Chocolate Chip Alternatives

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Chip Cookies (from KITCHEN) are crisp on the outside and soft in the centre and are generously studded with chocolate chips. As the chocolate chips are "mix-ins" they can be substituted with certain other ingredients, though the total weight of the mix-ins should be the same as the weight of the chocolate chips.

We would not exclude chocolate chips completely, as when the cookies are warm nothing beats having soft, slightly melted chunks of chocolate and using harder-textured ingredients will slightly affect the texture of the baked cookies. You could switch in white or milk chocolate chips instead of dark (bittersweet) chocolate or even candy-coated chocolate beans. Nuts can work well (salted or natural/raw) and you can use nuts of your choice, roughly chopped, if large. Some dried fruits work well, such as raisins, sultanas (golden raisins) and chopped apricots. Just try to use a mixture that will go well together.