How to Drizzle Chocolate: The Fastest and Easiest Method

updated Dec 15, 2022
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cookie with drizzled chocolate on it
Credit: Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

How do bakers get those thin, elegantly drizzled lines of chocolate on their cakes and bonbons? Whenever we try to drizzle with a fork or brush we get globs instead of drizzle. To quickly and easily drizzle chocolate, all you need is a plastic pastry bag or a zip-top freezer gallon bag. You can use a range of different types of chocolate, including chocolate chips and baking chocolate, as well as milk, dark, and white chocolate for this, too.

How to Drizzle Chocolate (The Fastest, Easiest Method)

How to Melt and Drizzle Chocolate Chips

The microwave is by far the fastest and easiest method for melting and drizzling chocolate. Chocolate chips are a good go-to ingredient for making sweets like chocolate chip cookies or blondies. It’s worth noting, however, that chocolate chips have stabilizers in them that prevent them from melting as smoothly as baking chocolate. Chocolate chips are still OK to use for drizzling, but know that the texture when melted will be different. Here’s how to melt chocolate chips in the microwave and then drizzle it over desserts and confections.

Credit: Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen
  1. Add your milk, dark, or white chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring them with a rubber spatula in between. Continue microwaving in increments and stirring until the chocolate chips are completely melted and smooth. If you find the melted chocolate to be too thick, stir in coconut oil, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a pourable consistency. Set the bowl aside for a few minutes and allow to cool slightly.
Credit: Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

2. Use the rubber spatula to carefully transfer the warm melted chocolate to a large plastic zip-top bag.

Credit: Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

3. Snip a small corner of the plastic bag with scissors or kitchen shears (for a thicker drizzle, cut a larger corner in the bag).

Credit: Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

4. Use two hands to hold the plastic bag with the melted chocolate steady, with the snipped corner facing downward over your confection. Squeeze the bag gently and use a back-and-forth motion to quickly drizzle the chocolate over the surface. If you’re decorating things like biscotti, it helps to either place them directly on a parchment-lined baking sheet before drizzling or putting them on a wire rack set inside of a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Credit: Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

How to Melt and Drizzle Baking Chocolate

As you might know, different types of chocolate behave differently. Baking chocolate, as in the bars you might find in the baking aisle at a store, have different textures when melted compared to melted chocolate chips. If you don’t have a microwave, using a double-boiler method is another easy and fast way to melt and drizzle chocolate. Here’s how to melt and drizzle baking chocolate using a double-boiler method.

Credit: Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen
  1. Chop a bar of milk, dark, or white baking chocolate into small pieces using a chef’s knife.
Credit: Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

2. Transfer the chopped baking chocolate to a large heatproof glass bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (be sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl). Use a rubber spatula to occasionally stir the chopped chocolate as it melts.

Credit: Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

3. Continue stirring the chocolate as it starts to melt.

Credit: Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

4. Stir the chocolate repeatedly until it is fully melted and completely smooth. Transfer the bowl to a work surface and allow the chocolate to cool just a few minutes.

Credit: Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

5. Use a rubber spatula to carefully transfer the warm chocolate to the plastic zip-top bag. Spread the opening of the bag wide and use the other hand to spoon the chocolate into the bag. Snip a small corner of the bag with scissors or kitchen shears (for a thicker drizzle, cut a larger hole in the bag).

Credit: Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

6. Use two hands to hold the bag of melted chocolate and gently squeeze the bag with the snipped corner facing downward over the dish you’re decorating. Use a back-and-forth motion to quickly drizzle the surface. If you’re decorating things like cookies, it helps to either place them directly on a parchment-lined baking sheet before drizzling or put them on a wire rack set inside of a parchment-lined baking sheet.