Are white chocolate chips part kryptonite?

[ellery]

Granted, if my brain was working correctly, I would have made these last night and would not have had time stressors.

Funny Bones

But at 5:45 this morning I woke up to the realization that I had not yet made the super cute "bones" for my son's school Halloween party today. (recipe posted elsewhere on this board). Cute, easy recipe. Put marshmallows on each end of a pretzel stick, dip in melted white chocolate, let cool, easy peasy. I figured on about 20 minutes "work" time and 30 minutes in the fridge to cool. Piece of cake. Very cute. Easy. Right up my alley. Would've still left me time to get dressed, get DS dressed, etc. But... (insert scary Halloween music)...

From 6-6:30 I tried to melt those darned chips in a double boiler. They got a little soft, despite stirring, but never the consistency that would allow me to dip the pretzel sticks in them and allow the stick to emerge coated in chocolate. Not panicking yet. Put the bowl in the microwave to see if we could speed things along. I now know that melting white chocolate chips in the microwave turns them brown. And not a pretty brown.

6:30-7:00. Round two of melting a fresh batch of chips in the double boiler. They got a little more melty but again not to the consistency that would allow them to coat something. If I'd put the pretzel in them it would have never emerged again. (think La Brea tar pits)

So looks like it's store bought cookies for the party and no really cute bones.

I've never tried to melt white chocolate chips before but have never had this issue with the regular chocolate chips. Was this a user error or are these things part kryptonite?

Thanks.

[wallycat]

WOW, this surprises me. Are you sure you have 100% "white chocolate?"
White "chocolate' is really just the cocoa bean fat and no chocolate to speak of...it should melt very easily. How strange!!
Maybe it's Halloween magic

[ellery]

Originally Posted by wallycat

WOW, this surprises me. Are you sure you have 100% "white chocolate?"

Maybe it's Halloween magic

I have no idea. The bag is in the trash and I'm at work. I just bought chips from the baking aisle and didn't give it another thought (until 5:45 am!).

I'm going to go with the Halloween magic idea if no one else has had this experience. Darned gremlins!

[Ann1965]

Thank goodness I'm not the only one who's had problems melting white chips. Ghiradelli, and Nestle are all that is available around here. For my chocolate peanut butter balls this year I'm going to try the white disks that are available at Michael's or Hobby Lobby in the candy making isle.

[sneezles]

Chances are they weren't really white chocolate and you'd have been more successful using a white chocolate bar.

This is the only brand I've found that melts because it has a high cocoa butter content.

[ellery]

Well I'm really glad I posted this question now.

The recipe called for white chocolate chips, so that's what I got. And I always read the comments on a recipe before making it, and no one pointed out the need for 100% chocolate chips. But now I know.

Thanks everyone!

[aggie94]

Most of the chips I can find in the baking aisle of my local grocery stores are "white baking chips" or something similarly-described, but not actually white chocolate chips. I use white chocolate for peppermint bark and white chocolate fudge, and I have the best luck with Lindt and Callebaut bars. I have yet to find actual white chocolate CHIPS - I've never seen the ones that sneezles posted (Susan, where do you buy them?).

[HealthyinMN]

Originally Posted by aggie94

Most of the chips I can find in the baking aisle of my local grocery stores are "white baking chips" or something similarly-described, but not actually white chocolate chips. I use white chocolate for peppermint bark and white chocolate fudge, and I have the best luck with Lindt and Callebaut bars. I have yet to find actual white chocolate CHIPS - I've never seen the ones that sneezles posted (Susan, where do you buy them?).

Trader Joe's carries (or at least used to, especially around Christmas time) real white chocolate chips (Callebaut, but TJ branded).

[aggie94]

Thanks, Joe! I will definitely check there this year.

[TerriAb]

Originally Posted by ellery

Granted, if my brain was working correctly, I would have made these last night and would not have had time stressors.

Funny Bones

But at 5:45 this morning I woke up to the realization that I had not yet made the super cute "bones" for my son's school Halloween party today. (recipe posted elsewhere on this board). Cute, easy recipe. Put marshmallows on each end of a pretzel stick, dip in melted white chocolate, let cool, easy peasy. I figured on about 20 minutes "work" time and 30 minutes in the fridge to cool. Piece of cake. Very cute. Easy. Right up my alley. Would've still left me time to get dressed, get DS dressed, etc. But... (insert scary Halloween music)...

From 6-6:30 I tried to melt those darned chips in a double boiler. They got a little soft, despite stirring, but never the consistency that would allow me to dip the pretzel sticks in them and allow the stick to emerge coated in chocolate. Not panicking yet. Put the bowl in the microwave to see if we could speed things along. I now know that melting white chocolate chips in the microwave turns them brown. And not a pretty brown.

6:30-7:00. Round two of melting a fresh batch of chips in the double boiler. They got a little more melty but again not to the consistency that would allow them to coat something. If I'd put the pretzel in them it would have never emerged again. (think La Brea tar pits)

So looks like it's store bought cookies for the party and no really cute bones.

I've never tried to melt white chocolate chips before but have never had this issue with the regular chocolate chips. Was this a user error or are these things part kryptonite?

Thanks.

I had the same thing happen to me last night! I tried in the microwave and then on the stove. I stuck my wooden spoon in it and picked the whole thing up, it was like clay!

Good to know about the TJs white chocolate chips.

[Valerie226]

I don't know why white chocolate chips behave like they do, but they will not melt. I think it's purposeful so that if the chips are in cookies the chips hold their shape.
I remember trying to melt white choc chips as an ingredient for a raspberry cheesecake and they wouldn't get soft and stir-able. then someone ... probably on this BB... told me I needed to use white bar chocolate if I wanted it soft enough to mix into a cheesecake batter. so, I've used bar chocolate since then with no troubles.

[Shugness]

I've had that problem before with the Nestle White Chocolate Chips. My favorite cookie I make at Christmas is kind of oatmeal base with walnuts and dried cranberries. After they've cooked and cooled off you're supposed to dip an end of them in white chocolate. I normally use the Bakers brand chocolate bars in white chocolate, but one year I couldn't find any white chocolate ones in Ohio, so I went with chips. Same problem you described.

It seems like I had success making them melt by adding a little bit of crisco, but then the chocolate tasted funny. But in verdict - the bars are WAY better for melting purposes.

[cangoss]

I just asked at Trader Joe's yesterday and the guy told me that white chocolate chips should start appearing next week (along with Peppermint Joe Joe's).

Whole Foods 365 brand of white chocolate chunks are also real white chocolate. Ghiradelli chips are not the real deal, but their bars are.
To make sure you have the good stuff, look for cocoa butter in the ingredients' list.

[aggie94]

The white Nestle chips have the same non-melting issue because they're not chocolate. If you look at the Nestle bag, they're actually called "premier white morsels."

I've had decent luck with the Baker's white chocolate bars, but they seem to be a little hit or miss for me, and I also have a difficult time finding them.

[kgraham]

Don't all chocolate chips have stabilizers so they will keep their chip shape when baked in cookies? I'm sure I read or heard that somewhere, but can't remember where. I know I have melted (regular chocolate) chips in a pinch and its worked fine so I don't know if its true or not....

[sneezles]

Originally Posted by aggie94

(Susan, where do you buy them?).

As with most elusive ingredients...online here

[sneezles]

Originally Posted by kgraham

Don't all chocolate chips have stabilizers so they will keep their chip shape when baked in cookies? I'm sure I read or heard that somewhere, but can't remember where. I know I have melted (regular chocolate) chips in a pinch and its worked fine so I don't know if its true or not....

Yes, they do but white chocolate that doesn't have a high content of cocoa butter (and you'll find that regular white chips do not have a high content)will not melt, though they will melt slightly while baking in a cookie or cake. Regular chocolate (semi-, bitter, milk) chips have lots of cocoa butter.

[funniegrrl]

Hmmmm ... I've never had any trouble melting Nestle's or Ghiradelli chips ... even in the microwave, and no browning. I use the same technique I use with regular chips, which is to use short bursts of medium-high heat (for a whole bag, maybe 20-sec increments at first, decreasing as the end result is near), stirring between bursts. Choc (even white choc, even fake white choc) doesn't turn from solid to liquid just from the heat. If you heat it enough to do that, it starts burning before everything is melted. So, a little heat, stirr to redistribute the heat, repeat as needed.

[Beth]

I think I may have used Ghiradelli thinking a good brand would melt better. They melted, but they didn't spread, whatever brand they were. That was the problem with the candy corn bark I made a few years ago.

[ellery]

Originally Posted by aggie94

The white Nestle chips have the same non-melting issue because they're not chocolate. If you look at the Nestle bag, they're actually called "premier white morsels."

I checked the bag tonight and this is what I used. In my grocery store, it was either a choice between these or the store brand white morsels. On the back it gives recipes and instructions on melting. I'm thinking it's kind of like how Ben & Jerry's cartons say that a carton has 4 servings. There's the ideal, and there's the actual.

Oh well!

[Jazzmatazz49]

This is why my candy corn bark didn't look very cute last year, and why I didn't attempt it this year. The white chocolate chips just wouldn't melt, and everything ended up muddy-looking when I tried to use the glob of white.

[Hammster]

It seems the main issue with these chips is the lack of "fat". I wonder if you can add some veg (canola) oil to the melting white stuff to help it be a bit looser. When I make Buckeye balls, I add 3 tbsp of oil to my 16 oz of melting dark chocolate chips and it really comes out nice for dipping.
You might not need that much oil for the white stuff. I'd start low and work up slowly, stirring the oil in very thoroughly and checking consistency before adding more.
Also, do not allow the white stuff to get over 115 F while it is melting.

[sneezles]

I don't know if oil would work, not sure the chocolate would solidify once cooled, but shortening does. I have used coconut oil with success because it does solidify at room temp.

[Hammster]

Originally Posted by sneezles

I don't know if oil would work, not sure the chocolate would solidify once cooled, but shortening does. I have used coconut oil with success because it does solidify at room temp.

The dark chocolate with oil always solidifies after it cools off on the buckeyes, so I'd imagine the white would as well. The ratio of oil to chocolate is pretty small so it shouldn't keep it from setting up.
Hmmm, coconut flavored bones....do you get much coconut flavor from the oil?

[sneezles]

See I've never made Buckeyes so didn't know...just a hint of coconut from virgin and nothing if it's refined.

[funniegrrl]

Factoid update:

Was reminded today that lowly Kroger store brand white chocolate chips are real white chocolate with cocoa butter and no partially hydrogenated fats. It's not cheaper than Nestle's when Nestle's is on sale, but it is cheaper when both are full price.