In an earlier post I went on and on about how perfect Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips are, and how discovering them saved me from being deprived of my chocolate indulgences. Well, even with those perfect mini chocolate chips as a staple in my pantry, I kept saying, “I want more!”
I don’t know if Enjoy Life Foods could hear my plea from Minnesota all the way to Illinois, but they’ve answered it. More is exactly what they gave me … in their new Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks. Yes!!!
In case you’ve not heard me espouse the wonders of Enjoy Life chocolate, let me share my passion for it through these new mega chunks. These hunks of goodness are made of the same excellent gluten-free, dairy-free, chocolate that’s found in the mini chips, which I can’t seem to keep an ample supply of at Daily Forage.
With an open mind and scrutiny (yes, I believe there can be good and bad, even with chocolate), I couldn’t wait to put these morsels to the test. Straight out of the bag, I found them to be only slightly less creamy than the mini chips, which I mention as a good thing. Though I love the softness of the mini chips, the slightly firmer texture of the mega chips lends nicely to nibbling on them right out of the bag, and they are the perfect size and texture for including in trail mix. I tried pairing the mega chips with pistachios and dried cherries (a great blend of protein, carbs, and antioxidants), sweet, tart, savory, a bit salty, and yes, that chocolatey thing again … perfect!
I’ve also wanted larger bits of chocolate for when my baking calls for a substantial chocolate bite. I decided to try them in my Nutt’in Better Nut Butter Cookies (make link). No time to waste, I got right into making a batch of cookies. I mixed up the cookie dough according to the recipe and added the mega chunks at the end of the blending process to fully incorporate them. Funny thing happened on the way to the baking sheets … the mega chunks self-ejected from the dough. Really! There was some dynamic taking place that caused the mega chunks to displace themselves and pile up in the bottom of the mixing bowl. So I tried blending them into the dough with the mixer again. Same outcome. I’d never had this happen before, and it was a very funny situation, but this couldn’t stand … I have to have chocolate chunks in my cookies. I would make sure these chunks played their parts correctly in the “mixing and baking” process, even if I did have to manipulate the slippery little devils. (I need to interject here, this was not caused by some characteristic or fault of the mega chunks, the natural oil in my nut butter dough caused them to spurt out uncontrollably.) Taking a different approach, and without any further hiccups, all was fixed by a gentle mixing with my hands and incorporating them back into the dough. After scooping the dough balls, I also selectively placed a few strays. Without further delay, I popped the baking sheet into the oven. I peeked at the cookies often through the oven window during the baking to see if there would be another round of spontaneous ejections. No more surprises!
The final baking results: Superb! These mega chunks have a different “perfect” texture when they are baked. They hold their shape in the cookie, and when you bite into a chunk, you are rewarded with a “ganache” type of creamy, chocolatey goodness … oh, deliciousness! These chunks will be a new addition to many of my favorite “chip” cookie recipes. Oh the possibilities!
I never have to worry about using these chunks in any of my chocolate indulgences because Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mega Chunks are free of the top eight allergens: wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, fish, and shellfish. They also do not contain potato, sesame, sulfites, or casein.
So, if you haven’t tried Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mega Chunks, grab your keys, lock up the house, and get right over to pick some up. These are too good to wait for any longer.
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