Brown butter Peanut Butter Miso Cookies made from scratch.
Ingredients
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter
- 24 grams (3 level teaspoons) white miso paste
- 60 grams (1/4 cup) smooth peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 175 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour (see notes)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
- Sea salt flakes, for serving
Instructions
- Brown the butter
Add butter to a medium-sized saucepan (see notes), and place on medium heat. Gently stir or swirl the pan occasionally as the butter melts. - From here, use a whisk to continually stir the butter and watch as it starts to brown and go foamy. Keep whisking so you can see underneath the foam and watch as little flecks of milk solids appear.
- The butter and the milk solids will turn golden brown, and eventually a deeper amber colour (see photo below). You’ll know your butter is ready when it has a nutty aroma. It might also have quite a thick head of foam by this point. The whole process can take up to 10 minutes.
- Once your butter is browned, transfer the butter (and ALL the milk solids) to a medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Make cookie dough
Use a baking scale to measure the butter. With moisture-loss, you should now have between 95-100 grams of butter. - Add miso paste and peanut butter to brown butter and whisk to combine. Then add egg and vanilla and whisk again until smooth.
- Swap whisk for a spatula or wooden spoon. Add flour, baking soda and sugars. Gently mix until you have a soft cookie dough. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for AT LEAST 1 hour.
- Bake cookies
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking or parchment paper. - Scoop out cookie dough using a medium cookie scoop (roughly 1.5-2 tablespoons of dough per cookie) and place balls on prepared oven trays, leaving room for the cookies to spread.
- Bake cookies for 12 minutes (see notes) or until golden brown. Leave cookies to cool completely on a wire rack. Generously sprinkle cookies with sea salt flakes before serving.
Notes
Saucepan: A light coloured saucepan is best so you can see clearly when the butter is browned.
Browning the butter: Don’t rush this step. If you take butter off too early, it won’t have that deep, caramel-like flavour we are looking for. On the other hand, if you leave it too long or have the heat too high, you can accidentally burn the butter. Remember to keep stirring and watch your butter closely.
Miso paste: I used white miso paste which can found at local supermarkets in the Asian aisle or online. I used Tasty Miso brand.
Peanut butter: I tested this recipe using processed peanut butter like Bega, Skippy or Jif. However, I do think that a natural-style peanut butter would also work. I used smooth peanut butter but crunchy would also work if you want more texture.Â
Thinner cookies: If you prefer a thinner cookie, use 140 grams (1 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour. Everything else can remain the same.
Cook time: For a softer, chewier cookie bake for 12 minutes, for a crispier cookies, go for 14 minutes. Remember cookies firm up as they cool.Â
Storage: Store Peanut Butter Miso Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.Â
Make-ahead: You can make the dough and keep it in the fridge for up to three days. Then simply roll and bake as per instructions above. Or you can roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze them. Then let them defrost for 15 minutes at room temperature before baking.
