The best dark chocolate, according to America’s Test Kitchen

Get more tips like this and proven recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus instant access to my free 3-Step Guide to Baking in Advance.  Don’t miss out.  Sign up now.

A while back, America’s Test Kitchen conducted a blind taste test of dark chocolate.  I know, we all chose the wrong profession.

They rated 10 nationally available supermarket brands on flavor, texture, sweetness, and overall appeal.  I was not surprised at the results because I’ve been using their winner for years.  At least until a few months ago.

Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate claimed the #1 spot.

Though with the amount of baking I do, $2.99 per bar adds up quickly at $0.75 per ounce.

A few months ago I heard about Trader Joe’s Pound Plus chocolate bars.  They sell for $4.99 per bar, and each bar is a whopping 17.6 ounces.  That’s $0.28 per ounce!

This is in no way an advertisement for Trader Joe’s.  Ingredients are an important component of successful baking.  I share tested recipes and proven strategies with thousands of readers, so it only makes sense to tell you exactly which ingredients I’m using.

Trader Joe’s has a few different varieties, but my go-to is the 72% dark chocolate.

The main difference between Ghirardelli and Trader Joe’s is the latter isn’t all-natural.  Any chocolate is good chocolate in my book.  I mean, we’re all still eating Hershey’s Kisses in Peanut Butter Blossoms, right?

If you live near a Trader Joe’s, I suggest picking up a bar and trying it out.  If not, I still highly recommend the Ghirardelli 60% bar, and you can find that at pretty much any grocery store.

Whenever a recipe calls for chocolate, I pull out the big bar and chop off what I need.  Then I use my digital kitchen scale to weigh it accurately.  Have you bought a scale yet?  At $12, you can’t beat it.

I used the 72% dark chocolate when I had some friends over for dinner a few weeks ago.  I mixed it into my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, pressed the dough into a cast iron skillet, and put it in the oven (straight from the fridge) when we were done with dinner.  All I did was scoop vanilla custard on top and pass out spoons.  Easiest dinner party dessert ever…

Next week I’m sharing that exact chocolate chip cookie recipe with you.  It’s the kind of recipe you’ll keep on hand prednisone because all you will hear is, “that is hands down the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had.”

Maybe grab a cast iron skillet in the meantime?

Get more tips like this and proven recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus instant access to my free 3-Step Guide to Baking in Advance.  Don’t miss out.  Sign up now.