How do I measure 2 oz of chocolate chips?

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For many Americans, the beauty of internet blog recipes and binge watching "The Great British Baking Show" have inspired a dive into home baking. However, using an international recipe as a guide can be tricky for those using the imperial system. Whether making a batch of chocolate chip cookies with a twist or preparing an elaborate dessert, understanding how to convert both grams and ounces of an ingredient to cups, like 12 oz. chocolate chips to how many cups, is an important factor. Knowing how to make quick conversions can make most recipes easier to follow.

Chocolate Chips Ounces to Cups Conversion

When measuring chocolate chips from ounces to cups, the easiest conversion to remember is that 1 cup of chocolate chips equals 6 ounces. This means that a 12-ounce bag of chocolate chips is the equivalent of 2 cups. Depending on the size of the chocolate chips, the weight might vary slightly between 5.9 ounces and 6.2 ounces of chocolate chips per cup, but these insignificant differences will not affect a recipe.

Bars of baker's chocolate are often sold in bars where each block equals 1 ounce, 1/2 an ounce or 1/4 of an ounce. The ounce-per-square measurement will be labeled on the package, but a normal-size bar of baker's chocolate will come in 1-ounce squares, while a 4-ounce bar will be segmented by 1/4-ounce squares. If you are using this kind of chocolate in a recipe, and you know that 6 ounces equals 1 cup, then four 1-ounce squares of chocolate equals 2/3 cup of chocolate.

Using Grams In Conversions

To further complicate things, sometimes measurements are given in grams rather than ounces. Going back to the single conversion to remember – 6 ounces equaling 1 cup of chocolate chips – 6 ounces of chocolate is also the equivalent of 150 grams of chocolate. This means that 1 cup of chocolate chips equals 150 grams, and 2 cups of chocolate chips equals 300 grams of chocolate chips.

If a recipe calls for 85 grams of chocolate, then 85 grams to cups is half a cup plus 2 tablespoons. To find this number to convert other amounts of chocolate that recipes may specify, simply divide the recipe's amount of chocolate in grams by 150, the number of grams in a cup, and incorporate the decimal.

For example, 85 grams of chocolate divided by 150 grams in a cup yields 0.5667 cups, which is slightly more than half a cup. Knowing that there are 4 tablespoons in 1/4 cup, this recipe calls for 1/2 cup and half a 1/4 cup based on the decimal. This means that the recipe calls for 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons.

Buying Bags of Chocolate Chips

Depending on the amount of baking you plan to do, there are several options for buying bags of chocolate chips. For very small quantities that might need to be melted down, choose a bar of baker's chocolate. Chocolate chips are made to withstand the heat of an oven and have a higher sugar content, so they do not melt well.

If baking with chocolate chips, such as for muffins or cookies, determine how many batches you will be making and how many cups the recipe will call for in order to make the total number of batches. Most recipes that make a dozen will call for 1 cup of chocolate chips.

If you are only making one batch, then buy a 6-ounce bag. The next size up for a bag of chocolate chips is often a 24-ounce bag, which holds 4 cups of chocolate chips. The remaining sizes, 36-, 60- and 72-ounce bags of chocolate chips, hold 6, 10 and 12 cups of chocolate chips respectively.