Savory, flavored baking chips

Claim 1

A savory non-sweet baking chip which is brittle, has a hard texture and a recognizable non-chocolate, non-sweet flavor of a food group from meat, vegetable, cheese, fish, or a combination of such food groups, comprising (a) about 10-35% hard butter having a Wiley Melting Point in the range of about 84°-120° F. and an approximate Solids Fat Index at 80° F. of more than about 40 and at 92° F. of less than about 35; (b) a flavoring material of at least one of said food groups; (c) the remainder being essentially an inert particulate bland base in said hard butter having a particle size sufficiently reduced to present a non-gritty texture; (d) said base being free of discoloring amounts of ingredients subject to browning or deterioration by the Maillard reaction at baking temperatures and selected from the group consisting of spray dried dairy derived solids, a particulate protein other than said dairy derived solids, maltodextrin and combinations thereof; wherein said chip is made by (a) mixing the hard butter, flavoring and base together at a temperature above the melting point of the hard butter to obtain a uniform composition, and (b) forming said composition into said baking chip; said base particles having an average particle size less than about fifty microns.