How many cups of chocolate chips are in a pound

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Chocolate chip cookies are one of the world’s favorite desserts. But if you have a recipe calling for a certain number of cups of chocolate chips, you might not know what size bag to pick up at the store.

So how many cups of chocolate chips are in a 12 oz bag? Or any other size bag, for that matter? Fortunately, that question isn’t too difficult to answer. Let’s find out.

Table of Contents

  • 1 How Many Ounces of Chocolate Chips in a Bag?
  • 2 How Many Cups of Chocolate Chips in a Bag?
  • 3 Are Cup Measurements the Same Everywhere?
  • 4 Other Bag Sizes of Chocolate Chips
  • 5 Converting Cups of Chocolate Chips to Ounces
  • 6 Converting Ounces of Chocolate Chips to Grams
  • 7 Are All Chips Semi-Sweet Chocolate?
  • 8 What Chocolate Chip Brands Are There?
  • 9 Should You Use Chocolate Chips or Baking Chocolate?
  • 10 Possible Substitutes for Chocolate Chips
  • 11 Putting Chocolate Chips to Use
  • 12 FAQs
    • 12.1 How many cups of chocolate chips are in a Toll House bag?
    • 12.2 When should you use baking chocolate vs. chocolate chips?

Before we get to the matter of how many cups of chocolate chips you get in a bag, you’ll first need to know just how big a bag of chocolate chips really is. At any given grocery store, most bags will contain twelve ounces of chocolate chips.

As we’ll see in a moment, there are other bag sizes you can find, especially if you visit a specialty store.

It’s important to note that the ounces of chocolate mentioned here refer to dry ounces. That means that here, an ounce is a weight unit. On the other hand, fluid ounces, used to measure liquids, are used to measure volume.

That said, most recipes call for ingredients in terms of volume, not weight. And in most cases, the dry cup measure is the unit of choice.

So how many cups are in a 12 oz bag of chocolate chips? Let’s find out.

How many cups of chocolate chips are in a pound

How Many Cups of Chocolate Chips in a Bag?

We now know that most bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips are twelve ounces. So what is 12 oz chocolate chips in cups?

The good news is that this is a very easy conversion. A 12-ounce bag contains two cups of chocolate chips.

If you think you’ll need to convert the weight of chocolate chips to volume frequently, just remember that there are 6 ounces of regular-sized chocolate chips in a cup.

If you’re pretty familiar with fluid ounces and how they work, this conversion could be a little confusing. There are eight fluid ounces in a fluid cup. Remember that the weight of a dry cup and the weight of a fluid cup is different!

If you’re converting 6 oz chocolate chips to cups, remember that the 6 ounces = 1 cup of chocolate conversion apply to regular-sized chips. Since mini chocolate chips have less space between them than larger chips, a cup of mini chips will usually weigh slightly more than a cup of regular-sized chips.

If you substitute mini chips for regular chips in a recipe, you’ll get a bit more chocolate per cookie than you would with regular chips. If you want to avoid this, it’s a good idea to follow a recipe designed with mini chips in mind. The good news is that because chips don’t really impact the consistency of the dough, adding a little extra chocolate (or reducing the amount of chocolate) shouldn’t have a major impact on the recipe.

Are Cup Measurements the Same Everywhere?

So now you know how many cups are in a 12-ounce bag of chocolate. But if you work with recipes from multiple parts of the world, you might already know that a cup isn’t the same everywhere.

The cup mentioned here is what’s more properly known as the “US standard cup.” It has a volume of 236.588 mL. Anytime you work with a recipe from the United States, it will use this measurement for ingredients measured by volume. You might sometimes hear US standard cups called “US cups” for short.

For the sake of clarity, when we say that there are two cups of chocolate chips in a 12-ounce bag, we mean that there are two US cups.

Some other countries use a cup measurement called the international metric cup. This one has an even, the easy-to-remember volume of 250 mL. The larger imperial cup has a volume of 284.131 mL.

The moral of the story here is to double-check and make sure that you understand the type of cup used in your recipe. This is especially important if you travel internationally or simply source recipes from a lot of different countries.

In order to avoid confusion over volume, it’s great to use recipes that call for ingredients by weight when possible. After all, the differences between each type of cup aren’t enormous. But if you already have baking experience, you know that being even a little bit off with your ingredients can really derail a recipe. We’ll go more into depth on measuring chocolate by weight in a minute!

How many cups of chocolate chips are in a pound

Other Bag Sizes of Chocolate Chips

You already know that the answer to “how many cups in 12 oz chocolate chips?” is two. But in case you come across differently-sized bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips, you might want a quick reference for determining how many cups are in each bag size.

Here’s a quick guide to how many cups are in a bag of chocolate chips organized by bag size. Of course, this all comes down to the 6-ounce bag = 1 cup of chocolate rule.

  • 6 ounces: 1 cup
  • 12 ounces: 2 cups
  • 24 ounces: 4 cups
  • 36 ounces: 6 cups
  • 60 ounces: 10 cups
  • 72 ounces: 12 cups

Converting Cups of Chocolate Chips to Ounces

If you find yourself needing to convert a cup measurement of chocolate chips to ounces, the same rule applies: a cup of chocolate chips has a weight of six ounces. If you’re using irregularly-shaped chips or just want to double-check, you can always use a kitchen scale to weigh a cup in ounces.

In case you’re using a recipe that calls for less than a cup of chocolate chips, here’s a handy guide to how many ounces of chips are in some common fractions of one cup:

  • 1/8 cup: 0.75 ounces
  • 1/4 cup: 1.5 ounces
  • 1/3 cup: 2 ounces
  • 1/2 cup: 3 ounces
  • 2/3 cup: 4 ounces
  • 3/4 cup: 4.5 ounces
  • 1 cup: 6 ounces

Converting Ounces of Chocolate Chips to Grams

Though it isn’t all that common, it’s possible to run into a recipe that calls for grams of chocolate instead of ounces of chocolate. And whether you’re using mini chocolate chips or regular ones, it’s great to know how to move between grams, cups, and ounces of chocolate.

Here’s a quick formula to remember:

One cup chocolate chips = 6 ounces = 150 grams

If you’re used to using recipes that call for ingredients by weight, you may already have a reliable kitchen scale. If you don’t, you might want to consider investing in one. Baking with ingredients measured by weight is a great idea when it comes to accuracy!

Are All Chips Semi-Sweet Chocolate?

If you’re an adventurous baker who likes to mix up your ingredients, you might be wondering whether semi-sweet chocolate is the only option when it comes to making cookies. Of course, semi-sweet chocolate is the chip of choice for a reason. It’s technically a kind of dark chocolate, although it isn’t overly bitter. Since chocolate chip cookie dough is usually very sweet, semi-sweet chocolate creates a great balance.

But semi-sweet chocolate chips aren’t the only option you have. If you like your cookies even sweeter, milk chocolate chips can be a delicious alternative. If you like pecans, you might want to try chopping some up and stirring them in along with the milk chocolate chips.

White chocolate has a light, unique flavor, and cookies with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips are especially delicious! You can also use white chocolate chips to make a batch of classic white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.

Some brands also make dark chocolate chips. These usually have a higher percentage of cacao than both semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips. For reference, most semi-sweet chips are around 70% cacao, although that number will certainly vary. Chips advertised as “dark chocolate” usually have more cacao than semi-sweet chips. If you really love dark chocolate, you may even be able to find unsweetened cacao chips, too!

And of course, if you simply can’t decide, you can always make cookies with a mixture of different kinds of chips. It’s a little bit of a risk, but you might just discover your new favorite recipe.

How many cups of chocolate chips are in a pound

What Chocolate Chip Brands Are There?

If you want to get the most out of your cookie recipes, you’ll probably want to carefully select the kind of chocolate you use. And though there are plenty of brands out there, it can be helpful to know some of the better-known brands you can choose from.

Toll House is probably one of the most famous chocolate chip manufacturers. It offers milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate chip bags.

If you like the famous taste of Hershey’s Kisses, you’ll be glad to know that the company that manufactures this also makes semi-sweet, milk chocolate, and white chocolate chips. They also make special dark chips — this is the same type of chocolate used in Hershey’s “Special Dark” chocolate bars.

Ghirardelli is a high-end chocolate company that makes especially delicious dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate chips, too. And of course, if you’re on a budget, there’s nothing wrong with sticking to your local grocery store’s brand of chocolate chips. In many cases, it’s tough to tell the difference between name-brand and store-brand chocolate once the cookies are made.

Should You Use Chocolate Chips or Baking Chocolate?

Before you run and buy a full pound of chocolate chips, you might want to know whether you can substitute small chipped pieces of baking chocolate or dark chocolate for the one or two cups of chocolate chips the recipe calls for. After all, it’s easy enough to make grated chocolate on your own.

You can certainly use baking chocolate to make chocolate chip cookies. However, it’s worth noting that the composition of regular and mini chocolate chips is different from that of baking chocolate.

A chocolate chip is made with stabilizing ingredients that help it to hold its shape even as it partially melts in the oven. Baking chocolate bars, on the other hand, are made to melt quickly and evenly. For example, if you are making chocolate ganache or icing, you’d probably want to use baking chocolate to do so.

But if you have baking chocolate bars you want to use, you can certainly incorporate them into your chocolate chip cookies! For the most accurate measurement, it’s best to get the weight of the chocolate before you start grating it.

Often, but not always, a square of baking chocolate is one ounce. Remember that a dry cup measure is equivalent to 6 ounces of chocolate. So for each cup of chocolate the recipe calls for, set aside 6 ounces of baking chocolate. You can also measure out one cup or two cups after the chocolate has been grated, but a measurement by weight is almost always going to be more accurate.

Once you have your required ounces of chocolate set aside, you can start grating it. You don’t need any special equipment, either. Just take a box grater (the type of standing grater you usually use to grate cheese) and grate the chocolate on the side with the smallest holes.

If you have a handheld grater, that may make the job easier and less tedious. And if you want especially fine grated chocolate, a Microplane grater is a great choice.

But if you want to stick closer to the recipe, you might want to consider using a knife to cut the chocolate into small pieces. This will give you a coarse texture similar to that of a chocolate chip. However, depending on the consistency of the baking chocolate, chopping it into small pieces may prove difficult to do.

In short, it’s generally better to use chocolate chips when making cookies. Baking chocolate doesn’t have the same consistency, but it will definitely work in a pinch!

Possible Substitutes for Chocolate Chips

Now you know how many cups in a 12 oz bag of chocolate chips. But in some cases, you might be baking cookies for someone who is allergic to chocolate or simply prefers other ingredients. Or maybe you just want to try something a little different.

Of course, it’s possible to find recipes for almost any type of cookie you can imagine. But if you have a chocolate chip cookie recipe you really like, you might wish you could substitute something for the cup of chocolate chips the recipe calls for.

If you still like chocolate but want to add some candy crunch, you can use standard or mini M&Ms in your recipe. If you want to stay away from chocolate altogether, use cups of butterscotch or peanut butter chips in place of cups of chocolate chips.

There are endless other substitutions to make: chopped nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, and even caramel or other candy pieces can be great options. The only limit is your imagination!

Putting Chocolate Chips to Use

Now that you know how many cups of chocolate chips are in a bag, you’ll know exactly what to get when you’re shopping for ingredients to make your next batch.

You might already have a particular recipe in mind. But if you don’t, trying out new recipes can be a lot of fun. You might even find a new favorite. This video will show you a great chocolate chip cookie recipe!

FAQs

Still have some questions before you embark on your next baking adventure? Here are some answers:

How many cups of chocolate chips are in a Toll House bag?

Most Toll House bags of chocolate chips contain 12 ounces of chips. There are 6 ounces of chocolate chips in a cup, so a bag of chocolate chips has two cups.

When should you use baking chocolate vs. chocolate chips?

Chocolate chips aren’t just chips of grated chocolate. They are specially designed to not melt completely in an oven. Baking chocolate, on the other hand, is meant to melt evenly. In short, you should use chocolate chips when you’re making something with chocolate chunks (like chocolate chip cookies). You should use baking chocolate if you need to make something smooth like icing.

Does 4 cups equal 1 pound?

What is a pound?.

How many pounds is 2 cups of chocolate chips?

A full pound of chipped chocolate measures to 2.7 to 3 cups. One cup of these small chipped pieces weighed 5.9 ounces (167 grams). A 1/4 pound block of chocolate yields 1/2 cup if melted. You would need a full pound of chocolate to get 2 cups.

What is 1 pound equal to in cups?

16 ounces equals one pound or two cups. Another way to look at the equivalent is that one cup weighs eight ounces and therefore two cups equal 16 ounces and this is the same weight of one pound--16 ounces.

How many cups are in a 12 oz bag of chips?

A bag with 12 ounces chocolate chips equals 2 cups. This means 1 cup of chocolate chips equals 6 ounces.