Makes: 12 large cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chilling Time: 2 hours minimum
Cook Time: 11–13 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 170g unsalted butter
- 25g white miso paste
- 150g soft light brown sugar
- 80g caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 230g plain flour
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 180g good-quality dark chocolate callets
- Flaky sea salt, to finish
Method
- Place the butter in a light-coloured saucepan over a medium heat.
- Allow it to melt, then continue cooking. The butter will foam before the milk solids begin turning golden. Swirl the pan regularly and watch closely.
- Once the butter smells deeply nutty and you can see amber-brown milk solids at the bottom of the pan, immediately remove it from the heat.
- Pour the brown butter, including all those toasted milk solids, into a mixing bowl. Whisk in the white miso until completely incorporated.
- Leave for around 15 minutes so the mixture can cool slightly.
- Add the brown sugar and caster sugar and whisk thoroughly.
- Add the whole egg, egg yolk and vanilla and whisk until smooth and glossy.
- In another bowl, combine the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until only a few streaks of flour remain.
- Fold through around three-quarters of the chopped dark chocolate. Avoid overmixing the dough.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. For an even deeper flavour, leave the dough overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 170°C fan and line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
- Divide the dough into 12 generous portions and roll loosely into balls.
- Arrange them well apart on the prepared tray. Bake in batches rather than overcrowding the tray.
- Press some of the reserved chocolate pieces into the tops.
- Bake for 11–13 minutes until the edges are golden but the centres still look slightly underdone.
- Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt.
- Leave on the baking tray for 10 minutes. The residual heat will finish setting the centres before you transfer the cookies to a wire rack.
What Does Miso Do in Chocolate Chip Cookies?
Miso might sound like an unusual cookie ingredient, but its job here is relatively simple: it makes the other flavours taste deeper.
White miso has a gentler character than darker varieties, bringing saltiness, umami and subtle fermented complexity without dominating the cookie.
That savouriness works particularly well with dark chocolate and caramelised flavours, which is why combining miso with brown butter makes so much sense.
The finished cookie shouldn't taste like miso soup. Think of it more as seasoning.
How to Make Brown Butter
Brown butter is simply butter that's cooked until its milk solids toast.
Melt the butter over a medium heat and keep cooking as it begins to foam. Eventually you'll notice small golden particles developing underneath the foam and the aroma will change from creamy to distinctly nutty.
Once those solids become a deep golden brown, remove the pan from the heat immediately. They can go from beautifully toasted to burnt surprisingly quickly.
Most importantly, don't strain the butter. Those little brown milk solids contain much of the flavour we're looking for.
Why Rest Cookie Dough Before Baking?
You could bake the cookies sooner, but chilling brings several benefits.
Cold dough spreads more slowly in the oven, making it easier to achieve thick cookies with chewy centres.
Resting also gives the flour time to hydrate and allows the flavours within the dough to develop.
Two hours works well, but an overnight rest is even better.
The Secret to Soft, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Take them out of the oven before they look completely cooked.
The outside should be golden and set, but the middle should still appear soft and slightly underbaked.
The cookies continue cooking on the hot baking tray after leaving the oven. Wait until the centre looks completely firm before removing them and you'll probably end up with a crisp cookie rather than a soft, chewy one.
Using an additional egg yolk and plenty of brown sugar also contributes to that richer, chewier centre.
Questions and Answers
Which miso is best for chocolate chip cookies?
White miso is particularly well suited to baking because it tends to have a milder, slightly sweeter character than darker miso varieties. It can provide saltiness and savoury depth without overwhelming chocolate, caramel or vanilla flavours.
Why does brown butter make cookies taste better?
Browning butter toasts its milk solids through the Maillard reaction, producing additional aromatic compounds and creating nutty, caramel-like flavours that aren't present to the same extent in ordinary melted butter.
Why are my chocolate chip cookies spreading too much?
Warm dough is one of the most common causes. Chill the portioned dough thoroughly before baking and always place it onto a cool baking tray rather than one that's still hot from the previous batch.
Can you freeze miso chocolate chip cookie dough?
Yes. Portion the dough into individual balls before freezing. Once solid, transfer them to a suitable container. They can then be baked from frozen, allowing a little additional baking time as necessary.
Why use an extra egg yolk in cookies?
Egg yolk contains fat and emulsifiers that contribute richness and tenderness without adding as much water as another whole egg. In this recipe, it helps produce the soft, chewy centre we're looking for.