Peanut Butter-Miso Cookies
Published October 17, 2019
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
1 ¾ cups/225 grams all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
1 cup/220 grams light brown sugar
½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar
⅓ cup/80 milliliters white miso paste
¼ cup/60 milliliters chunky peanut butter
1 large egg
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup/105 grams Demerara sugar, plus more as needed
Nutritional analysis per serving
35 grams carbs; 24 milligrams cholesterol; 218 calories; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 8 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 266 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 24 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and baking powder, and whisk until incorporated. Set aside.
- Step 2
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.
- Step 3
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.
- Step 4
Add ⅓ 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.
- Step 5
Place ½ cup Demerara sugar into a small bowl. Working with one piece at a time, scoop out about 2 heaping tablespoons of dough (about 50 grams per cookie), 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.) Drop 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.
- Step 6
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.)
- Step 7
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.
- Step 8
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.
Private Notes
Comments
Delicious! I would also cut back just a bit with the sugar. Flattening cookie with spatula ( done with 2nd batch) is easier than banging on the counter and scaring the dog to death....
Summary of helpful comments: Cut in half both the sugars. Can roll in regular granulated or brown sugar if no Demerara. Consider swapping miso and peanut butter amounts for more pb flavor. Overnight entire mixture in bowl for ease. Use spatula to flatten if don't want to bang on the counter.
I can vouch for this cookie — it's truly the perfect cookie, in my book: It's super easy to make and it achieves that perfect crisp-tender texture. The miso flavor adds complexity without overwhelming the cookie, which is the perfect balance of salty and sweet. I love this cookie exactly as it is!
A perfect recipe.
I made two batches of these yesterday - first time ever - for a church picnic and found them to die for. They were deemed to be the best cookie at the picnic (among dozens of home made varieties). Per someone’s suggestion among the comments here added a splash of soy sauce to the miso and peanut butter; used the 100g for miso and 75 g for PB conversion that someone else contributed in a comment in order to avoid having to use measuring cups. Worked perfectly. I typically am not a fan of overly sweet cookies but these were perfect with the sugars as-is. I used turbinado sugar from Trader Joe’s instead of Demerara, which worked great. I would just say, make the cookies a bit smaller - maybe 35-40g per dough ball instead of ~50g. This would make a full 2 dozen cookies instead of just 1.5 dozen.
Note: do pay attention to sodium content in the miso. I used Wegmans white miso, which has 320 mg of sodium per Tbsp (107 mg per tsp). That is far less than some other misos I have read about in the comments.
This is the perfect cookie as written. We have made this recipe multiple times, and I brought these cookies to the hospital with me to give birth. Working on eating plant-based and reducing cholesterol, and so far these are our swaps to still eat these cookies: - Swap egg for 1 Tbs flax + 3 Tbs water - Swap butter for canola oil (1 butter = .75 oil) It is not as good as the original, but it's an acceptable veganization. Will up the PB and Miso next time to account for flavor loss.