How to Melt Chocolate Chips: 3 Tips for Melting Chocolate

Chocolate chips are pieces of bitter, sweet, or semi-sweet chocolate that are typically small and round. Chocolate chips can be pieces of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate, and you can bake the chips into cookies or brownies, use them as dessert toppings, or melt them down to drizzle on ice cream.

Heat chocolate chips on the stove over low heat for a gooey and decadent topping for your desserts. Follow these steps:

1. 1. Chop the chocolate bar. Prep time takes just a few minutes for melting chocolate. If you are starting with chocolate bars instead of a bag of chocolate chips, you’ll first have to cut up the bar. Chop up a cup’s worth of chocolate, cutting it into uniform pieces, so the chips melt evenly.
2. 2. Prepare a double boiler. Use a double boiler or create one by placing a bowl or pot over a larger pot partially filled with simmering water. A double boiler allows for indirect, gentle heat when whisking up temperamental sauces or slowly melting chocolate. Pour about an inch of water into the bottom part of your double boiler. Then, place the chocolate pieces into the double boiler’s second part, the top of the pot. Place both, stacked, on a burner.
3. 3. Bring the water to a low simmer. You’ll want to melt the chocolate over simmering water over low heat, so your chips don’t scorch. (If you get to the point of boiling water, remove the chocolate and lower the heat.) The double boiler keeps your melting chocolate away from direct heat so that it can melt gently and steadily.
4. 4. Stir constantly. As your chocolate melts, stir frequently with a wooden spoon. Stir until the chocolate reaches your desired consistency—a shorter amount of time for a chunkier, thicker melted chocolate, or longer for a creamier, thinner melted chocolate. The sweet spot is in the middle, when the chocolate reaches a glossy finish.
5. 5. Remove and serve. The total time for melting the chocolate should be about three minutes. Lift a bit of the chocolate with your wooden spoon and let it drip so you can see its consistency. Once it’s just right, turn off the heat, remove the top of the double boiler, and place it on a heating pad; if you leave it on the stove, residual heat may burn your chocolate. Serve immediately.

If you’d prefer not to use the stovetop, place your chopped chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat them in the microwave at thirty-second intervals. After the first set, remove the bowl of chocolate and check the consistency. Stir, reaching the bottom of the bowl so all the parts are mixed together. Microwave again for thirty seconds, and then stir again. Repeat until the desired consistency is achieved.

There are a few simple tricks that home cooks can employ to melt chocolate successfully:

1. 1. Know the difference between melting white and semi-sweet chocolate. White chocolate has a low melting point, meaning it’s important that the water never boils and that you keep the water to a very gentle simmer and stir constantly. Semi-sweet chocolate is a little more forgiving as its melting point is not as low. Still, it’s best to play the long game: Simmer over low heat and stir, so you ensure you don’t burn the melted chocolate.
2. 2. Add in butter for a richer melted chocolate. For dipping sauces, try adding in butter with your melted chocolate. To do so, remove butter from the refrigerator, letting it soften for an hour or so until it approaches room temperature. (If it is cold and hard, it will take longer to melt and affect the chocolate-butter texture.) Cut up the butter into the same size as the chips so it easily melts. Melt your chocolate on the stove, and when you are done, and while it is still hot, add in the butter and stir it in until it fully melts. Add in one tablespoon of butter for every cup of chocolate chips.
3. 3. Keep the chocolate free of moisture. Chocolate can seize and become pasty if it comes into contact with water or steam, so be sure to put the melted chocolate into a clean, dry bowl. If you plan to use the chocolate as a fondue for strawberries, wipe any excess water off the berries.

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