Here's Why Some Chocolate Chips Don't Melt in the Oven

Is there anything more delicious on a cold rainy day than an ooey-gooey chocolate chip cookie? Nope. Not unless you add a cold glass of milk to the mix.

But after biting into a warm cookie, have you ever found yourself staring at this baked ball of dough and wondering why those delicious little chocolate chips are able to hold their shape in the oven?

The answer is fat. Or, rather, a lack of fat.

You see, chocolate chips tend to be made with a lower proportion of cocoa butter, which is the natural fat found in the cocoa bean. They’re also usually made with weird little food additives and stabilizers to help them stay stable and fresh on grocery store shelves.

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All this together means that chocolate chips are basically engineered to hold their shape, even in a 350-degree oven. Good or bad, that’s just the way it is when you buy a bag of chocolate chips at the store.

Even chocolate chips that do melt in the oven tend to hold their shape because they’re surrounded by cookie dough. They melt in the oven, but stay in their little dough pocket, then harden when they cool again.

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So the next time you pick up a package of chocolate chips at the store, go ahead and read the ingredient label. You might learn something new while you’re preparing to make cookies.

What’s your favorite type of cookie? Why?

Let us know in the comments!