Are Chocolate Sprinkles Actually Made With Real Chocolate?

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Whether you're topping your favorite homemade cupcakes with them or using them in a creative Dutch-style breakfast, chocolate sprinkles are a pantry staple all around the world. You'd be forgiven for thinking that those little nuggets of chocolatey gold are made of, well, chocolate — but your favorite sundae's jimmies might not be exactly what they seem. In most cases, the truth is a little more waxy.

To find out more, Chowhound spoke exclusively with Renato Poliafito, author of "Dolci!" and co-owner of Pasta Night in Brooklyn, New York, to really get to the bottom of what this topping is actually made of. "Quality chocolate sprinkles do have some cocoa powder in them, but if you taste them on their own — they are more sweet than chocolatey," Poliafito said.

Premium sprinkles are made with cocoa powder, but still lean more on the sweet side than true, rich, chocolate flavor. "Budget options, on the other hand, often contain no chocolate at all," he said. "Just sugar, oil, stabilizers, and brown." Those Dutch sprinkles we mentioned earlier, though? They're the real deal, and are "the only ones that are made with actual chocolate," Poliafito told us.

This distinction isn't about snobbery. Rather, it's just about what sprinkles suit you, and Poliafito isn't too picky. "Sure, I love an actual chocolate sprinkle, but I take no umbrage to a dollar store chocolate sprinkle on my sundae," he said.

While certain brands of store-bought sprinkles can be more sugar than real substance, you might find yourself wondering whether you can make your own. According to Renato Poliafito, you absolutely can — but don't expect it to be a quick and easy fix. "You can, just like you can churn your own butter," he said. "But unless you're emotionally invested in sprinkle self-reliance, store-bought is fine." For those who really love a home baking challenge, taking the plunge can be well worth it. The homemade variety offer a cleaner, purer flavor, and a little creative satisfaction all in one go. "They taste less like crayon and more like effort — if that's your thing," Poliafito added.

The process of making your own chocolate sprinkles can be a time-consuming one, requiring precision and lengthy drying time. However, they can be customized easily when it comes to their flavor, color, and size. It will give you total control over the ingredients you use (so you can incorporate real chocolate, if you want) — and that means no artificial flavors or stabilizers. They can also be an aesthetically unique topping for special bakes, like a delicious, next-level chocolate cake.

Making your own chocolate sprinkles at home can be a laborious process, but it's far from impossible. Renato Poliafito had some useful tips and tricks for making it less of a chore. If you didn't know, chocolate sprinkles are essentially just dehydrated pieces of frosting. The secret to making them at home? "Royal icing plus piping bags plus patience," he said.

Royal icing is a hard frosting, and you'll often find it used to decorate cookies or gingerbread houses. It's made with softly beaten egg whites and icing sugar, as well as a little lemon juice — and it's wonderfully simple to make yourself. Once you've mixed it up, add cocoa powder or melted chocolate, and fill a piping bag with a very fine tip. Then, pipe long lines of frosting onto non-stick parchment paper before leaving them to dry overnight. This is the crucial step — leaving it for long enough is important to let them properly dehydrate, so that they can hold their shape and last longer in your pantry! Then, slice them up into tiny little sprinkle-sized pieces. To make the wait a little less painful, throw yourself a little sprinkle making party! "Blast Italo disco and pretend you're on a sprinkle sabbatical in Puglia," Poliafito joked. "Helps pass the time."