I'm going through a lot of raw materials - flour, eggs, butter, baking soda, baking powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar, confectioner's sugar, walnuts, peanuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, shredded coconut, vanilla extract, butterscotch chips, and of course, bag after bag of chocolate chips. Thank goodness for Aldi - EVERYTHING I'm using for my baked treats this year comes from Aldi!
Okay, there is one little exception - Aldi doesn't carry the cream of tartar I need to make royal icing, but I think you get my point. If I need it and Aldi carries it, I buy it there.
Let me tell you about these chocolate chips - first, here's the Baker's Corner Real Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips:
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| Baker's Corner Real Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips |
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| Baker's Corner Real Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips |
Now, if you want to kick it up a notch and make something a bit more "upscale", something that will impress even your most "turn-up-their-nose-at-the-mere-mention-of-Aldi" type friends (oh, we've all got 'em), serve them a plate of treats made with these tasty bits of chocolatey goodness:
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| Baker's Corner 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Chips |
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| Baker's Corner 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Chips |
These chips have a deep, dark chocolate flavor that seems to evolve as the chip melts on your tongue. It's smoooth (with 3 o's!), rich and earthy tasting, with just a hint of bitterness that enhances the flavor and isn't unpleasant at all (unlike a cup of bitter coffee - ugh). This is the kind of chocolate you want to savor slowly, letting the flavors develop as it melts.
I won't use the 60% cacao chips if I'm baking dozens of chocolate chip cookies for the kids, they won't appreciate the darker, more sophisticated flavor. But if I've got company coming over, or if I'm taking a plate of treats to a social event, or baking gifts, you can bet the farm that these are the chocolate chips I'm going to use.
And by the way, I paid $1.99 for the 11.5 ounce bag of 60% cacao chips at Aldi, and the Ghirardelli 60% chips cost $4.50 for a 10 ounce bag on their website!
"The Joy of Saving Big" - indeed!
-Jeff the Aldi Shopper
I have to agree with you on regular Aldi's Chocolate chips verses grocery store, but for me, if I can find good sales as we lead up to Christmas, I buy them and refuse to pay more than $1.50 for normal chocolate chips. I prefer the Nestle chocolate chunks as I like the bigger pieces and yes, I can get some at that price. Otherwise, I also try for $1.50 a bag for M&M's. Lastly, if I can't get either of those, I guess it is Aldi's $1.69 a bag chips. I just don't find Aldi's that cheap anymore. Not like I used to.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff, my master plan of the party cheese went south when I came down with the flu. And I mean, 'sick as a dog, laying on the bathroom floor begging for a lightening bolt' kind of flu. The Chicago area is awash with either that, or a terrible cold, which my husband got (how'd he get lucky?!!?!?) Food is the last thing on my mind, and really, sorry for bringing up the flu on a food blog! :) But my husband likes the cranberry gorganzola cheese a lot! That is good, he will be eating it a lot! I know what skirnirh means about some things being more expensive at Aldi than they used to be, and sometimes sales at other stores will beat them, but so far, I am saving BIG at Aldi. Have a wonderful Christmas week and enjoy your baking!!! Rosie
ReplyDeletegosh, I can remember when they used to be 99 cents per bag at Aldis!! As for the 'turn up their nose' friends, I'm always amazed at WHO does shop at Aldis! (um, my boss and his wife, GQ attorney and sorority type wife ... love them dearly!)
ReplyDeleteAnyone know where I can buy Baker's Choice chocolates? My local Aldi's only carries it during the Winter Holidays and the only other place I found it was on amazon.com but their price was more than double Aldi's. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that they are processed in a facility that does NOT produce peanut or nut products as I have an allergy. I was thrilled to find these.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Aldi, for putting the "Made in a nut FREE facility" on the ingredients label of the chocolate chips. I have a nut allergy, and this made me very happy! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAnyone know what happened to the 60% cacao baking chips ?? I waited all holiday season and they never showed up in the store.
ReplyDeleteI hope you found some. They're available in Cincinnati.
DeleteBaker's Corner Dark Chocolate morsels are very good and an AWESOME VALUE, but I can detect that they are half a notch below the more expensive, and richer tasting Ghiardelli 60% morsels.
ReplyDeleteI followed the melting instructions on the package for the milk chocolate chips. All they did was clump together and dry out. It was terrible and I threw it away. I would suggest not melting them.
ReplyDeleteI followed the melting instructions on the package of milk chocolate chips. All they did was clump together and dry out; no creamy goodness. It was terrible and I threw it away. Maybe they are ok for chocolate chip cookies.
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