The first thing I told my husband one morning was “I am going to make some vegan chocolate chips with very low sugar content; what do you think?” I was a little surprised by his answer. “Chocolate Chips? Why not just buy them.” I did have some store bought vegan, gluten-free chocolate chips in my cupboard; but they are full of refined sugar, and that is something we rarely use to sweeten our desserts and cookies.

I did some research online earlier and found a few homemade vegan chocolate chip recipes using maple syrup. Since the demand for sugar free recipes is growing, I created these low glycemic index, vegan chocolate chips using the combination of stevia and agave nectar. Mix cocoa powder, sweeteners, and coconut oil; and then sprinkle a pinch of sea salt. That’s all you need to do. But, I have a few tips to share to ensure you will get the perfectly sweetened, healthy chocolate chips just as attractive as the store bought ones.

Tip 1. Make sure the coconut oil is soft but not melted to a liquid. Beat the coconut oil until it is smooth, before adding all the other ingredients.

Tip 2. If you don’t have a pastry bag with decorative tips, don’t worry! Use a large plastic freezer bag and cut a small tip off one of the bottom corners.

Tip 3. The melting point of coconut oil is approximately 78 ºF, and human being’s normal body temperature is approximately 98 ºF. The heat of your hands will melt the chocolate mixture while you are applying it on baking sheets, so try to squeeze from the end of the bag while making the chocolate chips, not the center. This is another reason to choose a large plastic bag; you get more to hold on to. If the chocolate mixture is too runny, chill it in the refrigerator for a few minutes until it is a little bit hard but not solid.

Tip 4. Chill the baking sheets or the surface you are going to make your chocolate chips on. I used a large metal baking sheet lined with parchment paper. At first, I was in my kitchen making these chips, but the room is a little bit too warm and the chips started to melt. Because it is winter, I moved to a cooler room (our garage) to finish the job.

Tip 5. To achieve the shape of the chips, place the tip of the pastry bag or plastic freezer bag as close as possible to the baking sheet or your working surface; gently squeeze the bag to form a dot, and then quickly lift the bag to form the pointing part of the chips. Don’t worry if you mess up some at the beginning, just keep trying. Practice makes perfect, right?

Tip 6. Use pure stevia extra powder, instead of brands of stevia that have fillers, to avoid any aftertaste from the other ingredients. Add a small amount of agave nectar to balance the sweetness from stevia.

Now you got all the tips and tricks to make these beautiful, healthy, and yummy chocolate chips at home.