This recipe is adapted from Maggie Zhu’s website called Omnivore’s Cookbook. The white miso enhances the buttery taste of the cookies and keeps them fresh for a bit longer than regular cookies. She suggests finishing the cookies with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, but I think in addition to the miso this makes the cookies too salty. It is hard to find the exact words to describe why these cookies are so good…it’s probably the umami factor that works so well with sweet as well as savory.
Ingredients
230-g / 8-oz all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
4-oz stick butter
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 cup (160-g / 6.7-oz) brown sugar
1 large egg
⅓ cup white miso paste
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine flour and baking soda in a small bowl. Stir to mix well.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, miso paste, and vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture. Mix until barely combined.
- Fold the chocolate chips into the cookie dough.
- Divide the dough into 12 to 18 portions using a cookie scoop, and place onto the cookie sheet, at least 5-cm (2-inch) apart.
- Bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges are golden but the centers still gooey.
- Let the cookies cool and firm up on the sheet for 15 minutes before placing them on a rack to cool completely.
I had the pleasure of working with Lisa in photographing the majority of the images in this issue of The Cook’s Gazette. Part of the joy I get in working on this magazine are not only an introduction to recipes, cooking techniques, and ingredients that are new to me, but I also get to sample some of the foods that I end up photographing! A win-win! I typically don’t leave a comment- but I just felt I had to regarding these cookies- THEY ARE AMAZING! Miso in cookies might sound strange/odd- which is what I initially thought when Lisa told me that she was going to make them- but that changed once I tasted one. There is a sublime magic to them that just takes over your taste buds when you bite into one of these cookies. The familiar taste of a chocolate chip cookie is there, but at the same time, there is an undertone of umami [“deliciousness?!”] that takes this treat to a new level. These are so much better than chocolate chip cookies topped with flaky sea salt. MAKE THESE COOKIES- you will be pleasantly surprised.
I can’t wait to make them!
Lisa’s an amazing chef and is so lucky to have you as her photographer. Your work is stunning and is a great match for her creations.