Perhaps more than any dessert topping or dessert preparation ingredient, chocolate chips hold a predominant place in worldwide sweet-making. Chocolate chips can be used as virtually any type of dessert base: as a topping, a crucial ingredient, or as a crucial part of the overall recipe. Chocolate chips do not have a history anywhere near as long as the history of chocolate itself, but when did they become popular?
Chocolate chips first gained prominence in the 1930s when chocolate chip cookies became a popular cookie type. Chocolate chips are often manufactured as teardrop-shaped volumes with flat circular bases, while other varieties have the shape of rectangular or square blocks.
In this comprehensive guide, we are going to take a deep dive into everything there is to know about chocolate chips. The many varieties and flavors, what chips are commonly used for as well as unique ways to use them, and much more. We will also look at some common substitutes. Read on to find out more about this indelible topping/ingredient.
Chocolate Chip History
Chocolate chips were created with the invention of chocolate chip cookies in 1937 when Ruth Graves Wakefield of the Toll House Inn in the town of Whitman, Massachusetts added cut-up chunks of a semi-sweet Nestlé chocolate bar to a cookie recipe. (The Nestlé brand Toll House cookies is named for the inn.)
The cookies were a huge success, and Wakefield reached an agreement in 1939 with Nestlé to add her recipe to the chocolate bar’s packaging in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate. Initially, Nestlé included a small chopping tool with the chocolate bars. In 1941, Nestlé and at least one of its competitors started selling the chocolate in “chip” (or “morsel”) form.
Who Invented Chocolate Chips?
As mentioned, Ruth Graves Wakefield can be credited for creating the delicious favorite. Ruth’s favorite recipe was Butter Drop Do cookies. One afternoon, while preparing the cookies, Ruth discovered her pantry was lacking a necessary ingredient — baker’s chocolate.
Instead of throwing out the batch of dough, Ruth decided to substitute a semi sweet chocolate bar that she chopped into tiny bits. Much to her surprise, when she pulled the cookies from the oven, Ruth discovered the chocolate had not melted entirely like baker’s chocolate.
Instead, the semisweet chocolate bits had only softened. And just like that, the first chocolate chip cookies were born.
Ruth called her new creation the Toll House Crunch cookie. The cookies became very popular — not only with guests at the inn but around the world.
Varieties
There are virtually limitless varieties of chocolate chips now long after Wakefield’s simple, yet influential creation. Let’s take a look at some popular varieties.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Semi-sweet chocolates are not typically very sweet, but they are sweeter, not as intensely flavored, and lack the bitter notes that some “ultra-dark” chocolates have. Semisweet chocolate gives a balanced flavor to most chocolate chip cookie recipes, adding just the right amount of sweetness and chocolate flavor.
Milk Chocolate Chips
Milk chocolate chips are made from four key ingredients: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa solids (the part of the cacao plant left over once the cocoa butter is extracted), and milk. Contrary to popular belief, they don’t contain any wax or special stabilizers other than lecithin, which is also present in bar chocolate.
Instead, they usually contain a lower percentage of cocoa butter (i.e., fat) than bar chocolate does, which helps the chips hold their shape during baking. For this reason, we usually prefer to chop bar chocolate for recipes where the chocolate will be completely melted—such as brownies, chocolate sauce, or chocolate cake—so that we get an even, smooth melt.
I personally save the chips for cookies, muffins, and bars, where we want distinct morsels of chocolate speckled throughout.
Mint Chocolate Chips
Mint chocolate chip is not an actual chocolate chip but is an ice cream flavor composed of mint ice cream with small chocolate bits. In some cases, the liqueur crème de menthe is used to provide the mint flavor, but in most cases peppermint or spearmint flavoring is used.
Food coloring is usually added to make it green, but it may be beige or white in “all-natural” or “organic” varieties.
Dark Chocolate Chips
Darker chocolate, with more bitter cocoa notes than semisweet, will have a stronger presence in a cookie or cake and may overwhelm some of the subtle flavors in that recipe. Milk chocolate is typically much sweeter than either of these and can actually taste too sweet in a cookie or cake, as it does not add enough contrasting chocolate flavor.
Mini Chocolate Chips
Mini chocolate chips are smaller than regular-sized chocolate chips. However, this means that there is less air/empty space between chips (when placed in a measuring cup) and thus there is more chocolate per cup. Therefore, if you are substituting mini chips for regular-sized chips in recipes that call for regular-sized chips, you will get more chocolate per cookie than called for in the recipe.
Bittersweet
Bittersweet chocolate contains 70% cacao and as the cacao percentage increases, the chocolate itself will taste more intensely chocolatey and less sweet. Bittersweet chocolate generally contains less sugar than semisweet and is called for in recipes that are looking for a deep, intense chocolate flavor.
Unsweetened
Unsweetened chocolate is chocolate in one of its simplest forms, solid chocolate made with just cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The natural fat content of a cacao bean is 52-55%, which is typically the amount of fat (cocoa butter) found in unsweetened chocolate.
The exact ratio of cocoa solids to cocoa butter will vary slightly from producer to producer, with smoother unsweetened or plain chocolates having slightly more cocoa butter in them. This mixture of cocoa solids and cocoa butter, when it is still liquid during the production of chocolate, is known as chocolate liquor.
To produce other chocolates, this liquor can be mixed with milk solids, sugar, vanilla, and other ingredients to create a wide range of milk and dark chocolates.
Unsweetened chocolate is not a popular choice for eating, since it has a very bitter taste to it, but it is a common ingredient when it comes to baking and cooking because it makes it easy to add a strong chocolate flavor to a recipe.
Baking Chocolate Chips
With the exception of unsweetened chocolate, all the solid chocolates are available in both bar and chip form. While the names may be the same, there are slight differences. To help keep their shape, chips have less cocoa butter and contain added stabilizers. While you may not notice a big difference between the two in the texture of a brownie, in sauces and candy making it can greatly alter the recipe.
Baking chocolate bars are created to melt quickly and smoothly, so if a recipe calls for baking chocolate, it’s best to use the bar form.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chips
Generally speaking, most chocolate chips on the market are gluten-free. To cover off on the most popular brands: most Hershey’s and Nestle brands of chocolate chips are gluten-free as well as Enjoy Life Foods certain brands clearly label their packages of chocolate chips as being gluten-free. This is the safest option for anyone who is Celiac – that the products have been independently tested and verified as being gluten-free.
Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips
Generally speaking, sugar-free chips have a high percentage of cocoa that provides a wonderful, rich flavor to any recipe that you use it in. There are a number of health benefits that are associated with cocoa.
Namely, it is rich in antioxidants, can be good for heart health, and can decrease the risk of you developing heart disease and diabetes.
If cocoa is what makes the chocolate so rich, it means sugar-free chips don’t compromise on flavor despite the lack of sugar.
Cacao Chocolate Chips
100% cacao unsweetened chips are made with top-quality cocoa beans and no added sugar – perfect for any baking or cooking experience because there is only one single ingredient: unsweetened chocolate.
Great for the ultimate dark chocolate treat and baking recipes where you can control the level of sweetness.
Vegan Chocolate Chips
Vegan chocolate chips use 100% unsweetened chocolate bars designed specifically for baking. These particular chocolate bars have no added sugar in them and on their own, are extremely bitter. However, they melt perfectly and are easy to mix with other sweeteners (like maple syrup, honey, or granulated sugars).
For vegan recipes, I use Guittard chocolate, but Ghiradelli and Bakers also make 100% unsweetened chocolate bars.
Raw sugar or unrefined sugar is also key to ensure you are working with true vegan chips. You must only use these two kinds of sugar, as traditional white or brown sugar blends use bone char (from animals) in the processing.
Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips
The easiest way to know if chips are dairy-free is to read the ingredients list on the back of the package. Most likely, if you have “milk chocolate” chocolate chips, then you know these will contain dairy.
Look at the ingredient list to find any of the common names for dairy. Sometimes it will be under “milk” or “milkfat,” and other times it will be under less common names.
Low-Calorie Chocolate Chips
Sugar-free chocolate, including chocolate chips, bars, and other varieties, have generally been produced for diabetics and is also low-calorie. However, as more people start eliminating sugar from their diets, sugar-free chocolate becomes more popular among all groups of people.
Chocolate that is claimed to be sugar-free contains very low or zero amounts of sugar and milk. Instead, the cocoa content is much higher and the calories are reduced. Chocolate high in cocoa content is good for the heart. It also decreases the risk of hypertension and strokes. Researchers state that cocoa is also rich in antioxidants and iron.
Low Carb vs. Keto
Low-carb chocolate chips are certainly available. Most milk chocolate that we all love has tons of sugar and is high in carbs. For chocolate on a keto diet, look for unsweetened chocolate, cocoa nibs, and dark chocolate.
Do not buy chips with sweeteners with maltitol like Hershey’s chips since it raises blood sugar. Dark chocolate should contain 70% of cocoa solids. One ounce of unsweetened chocolate is the lowest carb content of your chocolate options. If you melt the chocolate down, you can add Swerve, and then add it to your favorite recipes for a depth of chocolate flavor.
Paleo Chocolate Chips
One of the main ingredients in many of the more common paleo treats is chocolate chips. And while chocolate by itself is paleo-friendly and has numerous health benefits you need to be selective when choosing chocolate chips. Many of the chocolate chips you can buy in the store are not paleo at all, which is odd because I thought chocolate was paleo.
Yes, it is as long as there is no added sugar. Unfortunately, most brands add sugar to sweeten the chocolate, making your chocolate goodie, not so paleo after all.
Rainbow Candy-Coated
Rainbow Chocolate Chips is a confectionary delight, emphasizing candy-colored chip-shaped beads, some elegantly transparent and some smooth and solid to combine sophisticated elegance with fun and funk.
Smoked Chocolate Chips
You can also smoke your chocolate chips for a more robust and rustic flavor.
To smoke chocolate chips, fill a smoke tube with desired pellets.
Carry the tube to your smoker and place it on the bottom rack. Using a torch, light the pellets at the front of the tube. Allow the pellets to burn for 3-4 minutes before blowing out the flame. The embers from the pellets will continue to smolder and create smoke.
Once the smoke is established, spread your chips on a wire mesh splatter screen and place the screen on the middle rack of your smoker, opposite the smoke tube.
Cold smoke the chips for 1.5 – 2 hours.
Remove the chips from the smoker and allow them to rest on the rack for about 15 minutes before transferring them to an airtight container.
Allow the chips to mellow out and absorb the smoke for at least 5 days before enjoying.
Fake Chocolate Chips
Carob comes from a pod of a tree of the same name, which is native to the Mediterranean. The ripe pods contain a sweet pulp that is dried, roasted, and then ground into a powder. That powder is called carob powder and is sold as-is or made into chocolate-like chips.
Both the powder and chips are similar to cocoa powder and chips in color, but their flavor is unique. Carob is less bitter than chocolate and has a roasted, naturally sweet flavor (carob chips aren’t made with added sugar for this reason). Carob also happens to be caffeine-free and high in fiber.
Soy-Free Chocolate Chips
Soy-free chocolate is exactly what you think it is. It’s chocolate with zero soy content. Only products that have zero soy content and are not made in a factory where soy is present can be labeled as “soy-free”.
Maybe you are already aware that a majority of chocolates contain soy. This is especially true of the chocolates you see stacked in grocery stores. That can be dangerous, especially for people with a soy allergy. If you’re wondering why soy is being used in chocolates in the first place, it’s basically to speed up production.
Most mass-produced chocolates contain a compound called lecithin. Lecithin is a naturally occurring fatty substance that can be found in both animal and plant tissues. Soy lecithin is one of the most common types of lecithin available and is used as an emulsifier or lubricant in all kinds of food—but it is most commonly used in chocolate.
Soy lecithin ensures that the cocoa butter and cocoa powder don’t separate while they’re being blended. It also helps chocolate achieve that smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture without having to blend the chocolate for so long.
But, soy lecithin isn’t a necessary ingredient in chocolate. You can still achieve that melt in your mouth texture without soy. You just have to blend the cocoa butter and cocoa powder longer to achieve the perfect chocolatey texture.
Unicorn Chocolate Chips
Nestle Toll House Unicorn morsels are one of the more recent chip creations.
These little bits will add sparkle to your life. After all, legend says unicorns bring luck and everlasting love to those who find them. And with that logic, desserts made with these Unicorn morsels can bring similar magic to those who eat them.
Fun fact: Unicorn-inspired foods are definitely having a moment in culinary history. We can now enjoy plenty of foods in all their pastel glory—from ice cream and pudding to cereal and cookies.
How To Make Chocolate Chips
To make chocolate chips, all you need to do is melt the chocolate, stir in the sweetener, and pipe little dots using a zip-topped bag with the corner snipped off. You want the chocolate to still be warm when you start piping.
As it cools, the ensuing chips will begin to have what looks like a light brown coating dusted on them. That’s okay! Those chips will still taste the same; they just look a little different. When you first start piping, the chips won’t hold their tips. They’ll look more like dots or round blobs.
Once you’ve piped about half of the chocolate, take a toothpick (or just use the tip of your finger) and lightly touch the center of the dot; then lift up. This reforms the iconic tip, but it’s totally optional. If you don’t care how they look, then leave them as dots.
Substitutes For Chocolate Chips
Replace the chips called for in your recipe with the same amount of your favorite chocolate bar (milk chocolate, dark chocolate – whatever you like, or happen to have on hand.
To get a true 1:1 replacement, measure by weight, rather than volume. A measuring spoon, or cup, won’t give you a reliable measurement in this instance. If your recipe calls for melting chips in a double boiler, do the same thing with your chocolate bar. If you’re replacing the chips in a baked good recipe, just chop the bar into chunks, and fold them into your recipe.
Chocolate chips contain stabilizers to help them hold their shape when they’re subjected to heat. Since these aren’t present in chocolate bars, expect your chocolate to melt. If you’re out of chocolate, but you have other kinds of baking chips on hand (butterscotch, white chocolate, peanut butter, cinnamon), go ahead and use them.
Just pick the one you think will work best with the other flavors in your recipe. The fat content is pretty similar across all the different baking chips, so there’s no need to make additional adjustments to your recipe.
Can I Use Cacao Nibs Instead Of Chips?
Cacao nibs are a common dairy-free substitute for chocolate chips, so feel free to toss them into the pancake batter of your choice instead of regular old milk or dark chocolate chips.
Can I Use Candy Melts Instead?
While you could use candy melts instead of chocolate chips, they do not taste as good. Candy melts are better at decorating or coating your baked goods rather than being an ingredient inside your cake or cookie. However, if you only have candy melts, you can chop them up and use them in your recipe.
Melting Chocolate Chips
Let’s take a closer look at the many ways in which you can melt these tasty morsels.
How To Melt Chocolate Chips On The Stove
Set a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil; then reduce to a low simmer.
Next, put the chocolate in a dry metal (or other heat-safe) bowl that will fit snugly over the top of the pot of water, so there is no chance stray steam will contact the chocolate. The bowl’s tight fit is the most important thing.
Also, make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Place the bowl with chocolate on top of the barely simmering water.
Finally, stir frequently until melted, then carefully remove the bowl from the hot water pan.
How To Melt Chocolate Chips In The Microwave
Place chocolate in a dry, microwave-safe bowl. Now put the bowl in the microwave and microwave in 30-second intervals.
Stir the chocolate with a dry spoon or spatula in between each 30-second blast until all of the chips are just about melted and look very glossy. Stop now so the chocolate does not burn.
Finish by stirring until all the pieces have melted.
Best Way To Melt
The best way to melt these yummy chips is to make sure everything you use is dry: Before starting, make sure your bowl and all utensils that will touch the chocolate are completely, totally, bone dry. Any stray droplets of water will create a chemical reaction with the sugar in the melting chocolate and make it grainy and lumpy. This is called seizing.
Don’t cover the chips up. You should never cover the bowl or pan in which you are melting chocolate. Droplets of condensation might form and cause the chocolate to seize and become lumpy.
Saved seized chocolate by adding hot water. Start with a tablespoon and whisk energetically. The chocolate will somewhat even out but never look as glossy as un-seized chocolate.
Go low. Chocolate burns easily, so use the lowest heat you can get away with. White chocolate and milk chocolate are even more sensitive to heat than semi-sweet or dark chocolate. When microwaving white or milk chocolate, you might try tinier 15-second intervals.
Finally, remember to chop even pieces. Break or chop whole chocolate bars into same-size pieces for even melting.
How To Temper Chocolate Chips
Tempering is a specific method of heating and cooling high-quality chocolate (often labeled as couverture chocolate) so that it hardens to a very glossy finish when used as a coating for strawberries or candy. Recipes, where melted chocolate is mixed with other ingredients (like frosting,) will never require tempering.
What To Make With Chocolate Chips
There’s more to desserts than a chocolate chip cookie. If you find yourself craving a decadent dessert, and with a bag of chips in your pantry, make some chocolate chip blondies. They have the same satisfying density as brownies and a butterscotch vibe from the brown sugar.
When baking supplies are low, and all you’ve got is some chips, it’s back to basics. Sprinkle some over warm toast slathered with peanut butter (or any other nut butter), and add some fresh fruit. Popping it in the oven for a second is highly recommended so the chocolate melts.
Can I Make Hot Chocolate With Chocolate Chips?
To make hot chocolate with chocolate chips, mix 1 cup of milk with 3 heaping tablespoons of chips. Heat in the microwave for 1½ minutes. Stir until smooth. Garnish with whipped cream, marshmallows, and chocolate chips.
Measuring
Here are some useful tips for the various kinds of measurements used for chocolate chips.
How Many Cups Of Chocolate Chips Are In A Bag?
A bag with 12 ounces of chips equals 2 cups. This means 1 cup of chips equals 6 ounces. Most major manufacturers produce a 12-ounce bag of chocolate chips. This is a bag of semi-sweet, regular size chips.
Nestle Toll House, Hershey’s, Guittard, Ghirardelli, and Kroger brands sell 12-ounce bags of semi-sweet chips. Rip the bag open for a quick, easy two cups of chocolate chips.
Package weight is sometimes based on the size of the chips (standard, mini, or chunk).
Package weight is often smaller than 12 ounces when the chocolate chip is smaller than the standard-sized chip. Twelve ounces is 340 grams of chips. The weight unit is listed on each bag.
6 Oz Of Chocolate Chips To Cups
A 6 oz bag of chips would equal 1 cup of chips.
⅓ Cup Of Chips In Grams
1/3 US cup of chocolate chips is equivalent to 53.3 grams.
1 Cup Of Chocolate Chips In Grams
1 US cup of chips equals 160 grams.
4 Oz Chocolate Chips To Cups
4 oz melted chocolate is 1/2 cup.
How Many Chocolate Chips In An Ounce?
One cup of chips weighs 6 ounces.
How Many Ounces Of Chocolate Chips In A Cup?
1 cup of chips equals 6 ounces.
How Many Chocolate Chips In A Tablespoon?
25 full-size chocolate chips in 1 tbsp.
Nutrition
Chocolate chips can range in nutritional benefits or detriments depending on the brand. Let’s take a closer look.
How Many Calories?
A 12-ounce bag of chocolate chips contains 1,612 calories; at 70 calories per tablespoon, they add up quickly. A bag of chocolate chips also contains 214 grams of carbohydrates, 183 of which are sugars, and 100 grams of fat, 60 of which are saturated. It also contains 14 grams of protein and 20 grams of fiber. Semisweet, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate chips all contain the same number of calories.
Carbs In Chocolate Chips
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 tablespoon) contain 6.7g of total carbs, 6.1g of net carbs,
Are Chocolate Chips Gluten-Free?
There are so many brands of chocolate chips out there that we can’t cover all of them, but generally speaking, most chocolate chips on the market are gluten-free. To cover off on the most popular brands of chocolate chips: most Hershey’s and Nestle brands of chocolate chips are gluten-free as well as Enjoy Life Foods.
Are There Any Healthy Chocolate Chips?
It would be great to find out that chocolate chips are healthy. These semi-sweet chocolate morsels are often used in baking, specifically in chip cookies. The cookie itself may not be as healthy as the chocolate, especially the dark chocolate called semi-sweet. You can eat them out of the bag, but you may want to watch your amounts.
Nutrients
All chocolates, except white chocolate, contain flavanols from cocoa that are linked to heart health and a lower risk of stroke and heart attacks, according to the Mayo Clinic. However, it’s important to read labels carefully to ensure you are selecting the best quality semisweet or dark chocolates.
Sugar content alone is not enough to go on, as all chocolate chips contain sugars.
Look for labeling that states the percentage of total cacao content in the chocolate. The higher the percentage, the darker the chocolate — and the better it is for you.
Do Chocolate Chips Go Bad?
Yes, eventually, they can go bad, but it does take a while. When kept in cool, dry conditions, milk or white chocolate chips should last 2+ years and dark chocolate chips should last 3+ years. But can chips go bad in the freezer, too? Yes, they can, but add an extra year to the shelf life.
The type of chocolate, its quality, and how it’s been stored all affect the shelf life. In general, chocolate tastes its yummiest before its best by date (and even a little after), but it’s safe to eat for way longer. The quality of the chocolate has a lot to do with its lifespan.
Store-bought, big-brand chocolate that’s made with artificial preservatives will go bad sooner than the high-end stuff. High-quality chocolate can even improve with age, just like wine. You can thank flavanols, its natural preservatives, for that; they’re what gives dark chocolate its antioxidants. Chocolate’s expiration date is really just an indicator of when its quality will start to decline.
If it looks, smells, and tastes normal, you’re in the clear. Cracks or dots on the chocolate may signal it’s a bit stale and has seen better days. If your chocolate has significant discoloration or mold, it’s ready for the trash.
Can You Freeze Chocolate Chips?
Your chocolate can indeed suffer from freezer burn if you decide to freeze it. Putting chocolate in the freezer may extend the shelf life of cheap chocolate or keep the chocolate chip cookies chilled, but it will affect the temper (fat stability) of the chocolate, possibly making it look whitish and more crumbly.
Best Chocolate Chip Brands
When it comes to chocolate chip cookies, the chips are the star of the show, so they need to taste just right. We took into account how each morsel tastes on its own before baking, and then how it tasted once baked into a cookie. Were the morsels bitter? Creamy? Buttery? Spicy? Smooth? What was the sweetness level? Was there an artificial taste, or were there solidly authentic cocoa and cocoa butter flavors?
Another thing to keep in mind is are the morsels chalky, sticky, or smooth when uncooked? Do they melt in your hands? How well did the morsels hold up when baked? Did they keep their flavor or taste burned? Did the chips get nice and melty?
Some of the best chocolate chip brands to consider are:
- Ghirardelli Chocolate
- Ghirardelli White Chocolate
- Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate
- Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate
- Tollhouse
- Nestle
- Trader Joe’s
- Hershey
- Hershey’s Sugar-Free Chocolate
- Lily’s Sugar-Free Chocolate
- Mrs. Field
Trivia
National Chocolate Chip Day
May 15 of every year is National Chocolate Chip Day. The day is thought to have originated when chocolate producers began offering bittersweet, semi-sweet, mint, white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white and dark swirled. Today, chips also come in a variety of other flavors that bakers and candy makers use creatively in their kitchens.
While cookies may be the first treat to come to mind, imagination is really the only thing limiting how chocolate chips can be used in baking and candy making. Even savory dishes feature chocolate chips in a variety of ways, too.
Had Ruth Graves Wakefield never wondered what a few chopped-up chunks of chocolate would be like in her baking, we wouldn’t even have chocolate chip cookies.
My Dog Ate A Chocolate Chip
As soon as you realize your dog has eaten chocolate, ensure that they do not eat anymore.
Keep hold of packaging where possible, as the weight of the product and the cocoa content (usually stated on the pack) may help your vet calculate whether a toxic dose has been consumed.
The ingredient list on the packaging may also alert the vet to other toxic ingredients such as raisins or macadamia nuts. Remember that chocolate cookies with added chocolate chips will have more cocoa than plain cookies with chips – so keep an eye out for that.
The Chocolate Chip Plant
The Chocolate Chip Plant is a garden perennial that falls into the mint family along with all the useful herbs. It is known as bugleweed and the more ground-hugging species were the carpet bulges. The genus was assigned by Linnaeus from the Latin for “not Yoked” which refers to a certain part of the flower. There are over 50 different species, this one named Ajuga was an ancient medicinal and used as a wound coagulant, which led to its lesser-known common name, “carpenter’s herb”.
The bold burgundy- and chocolate-colored foliage of Chocolate Chip Bugleweed (Ajuga) steals the spotlight from other garden ground covers. Spikes of bright-blue blooms in late spring and early summer accompany the bold evergreen foliage to give gardens an eclectic vibe.
This foolproof perennial groundcover will make gardening a breeze by suppressing weeds as it spreads through your garden. It’s so low maintenance; nearly all you have to do is plant and enjoy.
Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’ can be planted in containers, on slopes, beneath trees, and in small spaces. It looks especially lovely when grown around rocks or stepping stones. If you’re looking to add an easy and unique twist to your garden, this plant is perfect for you. Plus, who could say no to chocolate chips?
