Always on the lookout for cookies with a twist, I came across these cookies in New York Times Cooking.  There I was nonchalantly scrolling through my feed when it popped up on my screen PEANUT BUTTER MISO COOKIES.  Say what?  Miso?  In a cookie?  Like a lot of folks, I have had Miso Soup, but in a cookie? I was intrigued.

This is essentially a  peanut butter cookie that sneaks in miso paste to add umami. It will have your cookie tasters guessing…what’s that yummy salty, edgy flavor? A cookie with a twist, something different but familiar.

Miso Primer

Before getting to the recipe, let’s talk about Miso.  Miso is made from soybean that has been fermented with Koji, (the fungus Aspergillus oryzae).  It is a cornerstone of Japanese cuisine.  It adds a salty, earthy flavor to soups, marinades, and salad dressings.  There is white miso or Shiro Miso, red miso or Aka Miso and mixed miso or Awase Miso (red and white).  White miso is mild and sweet while red miso is aged longer and develops a much saltier, earthy taste, and is darker in color.  Awase. Miso is a blend of both red and white miso.  Shiro Miso is the most popular, so if you had to pick just one, this is the way to go. Try Hikari White Organic Miso which can be found in most Japanese stores.  Miso Honey Ribs, and Japanese Cha Siu from No Recipes both use white miso and are really delicious.

These cookies follow the standard cookie-making process.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add white miso and peanut butter and cream mixture again, add egg and vanilla and stir in flour.  Pop the dough into the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes.  The dough will firm up and be easier to handle.  Use a 2 tablespoon ice cream scoop (#30-#36) to scoop out portions of dough, and hand shape to form a nice smooth ball.  Roll cookies in Demerara sugar or raw sugar which provides a nice crunch.  Place on a baking sheet.

The KEY to this recipe, let the cookie dough rest.  Put it in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours to allow the miso to mellow.  The longer you let it rest the mellower the miso gets.
A great addition to these cookies would be white chocolate chips to compliment the miso or butterscotch chips.

Pan Rapping

A trick from Sarabeth’s baking book.  When the edges of the cookies are just beginning to set and the centers puff up, reach in the oven, lift the cookie sheet up, and rap or drop it on the rack.  This will cause the cookies to deflate and create those characteristic cracks.  Bake until the edges are set.  Yes, the precursor to pan banging cookies.

The sweet, salty, earthy flavor of these cookies pairs well with a nice cup of tea.  The edge is crispy, the center is chewy and every bite has a nice crunch from the sugar.  It’s different, it’s delicious, and a great addition to any holiday box of treats.

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Peanut Butter Miso Cookies

A sweet, salty, earthy, crispy-edged, cookie with a chewy center and a miso twist. Delicious!

Course cookies

Cuisine American, Asian-American

Keyword Peanut Butter Miso Cookie

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 225 grams
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½  cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature 115 grams
• 1 cup light brown sugar 220 grams
• ½ cup granulated sugar 100 grams
• ⅓ cup white miso paste 80 milliliters
• ¼ chunky peanut butter 60 milliliters
• 1 large egg
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup 105 grams Demerara sugar, plus more as needed
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips optional

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and baking powder, and whisk until incorporated. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter, light brown sugar and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• Add miso and peanut butter to the mixing bowl, and continue to mix at medium speed, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of the bowl to make sure all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated, and mix a bit more if needed. Add egg and vanilla extract, and mix until just combined.
• Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, and mix on low speed until flour mixture is incorporated. Repeat with remaining flour mixture in two batches until all of it is incorporated.
• Place 1/2 cup Demerara sugar into a small bowl. Scoop out a ball of dough (about 50 grams per cookie-use a 2 T ice cream scoop), and roll each portion between your hands until it is nice and round. (If the dough is too soft to roll, you can pop the mixing bowl in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes to firm the dough up slightly.) Roll the piece of dough into the bowl of Demerara sugar and turn to coat. Transfer each ball to a parchment-lined baking sheet, arranging them about 3 inches apart. Repeat with all of the dough.
• Refrigerate for 2 hours and up to overnight. (Even 15 minutes of refrigerator time will help the dough firm up, and the flavors meld. The longer the dough is refrigerated, the more mellow the flavors will be.)
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cookies for about 15 minutes, until crisp at the edges and slightly puffed in the middle. They should still be a bit underdone in the center. Pull out the baking sheet and hit it against a counter. Place back into the oven to finish for about 3 to 4 minutes. When cookies are firm at the edges and slightly puffed in the center, pull them out and again hit the baking sheet against the counter. The cookies should appear flat and crinkly at the center.
• Let the cookies cool on a baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container; they should retain their chewy texture for a few days.