DISCLAIMER:
I’ve lured you here under false pretense. Calling these “baking chips” is a bit of a misnomer and I don’t want to give anyone the impression that these work in baked goods just like commercial baking chips. They don’t. They melt and disappear into the brownie, cookie, cake, etc. – not necessarily a bad thing – but be forewarned. These are really more suitable for raw bars and energy bites, or even sprinkled on top of oatmeal, cereal, or (woohoo!) vegan ice cream. I call them baking chips because if I just used the word “chips,” one might think they were the crunchy fried potato snack. And that these ain’t.
Anywho…All the credit for this brilliant idea of homemade baking chips goes to Betty at Pure and Simple Recipes. I just took it and had some fun with it. If you’re vegan and if you’re a no-refined-sugar vegan, you know how difficult it can be to find baking chips that don’t violate one or the other of your dietary and lifestyle beliefs. When Lily’s Sweets came out with their stevia-sweetened chips it was cause for much rejoicing in my house. However, that still left a hole where Andes Mints baking chips (a.k.a. mint-chocolate chips) and peanut butter baking chips used to be. These are two big reasons I was so excited when I saw Betty’s recipe.
You will need some special equipment/ingredients for these recipes, but everything is easily obtainable. And once you have the silicon potholder, you’ll be busy inventing your own baking chip flavors!
What you’ll need to make these:
- a silicon honeycomb trivet/potholder
- high-quality cocoa butter
- cacao or cocoa powder
- powdered spirulina
- peppermint-flavored liquid stevia
- vanilla-flavored liquid stevia
- alcohol-free peppermint extract
- natural peanut butter
- puffed quinoa (if you make the Mint Chocolate Oat Bars below)
Is it easier to pick up a bag of chocolate chips? Yes. But it’s not nearly as much fun! And…I’m noodling around with a more stable chip, baking-wise…
- 3 Tbsp. cocoa butter
- 3 Tbsp. cacao powder
- 1/2 tsp. peppermint-flavored stevia liquid
- 1/4 tsp. alcohol-free peppermint extract
- Place a silicon honeycomb trivet on a small baking/cooking sheet.
- Gently melt the cocoa butter in a small saucepan, remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining ingredients. Slowly pour the mixture over the trivet, spreading so that it fills in the honeycomb. You won't get as many chips with this recipe as with the others.
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer to firm up. Carefully pop out the chips onto a plate, bowl, or directly into an air-tight container. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator.
- 6 Tbsp. cocoa butter
- 1/2 tsp. peppermint-flavored stevia liquid
- 1/4 tsp. alcohol-free peppermint extract
- 1/4 tsp. spirulina powder
- Place a silicon honeycomb trivet on a small baking/cooking sheet.
- Gently melt the cocoa butter in a small saucepan, remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining ingredients. Slowly pour the mixture over the trivet, spreading so that it fills in the honeycomb. You'll get a nearly full sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer to firm up. Carefully pop out the chips onto a plate, bowl, or directly into an air-tight container. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator.
- 6 Medjool dates, soaked for about 15 minutes, drained
- 1 cup chopped raw pecans
- 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
- 1/2 tsp. peppermint-flavored stevia liquid
- 18-20 fresh mint leaves
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats (or pulse rolled oats a few times in a food processor)
- 1/3 cup puffed quinoa
- 2 Tbsp. cocoa or cacao powder
- 6-8 Tbsp. water
- 2-3 Tbsp. Sugar-free Mint Chips or Sugar-free Mint Chocolate Chips
- Line either a 9-inch x 9-inch or 8-inch x 8-inch pan with parchment. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the dates, pecans, extract, and stevia until the nuts/dates are broken down and starting to form a ball. Add the mint leaves and pulse to incorporate - but it's nice to see some green in there!
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, quinoa, and cocoa powder. Scrape the date mixture into the bowl and stir well. Add the water a little at a time until the mixture holds together when pinched. You can either stir in the mint chips or do what I do and sprinkle them on the top once the mixture is pressed into the pan.
- Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and press down until you've filled the pan and have an even layer. If you've reserved your chips, press them into the dough. Cover and chill for about an hour before cutting into squares. Store in the refrigerator.
- 3 Tbsp. natural peanut butter, preferably smooth
- 3 Tbsp. cocoa butter
- 5-10 drops vanilla-flavored stevia liquid
- Place the honeycomb trivet on a small baking/cookie sheet.
- Gently warm the ingredients in a small saucepan. This takes just a few moments - don't let it boil or burn. Whisk to thoroughly combine.
- Place a small sieve over a measuring cup and pour the peanut butter mixture through it. Your goal is to remove any small bits of peanut and get as much liquid out as you can. Pour the mixture onto the trivet and use a rubber spatula to spread the mixture evenly over the surface. Make sure to get it down into the honeycomb; you should just about completely fill the honeycomb.
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer and let set until firm. When hard, pop out the chips onto a plate or directly into an air-tight container. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer until use.
Love these so hard Annie!!! Can I just pour them in my mouth??
Absolutely! Cuz, you know, they’re sugar-free and stuff!
What a great idea to use a silicone potholder! I’ve made raw white & dark choc chips before (http://www.coconutandberries.com/2014/08/15/raw-triple-chocolate-cookies-homemade-chocolate-chips/) but squeezed them individually using a freezer bag with the end cut off.
The PB chips sound especially awesome.
You have a lot more patience than I do! I love the piped chips, but my piping skills are SO lame :-)!!
Fantastic post. Love the sugar free alternative. Most splenda sweetened chips are too expensive. I am not sure which one I want to try first.
Thanks, Connie! I often buy the stevia-sweetened ones from Lily’s Sweets, but yes! They are VERY expensive when compared to standard chocolate chips.
This is amazing! I love all the different flavors and how you can control what goes in these, unlike store bought chips.
This is brilliant! Thank you for sharing this, I absolutely love it. 🙂
I love this idea. Most of the treats I make are raw ones, so these would work beautifully!
I love making homemade chocolate using cocoa butter all the time, but haven’t made the chips…I think I’d eat them all too fast before they’d ever make it into a recipe, haha! I LOVE those peanut butter ones!!
How cute! Who doesn’t love little flavourful bits of goodness!
Pop them right into my mouth!
Yes, I’ve foreseen that as a problem. The little chips likely won’t all make it to the final product, you know, because of taste testing and all. 😉
These are fantastic!! How unique and simple, yet so very genius.
I’m sure I would eat the bowl full prior to their making it to one of your scrumptious bars. Looks like you’ve been stocking up some on Vegan transportables for your trip?
I had a whole separate bag I took to Alaska stock full of nibbles last year. Funny how popular it became with those around me on the trip !
I haven’t yet started making goodies for my trip, but you are spot on that I will be! I’ve been researching… Cannot let myself get hungry! And I might even get my dad to try one or two things – especially if they have chocolate in them!
Waw, amazing inviting special recipes! You are amazing, invented these special chips! I love the peanut one, the most! xxx
Peanut butter was the first one I tried :-)!
These are lovely!!
Here’s hoping you are well (the site says you really are). xoxo
🙂 Thanks, Nikki!
Making your own baking chips? I take my hat off to you. They look wonderful but I fear they’d disappear long before any baking got done.
That is a hazard, Lorna!
HI…..this is exactly what I was looking for..an how Fabulous the idea to use the pot holders..I’m new to making sugar free..high AC1 did it for me..I have one question about the ingred. spirulina powder..I notice it’s only in the one chip, is there a reason it’s not in all.?..my Grands are going to love making these..an their mom can’t complain about them having a bowl while I make the bars..
Hi Wende! I’m so glad you found me :-)! I use the spirulina powder to give the mint chips their color. You are certainly welcome to add the spirulina to the other chips, if you like. BTW, have you visited Ricki Heller’s site for tons of AC recipes? http://www.rickiheller.com