Chocolate has been around for ages, but commercially produced chocolate is a fairly recently developed luxury. The credited inventor is the Swedish agriculturist François- Louis Cailler, who converted his mill into the first-ever chocolate factory. This conversion made chocolate’s 1819 debut easily accessible due to Cailler’s machinations. It arose from a desire to make chocolate less bitter. Fast forward a generation or two to 1875 and enter Daniel Peter with a problem. Peter wanted to impress a woman who believed chocolate was too bitter. In his attempt to impress her, Peter simply added powdered milk to the chocolate, and voila! Daniel Peter invented milk chocolate!
When thinking about milk chocolate, several traits come to mind. Foremost are its sweetness (thanks to Peter’s powdered milk success), its inherent comfort, its balance of flavors, its wide availability, and most importantly its very high satisfaction rate. Don’t like plain milk chocolate? Try chocolate ice cream! Don’t like cold treats? Opt for a hot cocoa! Milk chocolate’s diverse flavor profile allows this confection to be incorporated into just about anything, including reading! For this list of book recommendations, we’ve paired delectable reads with milk chocolate desserts based on the delicious traits they have in common. Bon appétit!
Sweet Pairing
Milk chocolate is known for its sweetness, which can be associated with a friendly, pleasant, and agreeable personality. Chocolate mousse is a delightful dessert made with milk chocolate, whipped cream, and sometimes egg yolks for richness. It has a smooth, airy texture and a rich chocolate flavor that is loved by most. Chocolate mousse is a classic dessert that showcases the creamy sweetness of milk chocolate beautifully.
A classic for a classic. Although readers may have encountered Pride and Prejudice first, my introduction to the world of Jane Austen was the 1995 film Sense and Sensibility. It had an all-star cast including a swoon-worthy Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon, opposite Kate Winslet — perfection! Austen’s classic follows a recently widowed woman and her three daughters who are forced to move to their country home after their father’s passing. A story of love and family, Sense and Sensibility examines the intricate dealings of the heart and soul in a world governed by status and money.
Comfort Pairing
Milk chocolate often evokes feelings of comfort and warmth, like drinking hot cocoa after a day in the snow. Hot chocolate is a warm, soothing beverage made with milk (or sometimes water), cocoa powder, sugar, and milk chocolate pieces or chips. It’s often served hot and topped with whipped cream, marshmallows, or a dusting of cocoa powder.
Meg Shaffer’s The Wishing Game is so wholesome it will make your heart hurt — in a good way! Lucy’s childhood hero, Jack Masterson, has decided to write one last novel in his children’s mystery series and is hosting a contest to determine who will win the book. Lucy and Christopher must use their intimate knowledge of Masterson’s fictional world of Clock Island to win the manuscript and make all their dreams come true!
Easygoing Pairing
Widely enjoyed and accessible to many people, milk chocolate is an approachable and easygoing treat for everyone. Milk chocolate also happens to be a crucial ingredient in chocolate chip cookies! These milk chocolate chip cookies are a beloved treat that’s easy to make and enjoyed by people of all ages. The milk chocolate chips add a deliciously sweet and creamy flavor to the classic cookie dough, making them a delightful dessert option.
Easygoing books, unlike chocolate chip cookies, may be hard to come by these days. Everyone has their personal histories and preferences that influence book-buying. From a quantitative approach, the Bible and other spiritual texts are the most frequently purchased books. However, beyond the scope of religion and spirituality, another widely received (adult) book is Educated by Tara Westover. Tara did not have a typical upbringing, but her very real-life struggle to literally educate herself, and thus find her place in the world is something just about everyone can relate to. We all search for a purpose in our lives; whether it be professional or personal, every human needs something to live for.
Harmonious Pairing
The combination of milk and chocolate creates a balanced flavor, reflecting a harmonious and stable ingredient for any dish imaginable. In the spirit of balance, one dessert that encourages experimentation in creating balanced flavors is milk chocolate fondue. The ritual of selecting and creating the perfect bite makes chocolate fondue a fun treat for everyone. Traditional pairings include fruits, nuts, and cakes, but dipping a nice salty pretzel or even a piece of bacon is also an enticing experience. The variety of fondue pairings makes this treat potentially and fairly micro-nutrient-rich!
Balance and harmony can be interpreted in many ways, but all of these interpretations require multiple parties to essentially “get along” or “achieve” resulting in a dessert that is steadfast and unmovable. However, finding balance in our lives in our glorious age of technology isn’t always easy. Madeleine Dore’s The Thing I Didn’t Do Today sheds light on the problem with hustle culture (perhaps a uniquely American cultural trait) and the subsequent unrealized pressures it presents. If you didn’t do the thing today — it’s okay! There will be other days, and as complete human beings with biological, emotional, and social needs sometimes we can’t just do all the things all the days. Dore narrows the narrative to focus on what it means to prioritize and to let go of all the nonessentials that float in and out of our lives.
Seductive Pairing
Milk chocolate tends to satisfy cravings (can I get an amen?!) and brings pleasure, which pairs well with any story that seeks and provides its readers with satisfaction and contentment. Last but certainly not least is the indulgent milk chocolate lava cake. The warm and gooey milk chocolate lava that flows from the center is the peak culinary of decadence. With two different yet soft textures, the heat of the chocolate lava makes the consumer relish every last morsel. Its seductive presentation makes this the perfect date night dessert.
That being said, lava cake obviously pairs with a steamy romance! One that makes the readers feel gooey and warm down to the core is Wild Love by Elsie Silver. Big city billionaire Ford Grant retreats to his small hometown of Rose Hill to open and operate a recording studio with his newly discovered 12-year-old daughter. Enter Rosie, also back from the big city, still as wild and gorgeous as ever. Rosie also happens to be Ford’s best friend’s sister… and Ford just hired her. He knows he shouldn’t want her the way he does, but he can’t stop.
So, dearest milk chocolate, we readers solute you. This indulgent ingredient can be transformed into any treat for any occasion and can be enjoyed with any book. From romance to memoir, milk chocolate will enhance your next reading experience. Guaranteed.
Want more delectable book pairings? Check out these sweet reads!
Need to purchase a beautiful hardcover to go with your molten lava cake? All of these titles can be found on our Bookshop.org — find your perfect pairing today!
