Homemade Mint Chocolate Chips — Sugar-free
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These Homemade Mint Chocolate Chips are a fun and delicious twist on regular chocolate chips.
They're a great addition to all kinds of desserts (and great straight out of the bag too) — whenever you want to enjoy the fantastic and oh-so popular combination of chocolate and mint.
If you love mint and chocolate, you're going to love these homemade mint chocolate chips.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
These homemade mint chips:
- taste great.
- are super easy to make.
- are flexible for special diets.
- are extremely frugal.
- are made with healthy ingredients.
And for those of us who are health conscious or are on special diets, these chips meet all of the special diet requirements:
- soy free
- dairy free
- refined sugar-free
- caffeine-free carob option
Ingredients
- cocoa butter (coconut oil can also be used)
- cocoa powder (cacao or carob can also be used)
- sweetener (I like to use low-carb options, but any sweetener will work)
- peppermint extract
- salt (just a bit to add to the depth of the flavor)
Recipe Notes
- I recommend making a double batch and storing the extra chips in your freezer for future baking or munching. But then again, I cook almost everything in bulk.
- If you wish to avoid cocoa due to stimulants inherent in it, use carob instead. You might need less sweetener due to the inherent sweeteness of carob.
- Any healthy liquid or granulated sweetener should work fine instead of xylitol, but you may need to use a different amount if using a liquid sweetener, so read Substituting Sweeteners. Honey or maple syrup will work well for AIP. If using stevia extract, substitute 1/16 to 3/32 of a teaspoon, or to taste.
- The coconut oil makes these chips susceptible to heat. Once coconut oil gets to 76 degrees, it starts to soften considerably (that's why store-bought chocolate chips use hydrogenated oils). So in the summer months, you may wish to keep your chips and chip-filled treats in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to eat them.
How to Use These Homemade Mint Chocolate Chips
You can use these chips:
- stirred in to or on top of ice cream
- added-in to homemade cookies
- in homemade brownies
- in cupcakes or cakes
- in fudge like this Silky Smooth Bean Fudge
- in or on top of pudding
- stirred in to, or served on top of waffles
- or just eat them plain!
Homemade Mint Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- 1 cup cocoa butter or coconut oil
- 1 cup cocoa powder (or roasted carob powder)
- 1/4 cup low-carb sweetener (powdered — or other sweetener, as desired)
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (use alcohol free for AIP)
- dash salt
Instructions
- Melt coconut oil over a very low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in cocoa, sweetener, peppermint extract, and salt.
- Spread mixture into a pan (an 8×8 works well). Alternatively you can pour the mixture into a chocolate chip mold.
- Let sit or place in refrigerator or freezer until solid. Remove from pan, and cut into chunks of desired size. If using coconut oil and your room is warm, you'll need to chill them to solidify them.
- Store in a cool place until ready to use.
Notes
- If you wish to avoid cocoa due to stimulants inherent in it, use carob instead. You might need less sweetener due to the inherent sweetness of carob.
- Any healthy liquid or granulated sweetener should work fine instead of xylitol, but you may need to use a different amount if using a liquid sweetener such as honey or maple syrup because they are sweeter than sugar. If using stevia extract, substitute 1/16 to 1/8 teaspoon.
- Coconut oil softens around 75° F, so if you use coconut oil and your kitchen is warm, you'll need to keep these chips in the fridge or freezer until serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Adrienne, I’ve printed off your homemade chocolate chips recipe months ago and am quite eager to give it a try. BUT! I don’t have the “mixer-type” of appliance you mentioned is best use for the mixing. That a blender would be a mess trying to get stuff out of it. My blender has a bottom that unscrews w/the blade from the glass bottom, would that be easier to be able to get the mix out of it? I have no idea what the consistency of candy will be. I looked up the appliance you mentioned on Amazon but there’s not way I could afford it on my slim budget. Otherwise, all I have is a food processor, hand mixer, reg. mixer on a stand, plus the blender. Which would you suggest I use?
Hi JoVon. That blender should work OK I think. Just give it a try. You could also blend the sweetener first, which would work well. I think the blender is the best bet. Powder the sweetener as in this post (but you won’t need the starch if you don’t wish to add it) and it will be nice. Blending just makes it smooth. https://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/how-to-make-powdered-sugar-powdered-sugar-substitute/
Thank you for such a speedy reply!! You’re sure on top of it!! And I’m sure you’re a busy wife & mom to boot!! Way to go!
:). Thank you! Hope they go well for you!
Oh no, you can eat the now brand, and it’s super-cheap. A little goes a long way with the cacao butter, I find… And those Halal ones on Amazon are super-cheap.
Yea – I love NOW Foods! I will check out the Halal one as well.
Hey there,
Thanks so much for responding to my comment! Again, I’m excited to come across your blog.
I love carob too. Cacao butter can be horribly expensive but not always–Amazon has some ‘halal’ cacao butters that are pretty cheap, but they don’t ship to AK where I live. I tend to buy it from Nuts Online–they have cacao butter that’s pretty good quality for about $14/lb. That’s not cheap but it’s not terrible either. You can get Now Foods cacao butter for really cheap, but it’s not as good quality (cosmetic but food grade). You could even use part cacao butter and part coconut oil. Coconut butter also stiffens things some.
cheers,
Ela
Ela, Do you mean that the NOW brand cannot be eaten? Wow. $14/lb is expensive. I’ll have to think about this. Let me know if you have time :-).
Hi! Just come across your blog via this post and so excited to see that you’re doing this kind of thing, it’s very close to my heart also (I’ve been gluten free most of my life, dairy free most of that, don’t eat meat, etc…
Chocolate really doesn’t work for me, but I may have to check out the “wonderslim.” I like carob, but I think it’s done such a disservice by being presented as a chocolate alternative–people get put off, when really it’s a whole different taste altogether (which happens to go fantastically with chocolate!)
I have one small suggestion too: Might you try using cacao butter instead of coconut oil for the chips? That’s what I would do–if I’m using carob, it offers a hint of actual chocolate flavor, and the higher melting point means it’s less ‘melty’ overall.
cheers,
Ela
I think your suggestion about the cacao butter sounds great! I’ll have to look into how much more it would costs. Have you found it to be quite expensive, even in bulk? And as for the carob, in certain dishes, I don’t really miss the chocolate at all. In others it doesn’t taste as good. I also think that the brand matters and that raw doesn’t taste nearly so nice.
Take care,
adrienne
Hi Adrienne! I commend you in not giving up when it comes to figuring out how to make something you crave while still keeping to your special diet requirements! I always loved the Andes candies and these sound just like those! I hope your ice cream comes out as great as you are dreaming it to be! I am sure it will. Thanks so much for sharing this with us on the hearth and soul hop! Hugs! alex
Hi Alex!
Well, the Mint Chip Ice Cream turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself! I linked up to the Heath and Soul Hop with it today.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Okay, this is AMAZING! It may sound silly, but I never thought to make my own chocolate chips. We always have cocoa and coconut oil in the house so I’ll be trying this when my storebought bag runs out. 🙂
That doesn’t sound silly at all! I wouldn’t have thought of it, I don’t think, if my oldest didn’t have a life threatening allergy to dairy and if I weren’t off sugar. Now we can have chips again! They don’t hold up so great in hot weather, but I can deal with it! And I must say, they are GREAT in ice cream!
You go girl, dilemma solved! I absolutely love the flavor of chocolate and mint! Your version is free of all the bad stuff 🙂 thanks!