The Best Milk, Dark, and Extra-Dark Chocolate Bars for Baking

Milk Chocolate

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

It’s impossible to speak of milk chocolate in broad strokes—its quality and character span a maddeningly vast spectrum. For many folks, traumatic experiences with poor-quality milk chocolate have been enough to convince them to go dark or bust. But there’s so much more to discover in the realm of milk chocolate; when done well, the addition of dairy fat brings out a whole new range of flavor. It’s an expression of cocoa that’s mellow, soft, and nutty, able to furnish desserts with a sweet richness and creamy consistency distinct from dark chocolate. Those characteristics make milk chocolate ideal for recipes that are otherwise low on sugar and fat (think chocolate-covered pretzels or whipped ganache), as well as those with a strong salty or bitter element, such as peanut butter, burnt sugar, or coffee.

As much as I love splurging on high-end milk chocolate couverture from brands like Valrhona at Amazon, I’m hard-pressed to justify spending that kind of money unless it’s for tempering. For a low-key batch of chocolate chip cookies, in a pinch, I’m willing to turn to the offerings of well-stocked supermarkets and specialty stores. With a little forethought, though, I’m happier to wait on a shipment of milk chocolate that I’ve purchased online, where bulk buying power helps drive the cost down. These eight milk chocolates are available nationwide and/or online, and are my favorites for baking at home—though they’re but a small sampling of what’s available in any given market.

Divine Chocolate Milk Chocolate Bars (Pack of 10)

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At 26%, Divine Milk Chocolate is the sweetest option on my list, but not obnoxiously so—a great choice for folks who have fond recollections of hanging off a shopping cart in the checkout aisle, begging for a chocolate bar.

Thanks to the addition of powdered cream along with milk, this chocolate has a dairy-forward flavor and a richness reminiscent of a truffle. I can always count on my local Kroger to keep it in stock, but I’ve seen it in wine shops and fancier groceries as well. Use it for a burst of sweetness in low- to no-sugar recipes, like cream scones and ganache, or just smear some inside a fresh baguette along with a sprinkling of sea salt for a midnight snack.

Callebaut Milk Chocolate Callets

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In culinary school, Callebaut’s 33.6% was my gateway to milk chocolate, which I had once scoffed at with all the sanctimony of a newly minted food snob. (“Milk chocolate? Oh. My word, haven’t touched the stuff since I was five!”) Mercifully, I got over myself and learned to appreciate what different types of chocolate have to offer in flavor, melting point, and richness, and the versatility of this milk chocolate is a great jumping-off point if you’re still warming up to the idea. It’s easy to find in large, shrink-wrapped chunks at supermarkets like Whole Foods and The Fresh Market, and it can also be ordered as callets (drops) in bulk online; the latter is simply a convenient, no-chop incarnation that’s formulated the exact same way.

Callebaut is easy to temper (a skill you can master with Kenji’s excellent tempering guide), so it’s a tasty yet affordable option for any of the classic candy bars in my cookbook at Amazon, such as homemade Reese’s Cups and Crunch bars. But its sweet, nutty notes are just as welcome in bold and bitter desserts, like these double-chocolate cookies.

Lake Champlain 38% Milk Chocolate Bars (12 Pack)

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I can reliably find Lake Champlain’s 38% milk chocolate in the candy aisle of my local supermarket, but it turns up in all types of specialty stores as well. Though it’s not terribly distinctive, it’s that middle-of-the-road quality that makes it an easy choice for desserts ranging from toasted hazelnut cookies to all types of sauces and ganache.

Jelina’s Milk Chocolate Bar (8-Pack)

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I first picked up this fair-trade milk chocolate at an organic supermarket in Brooklyn, so it wasn’t until I spotted it at a wine shop in Kentucky that I realized it wasn’t a local specialty. At 36% cocoa solids, Jelina’s Au Lait milk chocolate has a rich mouthfeel and balanced sweetness, with a profile that’s a little brighter than the mellow earthiness that characterizes most milk chocolates. I dig it in fruitier applications, like chocolate cherry muffins or orange chocolate cookies, but its creaminess is well suited to leaner scenarios, such as homemade digestive biscuits or chocolate-covered pretzels.

Whole Foods

There was a time when a supermarket’s house brand was the least likely source for good chocolate, but Whole Foods’ 38% milk chocolate isn’t joking around. It’s earthy, rich, and darker than I expected given the percentage, a profile that works nicely to balance its sweetness. Give it a shot alongside something a little darker—say, as part of a blend for chopped chocolate chip cookies—or sandwich it between some graham crackers to tame the sweetness of toasted marshmallows in your next batch of s’mores. For folks who don’t live near a Whole Foods (e.g., me), it’s available online as well.

Theo 45% Milk Chocolate Bars (12-Pack)

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Theo’s a Seattle-based, fair-trade, bean-to-bar chocolate company that sources most of its cocoa (and vanilla, too) from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Befitting that heritage, its 45% milk chocolate bar has a strong cocoa profile that veers toward the darker side of milk chocolate with its nutty toffee notes. For those whose primary objection to milk chocolate is textural, this option has a cleaner mouthfeel than more dairy-forward brands; it’s still creamy, to be sure, but not as tongue-coating as milk chocolate can often be. Try it as part of a blend for chocolate chip skillet cookies, as a chunky mix-in for banana bread, or in any recipe that would benefit from a hit of chocolate flavor without the bracing bitterness of dark.

Endangered Species 48% Milk Chocolate Bars (Pack of 12)

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Endangered Species is a fair-trade chocolate company that sources its beans from West Africa, and each of its chocolate bars comes with its own animal mascot—none more worthy of attention than the humble sea otter. This 48% milk chocolate is among the darkest around, and strong enough to make milk chocolate skeptics rethink their stance.

While it’s darker than any other milk chocolate on this list, its overall flavor profile is somehow more traditional, what I imagine other milk chocolates strive to be—buttery, rich, and nutty, with a backbone of pure cocoa. It’s sweet enough to take the place of dried fruit in oatmeal cookies, but bold enough to stand on its own in truffles or a whipped-ganache frosting. Look for it in the snack or candy aisle of supermarkets like Kroger and Whole Foods, as well as slightly fancier groceries and specialty shops.