Six Great Things to Do With Chocolate Chips

I love chocolate. I love buying organic. Buying organic chocolate is expensive. But in my local supermarket, organic chocolate chips are the least expensive way to get delicious organic chocolate. So I've invented a few ways to eat them.

1. Add chocolate chips to your favorite ice cream: Every ice cream can use a few more chocolate chips!
2. Make instant hot fudge: Pour a handful of chocolate chips into a microwave safe cup. Add milk or soy milk until the milk is just visible in the chocolate chips - not covering the chocolate chips. About halfway as high as the chocolate chips is right. Microwave for about 30-40 seconds, keeping an eye on the cup; as soon as the milk starts to bubble and froth, shut the microwave off. Stir the chocolate milk mixture until it is very even and smooth, about 20 seconds. Pour over ice cream (regular or non-dairy). The result is very chocolatey, rich, smooth, and works great with non-dairy milk.
3. Urban S'Mores: Put graham cracker on plate. Put chocolate chips on top. Put marshmallows on top. Put another graham on top of that. Microwave for about 20 seconds until the marshmallows begin to inflate, and then shut off the microwave. Delicious (and very, very hot.)
4. Urban S'Moreos: Open up chocolate sandwich cookie(s). Set aside cookie with icing on it. Put plain cookie(s) on plate, and cover with 4-8 chocolate chips per cookie. Microwave cookie with chocolate chips until chocolate melts, about 20 seconds. Place cookie(s) with icing on top of cookie with chocolate, and let cool several minutes.
5. Chocolate chip cookies: The very best chocolate chip cookie is from How It All Vegan. I've made this recipe probably a hundred times. For our annual ice cream sandwich cookie party, I've made as many as 200 of these cookies at a time. I consistently get raves and requests for the recipe. Here it is:
   ¾ cup sweetener
   ½ cup margarine (I normally use butter)
   ½ cup oil (I normally use olive oil)
   3 tbsp water
   2 tsp vanilla extract
   2 ¼ cups flour
   1 tsp baking soda
   ½ tsp salt
   1 ½ cups chocolate chips
   
   Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, mix the sweetener, margarine (or butter), oil, water, and vanilla extract. It can help to microwave the margarine or butter first to make it easier to mix in. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the contents of the wet bowl into the dry bowl, and stir. As the mixtures begin to combine, add the chocolate chips and optional walnuts. Stir until just mixed.
   
   Using your hand or spoon, drop cookie sized amounts onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in oven for approximately 11 to 14 minutes. Makes about 24 cookies.
6. Mint chocolate chip cookies: At this year's ice cream sandwich party, mint was the big hit. Every year mint is popular, but this year even more so. Every last mint chocolate chip cookie and every bit of last mint chocolate chip ice cream was eaten before the party was over. To the above recipe, simply add one teaspoon of mint extract to the wet ingredients. Or, you can use two teaspoons for "surprisingly strong chocolate chip cookies".