What Is The Best Substitute For White Chocolate?

When it comes to chocolate, no variety is more controversial than white. In fact, until 2002, the FDA refused to label white chocolate as a true chocolate. Though there are many people who still agree with the FDA's original assessment, there are just as many who are fiercely loyal to white chocolate. Whether you're a white chocolate stan or a die-hard dark chocolate fan, it's hard to argue with white chocolate's many virtues when it comes to baking. 

Whereas milk and dark chocolate get their signature brown color from cocoa solids, white chocolate doesn't contain any. Instead, white chocolate consists of a base of cream-colored cocoa butter further enriched with sugar and milk that gives it a clean, rich flavor. White chocolate also melts beautifully during baking, making it perfect for creamy frostings, cookies, and fudge. Unfortunately, these unique characteristics also make it challenging to find a substitute for white chocolate in recipes. Things like butterscotch or caramel chips may do in a pinch, but your dessert will no longer be chocolate-based.

If chocolatey flavor is essential to your recipe, you can use an equal amount of milk chocolate instead of white. Like its lighter counterpart, milk chocolate also contains milk, sugar, and cocoa butter but with the addition of cocoa solids that make it brown. It melts more smoothly than darker varieties, so it'll produce a similar texture in desserts, though they'll be a darker color with a more intense flavor.

Recipes where this substitution works best are those that call for chocolate chips or chunks to be folded into a batter or dough. For instance, if a cookie recipe calls for white chocolate chips, you should be able to swap in milk chocolate without any issues. However, using milk chocolate chips instead of white in something like a lemon quick bread might not taste great. In that case, you might consider using a different fruit, such as orange or raspberry.

This swap may also work for recipes where melted chocolate is an ingredient in a batter recipe. Baking with different kinds of chocolate can be tricky, but milk and white chocolate are both soft and velvety, so milk chocolate should behave the same way as it's baked. In fact, there's no reason you can't substitute milk chocolate for white in any dessert, including candy or indulgent chocolate mousse.

When substituting milk chocolate for white, it's important to assess why white chocolate is included in your recipe. As mentioned, white chocolate pairs well with most citrus flavors, while milk chocolate may not. Additionally, if you're making a blondie recipe that calls for white chocolate and use milk chocolate instead, the bars will turn out more like brownies. Milk chocolate may also overpower subtle floral flavors like rose or lavender, so for these recipes it may be best to wait until you have white chocolate on hand.