My good friend and fellow cookie aficionado, Ruaridh, introduced me to these cookies. They are without a doubt the tastiest cookies I've ever had. Combining the perfect crunchy/chewy ratio with a surprising but delightful savoury undercurrent from the miso, to me they are perfect. If you're anything like me and have a penchant for savoury-ish sweet things, I think you'll like these cookies. And if you're a peanut butter lover too, you'll be in nirvana.

Peanut Butter and Miso Cookies Recipe

Makes 18 Cookies

Ingredients

  • 225 g plain flour
  • ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 115 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 100 g granulated sugar
  • 220 g light brown sugar
  • 75 g white miso paste
  • 75 g chunky peanut butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 100 g demerara sugar, plus more as needed

Method

  1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and baking powder, and whisk until incorporated. Set aside.

  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.

  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.

  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.

  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.

  6. Refrigerate for 2 hours and up to overnight. (Even 15 minutes of refrigerator time will help the dough firm up, and the flavours meld. The longer the dough is refrigerated, the more mellow the flavours will be.)

  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 centre. 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 centre, pull them out and again hit the baking sheet against the counter. The cookies should appear flat and crinkly at the centre.

  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.