These peanut butter miso cookies are ultra soft on the inside with the crunch of sugar crystals on the outside. They're deliciously melt-in-your-mouth, buttery cookies with a hint of savoury miso!
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What is miso?
Miso is fermented soybean paste that is aged for several months to several years. It's a key ingredient in Japanese cuisine for its savoury and umami flavour.
When miso paste is added to baked goods, the miso flavour is not super noticeable but it adds a subtle savoury, buttery, and rich flavour to cookies and cakes.
Why you'll love this recipe
- These peanut butter miso cookies are soft on the inside with a crunchy sugar coating on the outside. The best of both worlds!
- These cookies are easy to make in just under an hour!
- The classic peanut butter flavour is enhanced with the taste of subtle savoury miso. Think salted peanuts!
Tools
- Electric hand mixer - A hand mixer makes creaming butter and mixing cookie dough quick and easy. If you bake often, I'd highly recommend picking one up. It's a kitchen essential that I use in almost every baking recipe. You can pick one up for less than $80 - much more affordable than a stand mixer but you can use that too if you have one.
- 4-tablespoon ice cream scooper - The key to bakery-style cookies that are nice and round is simply a big scooper. Using a scooper ensure your cookies are all the same size. A 4-tablespoon scooper is my preference and I wouldn't go any smaller than a 3-tablespoon scooper unless you're making mini bite-sized cookies.
- Baking sheet - You probably already have one but you kind of really need it to bake cookies so I'm including it here. You can use a baking tray with a small rim or a completely flat baking sheet. They say flat baking sheets are better for airflow but it doesn't make a huge difference for baking at home so use whatever you have!
Ingredients
As always, the full recipe card with ingredient amounts and instructions is at the bottom of this post! Keep reading for more details on each ingredient or skip ahead to the recipe.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Unsalted butter - This should be softened to room temperature before use. It needs to be soft enough to cream with the sugars for soft and fluffy cookies.
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Egg - This should also be at room temperature to prevent the mixture from curdling. If you forget to take them out of the fridge ahead of time, you can submerge cold eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- Peanut butter - Use natural (the ingredients should just be peanuts) and creamy peanut butter.
- White miso paste - White miso paste is lighter in flavour than other varieties of miso like red miso or black miso so it won't overpower the taste of the peanut butter cookies. It can usually be found in the chilled/fridge section of Asian grocery stores.
- Vanilla extract
- Sugar crystals or coarse sugar - Use large sugar crystals or coarse sugar like demerara sugar or turbinado sugar for the cookie coating. This gives these soft peanut butter cookies a nice crunchy texture on the outside. You can use granulated sugar but it just won't be as crunchy.
How to make peanut butter miso cookies
Prep - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Also, line a cutting board with a small sheet of parchment paper for the cookie dough balls. Set aside.
Mix dry ingredients - In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugars - In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat the softened butter on medium speed until it becomes very creamy and pale in colour. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat together until fluffy.
Mix in egg - Crack in the egg and mix until combined.
Add wet ingredients - Finally, add the peanut butter, miso paste, and vanilla extract and beat again until combined.
Add dry to wet mixture - Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed until almost combined. Finish mixing the dough with a spatula to prevent overmixing.
Scoop cookie dough - Use a 4-tablespoon scooper to scoop out balls of cookie dough. Release them onto your lined cutting board.
Chill - Place the whole board with the cookie dough balls into the fridge and chill for about 15 minutes, just until they are firm enough to pick up. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Coat in sugar - Fill a small bowl with sugar crystals. Roll each cookie dough ball in the sugar crystals until generously coated on all sides.
Flatten - Place the cookie dough on your lined baking sheet, leaving about 2" in between each cookie. Use the back of a fork to press down on each dough ball to flatten slightly and create a crosshatch pattern.
Bake - Bake cookies for 12-13 minutes or until the bottom edges just barely start to brown and the cookies are still very soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes to set. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely or enjoy some warm!
Storage
These peanut butter miso cookies can be stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing
These cookies can be frozen by placing them in an airtight container or freezer bag or by wrapping them well in plastic wrap and freezing for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature for several hours before serving.
Tips for success
- Use room temperature ingredients. Your butter and egg should always be at room temperature to ensure that they mix together easily and seamlesssly.
- Cream the butter and sugar well. Beat the butter well even before adding anything to it. Creaming the butter and sugar together for several minutes adds lots of air into it for soft and fluffy cookies.
- Don't overmix the cookie dough. Although you can mix for as long as you want before the flour, after adding the flour mixture to the dough, mix only as much as you need. I recommend mixing with the hand mixer until the dough is almost combined but there are still some flour patches left. Finish mixing the dough with a spatula. This way, you won't risk overmixing the dough and ending up with tough cookies.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can make the cookie dough ahead of time. Scoop the cookie dough out into dough balls and store them in the fridge for 1-3 days before baking. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight before baking.
In baked goods, miso adds a subtle savoury flavour, richness, and enhances the other ingredients like a pinch of salt would. It doesn't have a strong taste of its own when used in baking but it cuts through sweetness and elevates the other flavours in the recipe.
Peanut butter is a thick and dense ingredient. Peanut butter cookies tend to be dense and don't flatten and spread like regular chocolate chip cookies do. By pressing them down with a fork, you give the spreading a head start so that the cookies bake evenly.
More cookie recipes to try
- Miso Caramel Stuffed Cookies
- Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
- Ube Cookies
- Hojicha Cookies
- Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe
Peanut Butter Miso Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 115 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 75 g granulated sugar
- 50 g brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 100 g natural creamy peanut butter
- 40 g white miso paste
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 60 g sugar crystals or coarse sugar
Instructions
- Prep: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Also, line a cutting board with a small sheet of parchment paper for the cookie dough balls. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugars: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat the softened butter on medium speed until it becomes very creamy and pale in colour. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat together until fluffy.
- Add egg: Add the egg and mix until combined.
- Add wet ingredients - Add the peanut butter, miso paste, and vanilla extract and beat again until combined.
- Add dry to wet mixture: Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed until almost combined. Finish mixing the dough with a spatula to prevent overmixing.
- Scoop cookie dough: Use a 4-tablespoon scooper to scoop out balls of cookie dough. Release them onto your lined cutting board.
- Chill: Place the whole board with the cookie dough balls into the fridge and chill for about 15 minutes, just until they are firm enough to pick up. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Coat in sugar: Fill a small bowl with sugar crystals. Roll each cookie dough ball in the sugar crystals until generously coated on all sides.
- Flatten: Place the cookie dough on your lined baking sheet, leaving about 2" in between each cookie. Use the back of a fork to press down on each dough ball to flatten slightly and create a crosshatch pattern.
- Bake: Bake cookies for 12-13 minutes or until the bottom edges just barely start to brown and the cookies are still very soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes to set. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely or enjoy some warm!
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