It’s Tip Friday on Marilyn’s Treats. And todays tip is Melting Chocolate!
Melting chocolate
It’s preferable to melt the chocolate three-fourths of the way, and allow carryover heat to finish the melting process while you stir the chocolate to smooth it out.
Chocolate scorches easily, and can seize (become hard and unmixable) if it comes in contact with water when melting. We recommend melting chocolate at medium power in the microwave, in a heatproof container. One cup of chocolate chips melted at half power should be heated for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, depending on the power of your microwave. Chocolate can also be melted at low heat over a burner, in a double boiler set over simmering water, tightly covered so steam doesn’t come in contact with it.
Here are a few more techniques to help when you bake. Tip Friday Boiling Water, Tip Friday Greasing a Pan, Tip Friday Melting Chocolate and Tip Friday Lining a Pan.
This article is part of the Tips That Help in the Kitchen Series, Tip Friday.
I am Marilyn Lesniak. Writer, Photographer and Chief Bottle Washer behind the scenes at Marilyn's Treats. Follow me to my kitchen. 
I love this method for melting chocolate. It can be such a tricky process, especially when I wind up eating the stuff I’m supposed to be using in my recipe. haha! Thanks for sharing this on the Friday Funday Blog Hop #FFBH!
Ha! I thought I was the only one that doubled the amount for chocolate so I would be left with what I needed! How many times I burnt my tongue!!
I’ve always wanted to try it in the microwave! thanks so much for sharing at funtastic friday!
It is the best Lindsay! Just keep a close eye on it.
Great tips! Chocolate is precious and should not be wasted, so it is good to know how to work with it! Thanks so much for sharing at Throwback Thursday!
I agree! Chocolate is better than gold! Have a great week Carlee.
I’ve tried both of these, and I’ve overdone them both at times, I hate that! The chocolate breaks and it’s becomes grainy. I need to take your advice and use the microwave on half power! Thanks.
With the microwave you need to stop and stir every 10 seconds but it is done VERY quick. I melted 44 kisses once and they still had their shape after 5 minutes. Oh, did I say they were a brick?
I almost always do the microwave! What did we do without them? Thanks for bringing this by Throwback Thursday; we’re already looking forward to what you’ll be bringing next week.
Mollie
I use my microwave and crock pot the most, Mollie. I hate to admit I mainly DUST my oven lately!
The best tip… chocolate melting can be a bit tricky if you are not careful.
Michelle, I do best with double boiler. It is much more forgiving than the microwave when I get distracted.
Great tips! 🙂 I feel like this is something everyone should know!
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
It’s true Jess. I learned this the hard way. I wish someone had told me. See you next week.
I always seem to mess up melting chocolate unless I’m using a double boiler. Good idea about removing from heat once it’s 75% melted and letting carry over heat do the rest!
CJ I can’t tell you how many times I didn’t just burn chocolate trying to melt it. I burned it into a brick! Thanks for visiting from #thursdayfavoritethings!
This is how I do my chocolate 🙂 thank you for sharing with Pin worthy Wednesday Marilyn
I had to learn the hard way…. More than three times! It’s nice to be validated when you are doing something well! Thanks Amberjane.
This is really helpful! I pinned the image. It’s easy to burn it in the microwave if you’re not watching it or set the time for too long.
I am glad Lori it helps. I found out the hard way. Microwave for 10 seconds at a time and remove and stir in between. The chocolate will continue to melt even after you remove it. I melted 44 Hershey Kisses in less than 15 seconds in the microwave. That said, for myself, the best way to retain the integrity and flavor of the chocolate is in a double boiler. Thanks for commenting.
oh how many times I’ve burned the chocolate….
Thanks for joining the What’s for Dinner linky party!!
I remember trying to melt Hershey’s Kisses with Candy Cane pieces in the microwave. The recipe called for 10 seconds, but every time I checked they retained their shape. Never thought to stir them. Anyway, 5 MINUTES later I had a ROCK burned into my bowl! I threw away the bowl with 44 kisses burned to a crisp! ????