No, cooking chocolate is generally not the best choice for cookies, especially not for chocolate chip cookies.
While you can technically use cooking chocolate in cookies, it's usually reserved for other baked goods where sugar is added to balance its intense flavor. Here's a breakdown:
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Baking Chocolate/Cooking Chocolate: This is unsweetened or very lightly sweetened chocolate, meant to be a base ingredient in recipes where you control the sweetness. It's ideal for brownies, cakes, or sauces. Using it in cookies as-is will result in a very bitter, unsavory flavor if sugar isn't added or adjusted accordingly.
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Why Dark Chocolate Chunks or Chocolate Chips are Preferred: These options already have sugar added and are formulated to melt nicely in cookies, creating that desirable chocolatey sweetness. They also hold their shape better than melted baking chocolate, resulting in visible and satisfying chocolate chunks or chips.
Think of it this way:
- Baking Chocolate: An ingredient to build upon.
- Chocolate Chips/Dark Chocolate Chunks: A complete component ready to add to your cookie dough.
In conclusion, for best results, stick to chocolate chips or chunks of dark chocolate when making cookies. Leave the baking chocolate for recipes where its intense flavor can be balanced with added sugar and other ingredients.
