Sunday, September 23 is ‘National White Chocolate Day’.  Even though there are probably many, many Chocolate Lovers in this country and around the World, White Chocolate is probably not considered to even be in the Chocolate Category.

Even though White Chocolate is made from ingredients derived from Chocolate, it cannot actually be considered ‘Chocolate’.  It is a combination of Cocoa Butter, Milk Solids, Milk Fat and Sugar.  What White Chocolate is missing as compared to ‘real’ Chocolate are the Cocoa solids which are separated out during the processing of the Cocoa Bean.  In Dark and Milk Chocolates the Milk Solids are recombined with the other ingredients.  Therefore, ‘White Chocolate’ is lighter in color (actually a creamy ivory color) and has a much milder taste than Chocolate.  If you are a real Chocolate Lover, you probably won’t like White Chocolate but for those of us who prefer the lighter and milder taste, White Chocolate is the perfect thing.

White Chocolate is used in baking and candy making and in creamy desserts.  Some of my favorite items made with White Chocolate are:

 White Chocolate Cheesecake with a Raspberry Sauce.

White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Blondie Brownies

White Chocolate Covered Strawberries white-chocolate-covered-strawberries/

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting  white-chocolate-butter-cream-frosting/

White Chocolate Rice Krispy Candies white-chocolate-rice-krispy-candies/

White Chocolate Cheesecake makes an elegant dessert, especially with the Berry Sauce served with it.  White Chocolate Chip Cookies are a nice variation on Chocolate Chip Cookies as are the Blondie Brownies.

White Chocolate Covered Strawberries are delicious, especially in the Spring when Strawberries are at their best.  It is also nice to dip the Strawberries in dark Chocolate on one side and the White Chocolate on the other side or to just stripe the dipped berries with the opposing color.  Whichever way you do it, the Berries will be delicious.

White Chocolate Buttercream frosting provides a nice contrast to a Dark Chocolate Cake.

And White Chocolate Rice Krispy Squares takes everyone’s favorite treat one step ahead.