In the world of binges, a cookie binge isn’t such a bad thing.
So…here is another cookie recipe close on the heels of the oatmeal cookie recipe (here) posted a couple of weeks ago. That oatmeal cookie comes together with a mix of traditional ingredients. Today’s cookie makes use of an untraditional cookie ingredient: miso.
You’ve probably had miso before. It is a salty-sweet fermented soybean paste that flavors miso soup, glazes, salad dressings, marinades, and some desserts. Umami-rich miso is often used as an anchovy substitute for the anchovy-averse as well.
Chinese and Japanese cooks have been using miso in their cooking for thousands of years. Along the way, the preparation of miso has become an art form in Japan with some miso being given as long as 36 months to ferment. Miso in some form–often soup–is consumed at least once a day by most Japanese. That’s a lot of miso!
To make things complicated for those of us who are trying to build our miso skills, there are more than 1000 types of miso on the market–red, white, barley, rice, soybean and on and on. The possibilities are seemingly endless. As a rule of thumb, lighter-colored miso is milder and sweeter. Darker miso is more salty and pungent. If you are interested in giving miso a try, the good news is that miso can be stored in the refrigerator indefinitely while you perfect your miso-cooking game. Personally, I’m looking at an eggplant recipe with a miso glaze right now and I had a bowl of probiotic-rich miso soup for breakfast…and a miso cookie, of course. Life is good.
Here is the Miso Cookie Recipe.
Peanut Butter-Miso Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
- 3/4 t. baking soda
- 1/2 t. baking powder
- 1/2 C. unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 C. light brown sugar
- 1/2 C. granulated sugar
- 1/3 C. white miso paste
- 1/4 C. chunky peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
- 1/2 C. Demerara sugar (or Turbino)
Directions
- Step 1 Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Step 2 Using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, combine butter, light brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix at medium speed until the butter mixture is light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Step 3 Add miso paste and peanut butter to the butter mixture in your mixing bowl. Mix at medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure that all the ingredients are totally mixed. Add egg and vanilla extract and mix to combine.
- Step 4 Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl at low speed. Repeat until all the flour is incorporated into the cookie batter.
- Step 5 Measure the Demerara sugar into a small bowl. Scoop cookie dough out of the mixing bowl (about 2 large T. of dough in each scoop). Roll the dough in your hands until it is round in shape. (Chill dough briefly in the refrigerator at this point if the batter is too soft and sticky to handle.) Roll each cookie batter ball in the Demerara sugar and arrange the cookies about 3 inches apart on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment. Depending upon the size of your cookie sheets and the size of your oven, you may want to bake these cookies one tray at a time.
- Step 6 Refrigerate cookies for about 2 hours (or overnight).
- Step 7 Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake chilled cookies for 15 minutes. You want the cookies to be crisp on the edges and slightly puffed in the middle. Remove the cookie sheet after 15 minutes and give it a few bangs on your counter to further flatten the cookies. Put the sheet of cookies back into the oven and bake for 3 to 4 more minutes. Take the cookies out of the oven and bang on the counter again. Your cookies should appear flat and crinkly on the top when they are done. The Demerara sugar should give the cookies a crisp bite.
- Step 8 Let the cookies cool in the pan for a few minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
This cookie recipe is adapted from one that appears in the New York Times here.
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