How do I make semisweet chocolate more liquid?

Question

My wife and I were making some dipped cookies in semisweet chocolate. But the chocolate was too thick. We tried cream and butter to improve the coating of the cookies, the results did not turned out.

What could I add to semisweet chocolate to allow it to smoothly coat cookies?

Thanks!

You may want to elaborate what you mean by "results did not turn out." Butter and cream are common ways to thin out chocolate. If something went wrong, we need to know what it was so another alternative can be suggested. — Robert Cartaino, Jul 11 '10 at 02:22
@Robert, thanks for the comments and question. The chocolate sauce turned lumpy and seized. — John Burley, Jul 12 '10 at 01:32

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 11 '10 at 04:09

4

Ganache is made from chocolate and heavy whipping cream. You could add hot cream to the chocolate until you get the consistency you are looking for.

answered Jul 11 '10 at 04:09

Ryan Elkins

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I think from what you said, our problem was that we added cream straight from the refrigerator. – John Burley Jul 12 '10 at 01:34
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Usually for this sort of thing you bring the cream to a simmer or boil before adding to the chocolate. – Ryan Elkins Jul 12 '10 at 02:09

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 22 '10 at 16:36

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The recipe I use for chocolate coating on some cookies calls for paraffin wax to be added to the chocolate.

In a double boiler, I melt 12 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips with 1/2 a paraffin wax bar.

answered Jul 22 '10 at 16:36

JustRightMenus

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My word, why would you do that? Ew. If it's for gloss or shine, just temper the chocolate. – Jul 22 '10 at 16:56
It's the only way I've ever known - family recipe, etc. How else can you keep the chocolate from melting easily or being sticky? I'll look into how to temper chocolate. – JustRightMenus Jul 22 '10 at 17:09
@roux: It's extremely common. In fact, much of the chocolate, including chocolate chips, that you buy commercially has already done this. If you google `paraffin chocolate` there are 1.8+ million results. 3.1+ million for `wax chocolate` – Dinah Jul 23 '10 at 00:50

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 22 '10 at 17:05

Make sure you keep the temperature up, and the water out of the chocolate. If you have a small crock-pot you could use that for the dipping. Heat the chocolate in a double boiler to avoid scorching, then use the crock-pot to maintain heat away from the water of the boiler. I wouldn't try this with a large pot, but if you have one that's designed for chocolate fondue it should work.

How do I make semisweet chocolate more liquid?

3 Answers3