Love chewy cookies? Miso keeps these cookies moist, while a firm bang on the table halfway through baking ensures a chewy, rather than cakey, texture.
Miso plays nicely in sweet recipes, as well as savory ones. These bangin’ miso chocolate chunk cookies are made with a moderate amount of fermented soybean paste for extra umami that complements the toastiness of brown butter. Grab your baking sheets and bang ‘em on your counter for a flatter, chewier cookie and rippled edge.
Miso, while full of health benefits, also gives cookies a textural advantage: extra moisture that helps keep themchewy. When freshfrom the oven, these cookies have a crispy edge and soft center; with savoriness from the miso, subtle nuttiness from the brown butter and richness from the chocolate.
Ingredients
- 155 grams of unsalted butter
- 2 ¾ tablespoons reduced salt miso paste*
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- Dash of vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup milk or white chocolate chips/chunks
Makes about a dozen cookies.
*Tips on selecting miso: Note that some miso contains dashi(Japanese soup stock). Avoid the phrase だし入り (dashi-iri meaning “contains dashi”) when selecting miso for this recipe. If you’re concerned about your salt intake, use reduced sodium miso. Reduced salt shio koji miso was used during the development of this recipe.
Instructions
1. To make the brown butter, add unsalted butter to a pot over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. The mixture may start to foam—not to worry, just lower the heat and keep stirring. When the butter turns a golden-brown color and smells like toffee (nutty and a bit sweet), you’ll know it’s done.
2. Cut the heat and allow the brown butter to cool until it is no longer scalding.
3. In the pot of slightly warm (but not hot) brown butter, whisk in the miso, sugar and vanilla.
4. Add the egg after the mixture is cool enough (We’re not making scrambled eggs here!).
5. Mix in the baking soda and flour.
6. Stir in about ¾ of your chocolate chips or chunks, reserving the rest for topping the cookies.
7. Cover the pot and let the cookie dough rest in the fridge for at least 40 minutes to firm up.
8. Preheat oven to 180C (356F).
9. Form the chilled cookie dough into balls (around 50 grams or 2.5 tablespoons is ideal), topping with pieces of the remaining chocolate.
10. Place cookie dough balls onto a baking tray to bake immediately, or freeze for longer storage.
11. In total, the cookies will bake for around 10-12 minutes. After the first 7 minutes, take out the tray and drop it onto a flat surface (counter or floor) that’s covered by a thick towel. Do this 2-3 times to deflate the cookies, from a height of 5 or 6 inches. Return the cookies to the oven to bake until golden brown. This will give the cookies a rippled edge and a denser, chewier texture. Sprinkle the cookies with flaky salt if desired and return the cookies to the oven to bake until golden brown.
12. The cookies are delicate when they first come out of the oven, so resist gobbling them up right away. Transfer them to a cooling rack and let them set for a few minutes before digging in.
This miso cookie dough freezes marvelously. Portion it into balls, add them to your emergency freezer cookie dough stash and you’ll be less than 15 minutes away from chocolatey comfort at all times.
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