Skip to main content

Homemade Chocolate Chips

Since you all followed my Goin' Crunchy 2011 updates with such interest, I feel compelled to give a full account of the homemade chocolate chips we made.  As I said earlier, they were absolutely divine in taste, and if I hadn't overcooked the brownies I put them in that weekend by 20 minutes (oops), I think they would have melted nicely into the brownie batter for an extra chocolate kick.  Laura did warn that they would melt if used in cookies, but seemed to indicate that they would simply turn the otherwise normal cookie into a chocolate cookie.

Not so (for me).

The chips were melting already at room temperature, and they caused the cookies to spread horribly almost immediately upon entering the oven.  I should've taken a picture of that first batch, but they were so flat and unappealing that we (Isaac and I) just ate them all right away.  (That was the correct response, right?)

Ever the quick thinker, Isaac suggested we try the next batch in muffin tins, so that at least the spreading would be contained, even if the cookie didn't turn out much better.  I also put the bowl of dough in the fridge while each batch was baking, to keep it a bit more solidified.  This helped -- we have small muffin-shaped cookies, as you'll see below -- but still didn't make for very pretty cookies.

I'd love to tell you they tasted great, but the fact is, they were purposefully healthy cookies made with oats and honey and whole wheat flour, and I was out of vanilla extract so we used almond, and they were a disappointment.  (Especially disappointing since Isaac had offered to get Graeter's, and I insisted on making a healthier treat instead.)

Nonetheless, here's what we ended up with:


Weird, huh.  I guess I'll just have to keep sneaking the frozen chocolate chips out of the freezer one at a time during the boys' naps . . .

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Vanilla and Snowflakes

You may remember from my Goin' Crunchy 2011 post that I started a batch of homemade vanilla back in May. It's all ready for use now, just in time for Christmas gifts!  I bought these little bottles  and a pack of winter-themed address labels on clearance at Target, dug through my craft boxes to find some old ribbon, and ended up with this: (You can't see it, but there is coordinating ribbon around the sugar jar, too.) As you can see, after I was done using my vanilla beans for extract, I cut them up into 2-inch pieces and covered them with white sugar in baby food jars: after about a week, the sugar is delightfully vanilla-flavored!  I haven't used it yet, but hear it's great for sprinkling on baked goods or oatmeal, or stirring into coffee or tea.  Packaged together in a little gift bag, they're making a nice small (and frugal!) gift for . . . those people who need nice, small, frugal gifts.  :)   In other news, I picked up a $1 sheet of snowfla...

More Pom-pom activities

That dollar or so I spent on a bag of fuzzy pom-poms might have been the most useful dollar ever. Both boys continue to be entertained by pushing them through the lid of an old peanut container , an activity I pull out whenever there is an emotional crisis mounting. I've been collecting toilet paper rolls in hopes of doing this stick-counting activity , but I have yet to gather enough suitable twigs.  So I created my own conglomeration of several activities I've seen: Levi used small tongs to put the pom-poms in the tubes, counting to match the number on the tube.  He recognizes the number words one, two, three, and six, so I opted to leave the numbers off and let him figure out which tube "said" which number. Like my lazy masking-tape construction? :) I belatedly remembered that we've done a similar activity before to practice colors: I've got a set of toilet paper tubes with colored paper around them!  Not surprisingly -- that was six months ago -- ...

Homeschool Curriculum 2025-2026

Given the ages of my children, I will only have two years when I am actively homeschooling all six kids, and this is the first. I have more spreadsheets going than ever before, four student paper planners, one kid using Google Classroom for assignments again, and a giant schedule on butcher paper so that everyone knows whose turn it is in the living room (for instrument practice) or on the laptop. BRING IT ON. Pretty sure we've only gotten all six kids awake for family devotions once in 8 days of school. LEVI: 11th grade Math: linear algebra and multivariable calculus through PSEO at University of Minnesota (online) History: AP world history at Sartell High School, second semester Science: AP physics C (one each semester) online English: World Literature: LLATL gold , Advancing Through Grammar Language: self-study German, with plans to take the AP German test next year Bible: Dust to Glory (Ligonier online) New Testament Extracurricular: piano first semester, wind ensemble at Sarte...