gerneral cooking tips...

[breakingbrie]

If anyone has any they'd kindly share, I'd be ever so grateful!! :thumbup:

I tried to make some simple cookies tonight - it did not end well. I just wanted some of those haystack thingies, and my sis made some recently, the recipe was easy peasy, only 4 ingredients - melt 2 together, then mix the other two, then refrigerate. Something went wrong, my semi sweet chips and my butterscotch chips just wouldn't melt together - my butterscotch ones just got crumbly... So I thought maybe it was the glass bowl I was using and switched to my only decent tupperware bowl - I'd always THOUGHT they were microwaveable...

Hmm, well the recipe didn't specify a microwave time, just melt them. After 1 1/2 minutes a little at a time didn't do it, I had just switched bowls and put them in for another full 1 1/2 minutes. Just after a minute, smoke started rolling out of the microwave. and my bowl is destroyed, and the haystacks just aren't going to happen.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f364/nesterfamily/PB033457.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f364/nesterfamily/PB033459.jpg

So - if anyone would like to share some general common sense about cooking, I'd be eternally grateful - ya know, along the lines of don't put chocolate chips in tupperware in the microwave :D

[aggiefamily]

Glass works best for melting! To melt chips you should only put them in the microwave for a few seconds (maybe 20) and stir! If it gets clumpy you can stir in a tiny bit of crisco.

The best way to melt chocolate is in a double boiler. I use a pot with a couple inches of water (simmer the water) and add a glass bowl on top of that. It should not rest in the water but sit above it. Add your chocolate to the glass bowl (stir!) and let the steam and heat melt the chocolate.

[Leila]

You definitely have to stir chocolate when melting. If you're going to do it in the microwave--start with 30 seconds, stir. Another 10-15 seconds, stir. So on and so on until it's melted. Chocolate maintains it's shape when melting. Amanda is right though, the best way to do it is the double boiler method!

I've never tried melting butterscotch chips, but the crumbling sounds odd. You're certain they weren't old/expired?

[Darcy Baldwin]

What ^^^ they said.

[MandaT]

I tried to make fudge with butterscotch chips last christmas & it got crumbly & the texture was just nasty. I don't think they do well in high heat.

Chocolate chips you especially need to stir because of the way they are made, they are supposed to hold their shape. ;)

[breakingbrie]

lol, thanks girls. I wish I had hung around the kitchen as a kid when mom was cooking. I just have zero common sense about this!

I don't know why the butterscotch got crumbly either - maybe I over microwaved them, I let it go for 35 seconds before checking them the first time, I probably should have checked them sooner. I checked the bag, and it says best by Aug 2011, so I must have done it wrong! lol, I'm getting ready to make a late dinner, let's hope that turns out better than the cookies...

[jessica31876]

is there any chance you stirred with a wet spoon or put them in a damp bowl?

[jessica31876]

oh also dont try to use the microwave at full power. Works better if you use it at a lower power. If it starts to clump you can add a little crisco shortening to help it smooth out too. (I dont think it would effect your recipe much but it might help to experiment if you try it again)

[Penny Springmann]

white chocolate will crumble if it is exposed to moisture any water (even if your bowl is just a tiny bit damp). Maybe it's the same with the butterscotch chips as well.

[dana]

i think that milk chocolate doesn't doesn't do well with water either - i was trying to make toffee a few years ago and messed up my first batch when trying to melt chocolate in a double boiler - i had too much water and it bubbled up over my glass bowl and got into the chocolate and made it a complete mess ... totally weird texture!

[jessica31876]

water makes chocolate seize.

i think that milk chocolate doesn't doesn't do well with water either - i was trying to make toffee a few years ago and messed up my first batch when trying to melt chocolate in a double boiler - i had too much water and it bubbled up over my glass bowl and got into the chocolate and made it a complete mess ... totally weird texture!

[scrapperjade]

What kind of butterscotch chips did you use? I love making confetti squares (you know those peanut butter squares with the colored marshmallows?), which calls for butterscotch chips. I've found that Baker's b-chips DO NOT melt nicely, but generic brands work the best. Go figure. Baker's b-chips become hard & crumbly when melted.

I'm sorry that your haystacks didn't work out and your bowl got wrecked! It's so discouraging when something so *seemingly* simple doesn't go as planned... but don't give up! YOU CAN DO IT!

[adrianka]

Glass works best for melting! To melt chips you should only put them in the microwave for a few seconds (maybe 20) and stir! If it gets clumpy you can stir in a tiny bit of crisco.

The best way to melt chocolate is in a double boiler. I use a pot with a couple inches of water (simmer the water) and add a glass bowl on top of that. It should not rest in the water but sit above it. Add your chocolate to the glass bowl (stir!) and let the steam and heat melt the chocolate.

I second this, a totally reliable method. Let me add that it's advisable never allow it to boil, otherwise you'll get a nasty surprise.

[sprauncey1]

Just so you know Brie...melting chocolate etc is one of the most skilled things to do when baking. So many things can affect it. Oh and yes chips were made to hold their shape so you are better off using baking chocolate (blocks). I recently bought a new book (Bakewise) written by a Chemist and she explains a lot of the whys of this. But mostly I wanted to let you know that you ARE NOT ALONE in messing this up. I think most of us have a time or two!

Oh and yeah...tupperware not good for melting (it is mostly OK for reheating). Sorry yours bit the dust!

[Jengerbread88]

Funny story about this... a few years ago on mother's day, I decided to surprise my mom by making a batch of chocolate covered strawberries (which I found out several years later she doesn't even like, btw). I popped my chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds, and they weren't melty, so I popped them in for another 2 minutes. When they started to smoke and burn, I whipped them out of the microwave. Uh oh. They melted THROUGH my plastic bowl, and started dripping on the floor! Well, I didn't want to hurt the floor, so I tilted the bowl back.

....the molten lava burny chocolate flowed backward, hitting my thumb. This was when I was 12. I still am missing part of my thumbprint from it. Ouch!

Glass bowls are best!

[Paula]

It's really best to use a double boiler when melting chocolate. That is one thing that you need to keep a vigilant eye on.

[Sarah8914]

I'm guessing the butterscotch chips were over cooked.

Even with chocolate, if it's over cooked, it gets crumbly!

[breakingbrie]

:D I am totally gonna try these again today after reading all this. I never would have guessed you couldn't just pop it in the microwave and let it go lol. Also, our microwave is like superpowered... I didn't think of that - it must be set on high, it reheats in record time, and when following directions for making stuff in the microwave we always have to cut time off because it's so powerful.
So, yea, I'm definately trying these again today (and some fudge, we'll see how that goes!). I'm not ready to give up!

Thank you so much for all the tips, girls, you're the best!! :)