The funny thing about white chocolate or regular chocolate as far as cookie batter ingredient choices are concerned is that ultimately, it is subjective. In a way, it’s kind of like asking for directions by using the phrase, “the best.” How many times have you asked your friends, how do I find the best computer or how do I find the best restaurant in this area?
Well, the problem with the best is that what’s “the best” for somebody” might not be all that good to you. In fact, it might turn out to be quite horrible and the reverse is also true. The things that you’re really excited and passionate about may not really be all that exciting or noteworthy to other people. This is due to the fact that we’re all entitled to our own preferences. We all come from different backgrounds, we all have different experiences, and this impacts our preferences. This impacts what we define as good or quality.
The key point here is that you have to factor in a tremendous amount of subjectivity when it comes to concepts like the best or personal preferences. I bring this up because the idea of having to choose between white chocolate or regular chocolate really all boils down to personal call. And it all depends on what your experiences are.
If you tend to bake for other people, then look at what your friends and family members tend to prefer. Do they, on the whole, like white chocolate more than regular dark chocolate, or the other way around? You have to then zero in on the consensus and drill down.
Drilling down when it comes to chocolate
Did you know that white chocolate and regular chocolate have many different varieties? Regular chocolate, for example, has chunky chocolate, chocolate mixed with peanut butter, and very dark chocolate. Again, it all boils down to taste and preference.
If you’re pretty much the only person eating the batches of cookies that you produce on your cookie pans, then you would not have a problem with this. You would know quickly what your preferences are and you can then bake batch after batch of cookies that hit that preference like a laser. There’s a tremendous amount of precision in that particular scenario.
Unfortunately, if you’re baking for a wide range of people with different tastes, you’re basically going to be stuck playing for the consensus. You’re going to be baking for the average preference of these people. This is very important to note because it’s too easy to go to extremes. It’s too easy to just basically bake based on the preferences of the person who praised you the most. This is human nature.
Of course, we tend to listen to people who tell us were doing a good job. We also try to ignore people who criticize us or who tell us our shortcomings. But you have to overcome this bias if you want to get better at baking. You have to take it all in. You have to learn from not so positive feedback so you can do a better job in hitting the consensus opinion, as far as the kind of white chocolate or regular chocolate that you should use in your cookies.
Make no mistake about it, they do significantly impact the taste of the cookies. This is unavoidable so this is a big choice. This is why you have to be systematic and methodical in figuring out this information.
Don’t forget melting point
Depending on the brand of white chocolate or dark chocolate you buy, you might be in for some extra texture goodness. You really are. Seriously. How come? Some white chocolate take a long time to melt. Others melt quite quickly. The same goes with dark chocolate. What gives? Very simple. Different chocolate chip formulations (regardless of color) have different levels of cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is the component in chocolate that determines its melting point.
So which melting point is best? The answer to this is totally dependent on your taste. If you want goopy cookies, look to add chocolate chips into your cookie recipe which are easy to melt. If you want some rather firm texture or well-textured cookies, you should look to include regular texture or fast setting chips. These chips don’t need refrigeration to retain their solid form. Be on the lookout for these differences because these have a big impact on both the taste and texture of the chocolate chip cookies you’re baking.
While you’re here, be sure to check out our kitchen product reviews!