipe! I’ve made it several times now, each with good results. The first time I followed the recipe exactly… yum! The second time, I used ground coconut sugar, liquid vanilla stevia and skipped the chocolate extract and coffee. Still yum. Third time, I also added 1-1/2 Tbsp tapioca starch which resulted in a firmer bar. I’ve also tried it with coconut oil (melts very easily but is great when making brownies that call for melting the chocolate first), and maple syrup. Using maple syrup is a little tricky. I had a batch seize up on me, then I tried mixing the cocoa powder and tapioca starch into the cocoa butter first (in a bowl with a whisk), then mixing the maple syrup (at room temp) all at once along with the stevia. That worked well, but resulted in a softer bar. We still ate it and it was still yummy.
Oooh what an interesting idea about the starch!! Firmer at room temp or just firmer overall? We don’t use the choc extract or coffee often either and we still love it! Thanks much!
Slightly firmer at room temp, but has a snap when you break a cold piece.
So interesting!!
Can I use honey/maple syrup and coconut sugar instead of the stevia and xylitol or erythritol?
I think it will work but I haven’t done a liquid sweetener with these yet. Maybe try a small batch first.
Could I use normal sugar for this?
I’m just trying to find a dairy free option…
Yes, sure! I recommend blending it first, however. Enjoy!
HI Adrienne,
I was really excited when I see your recipe until I saw that you added Xylitol as the sweetener. For those of us trying to be corn-free (which by the way is SO MUCH harder than being gluten-free), Xylitol is made from corn. So bummed!! I’ll keep looking. Just wanted people to know. Thank you.
Hi Treva. Thanks for reading! If you click on the link in the recipe you will notice that I use birch xylitol so no worries there :)! Enjoy!
I know it is not as healthy as cocoa butter, or the palm oil, but I wonder if vegetable shortening would make them even more stable to bake with? Plus it’s less expensive and easier to find in my area. Thanks!
I don’t know. I do know that cocoa butter is more solid at room temp than shortening but might be worth a try – you can get organic palm shortening.
Hi! Is it, use 1/4 cup And 2scoops, or 1/4 cup OR 2 scoops? Can I use stevia alone, without that 1/4 cup other stuff?
Hi there. It’s both and. You could of course substitute but I prefer blending alternative sweeteners for a more natural taste. You can see the info re: that in this post: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/how-to-like-stevia/
I must be doing something wrong. I have to triple the xylitol and quadruple the stevia extract to get it even remotely sweet enough to balance out the bitterness of the cocoa powder.
Any suggestions? I made it twice now, once with rum extract and once with raspberry. The raspberry chocolate was even less sweet with more xylitol.
Hi Melanie,
I’m really not sure what to say. I just made a double batch yesterday, and while they are not sweet chips, they are sweeter than Lily’s semisweet sugar free chips. What kind of cocoa are you using–maybe that could be it. I have never tried upping the amts of sweeteners that much but I think that they should be fine for sure. I have noticed that different cocoas behave differently but still that’s a lot of sweetener. Were you hoping for a milk chocolate sweetness?
Question for you: Cocoa butter is super hard to find where I live but it happens I was able to find palm oil. Thing is, the stuff is partially liquid (it kind of looks like it’s got bits of solid floating in the liquid). Is this stuff going to work okay in this recipe? Thanks.
Hi there. Palm shortening might work but it’s a softer solid at room temp typically so it won’t be that great. It will work in a way but isn’t the best choice.
just put coconut milk into a high speed blender and it turns to butter. simple as that 🙂
Do you mean the part on top?
I have read that granular stevia not liquid has hidden carbs, is powdered stevia the same as granular and would it have hidden carbs? I always use erythritol.
Stevia extract has no hidden carbs. If you have a stevia that is more than just stevia it can. Granular isn’t powdered. Granular would be grains. Hope that helps!