Taste-Off: The best (and worst) white chocolate chips at the market

Most white chocolate chips do not actually qualify as chocolate. No need to argue about it — it’s a fact. But it’s also true that well made white chips are delicious. They deliver a milky, silky pop of sweetness that is a perfect counterpoint to salty nuts, earthy grains and buttery, citrusy desserts of every kind.

Even so, plenty of bakers have turned against white chocolate out of frustration. It’s a notoriously finicky ingredient. First, it must be stored carefully. Storing white chips for too long or under conditions that are too hot, too cold or too moist can mess up the flavor and texture. For example, a chip that’s taken on moisture during storage may never melt. And palm oil, a commonly used ingredient, goes rancid so fast that chips should be used within a few months of purchase.

That said, even fresh chips require patience and care if you’re melting them, as they are so quick to burn or seize. The trick is to remove the chocolate from the heat before it’s melted and stir, allowing the warmth of the bowl to finish the task. Once melted, it’s ready to become a drizzle, a dip or a nut- or candy topped bark.

The very best white chocolate chips are made with cocoa butter instead of palm oil, which makes all the difference. The cocoa butter is lusciously smooth and buttery, making for a cream-colored chip that’s light, tender and tastes like fresh milk. Bad chips are gritty, achingly sweet, nearly impossible to melt and taste like a mouthful of nonfat milk powder.

Here’s the scoop on the creamy, dreamy white chips that will boost any dessert from good to great, and the gnarly ones that are sure to expand the ranks of white chocolate-haters. Nutrition info refers to 1 tablespoon.

365 Mini White Chocolate Baking Chips

These tiny, ivory colored chips are minimally sweet, melty and smooth, and have a generous hit of real vanilla. These are hard to beat. 80 calories, 4 g fat, 10 mg sodium, 10 g sugar. $3.39 for 12 ounces at Whole Foods. (4 stars)

Guittard Choc-Au-Lait Gourmet White Baking Chips

Tahitian vanilla and both butter and cocoa butter make for luscious chips that coat the palate with fresh, melty sweetness. 80 calories, 4.5 g fat, 25 mg sodium, 9 g sugar. $4.79 for 12 ounces at FoodMaxx. (4 stars)

Hershey’s Premier White Creme Chips

The caramel note in these tasty chips is unexpected and delicious. These just might win over a white chocolate hater. 80 calories, 4 g fat, 35 mg sodium, 9 g sugar. $4.95 for 12 ounces at Walmart; $13.02 for 2 packages on Amazon. (3½ stars)

Good & Gather White Baking Chips

Exactly how these chips can be so buttery and tender without the use of cocoa butter is a mystery, but there it is! They melt better than most and are easily the best inexpensive white chips out there. 80 calories, 4 g fat, 10 mg sodium, 10 g sugar. $1.99 for 12 ounces at Target. (3 stars)

Ghirardelli Premium Classic White Baking Chips

The dry milk flavor is far too prominent in these chips, but the extra hit of salt and a dash of real vanilla is a plus. 80 calories, 4 g fat, 20 mg sodium, 9 g sugar. $3.99 for 11 ounces at Safeway. (2½ stars)

Lily’s White Chocolate Style Baking Chips

The oddball list of ingredients in these ultra-sweet chips — erythritol, stevia, chicory root powder — isn’t promising, but they taste OK thanks to lots of cocoa butter. But please don’t melt these: They turn gritty and strangely alcoholic. 50 calories, 4 g fat, 10 mg sodium, 1 g sugar. $6.99 for 9 ounces at Whole Foods. (2 stars)

Nestle Toll House Premier White Morsels

Premier is a great title, but a lot to live up to. These chips don’t deliver. They are difficult to melt and have a single flavor note — sugar. 80 calories, 4 g fat, 5 mg sodium, 9 g sugar. $5.19 for 24 ounces at Target. (1½ stars)