Peanut Butter-Miso Cookies Recipe (2024)

By Krysten Chambrot

Peanut Butter-Miso Cookies Recipe (1)

Total Time
30 minutes, plus chilling
Rating
5(6,881)
Notes
Read community notes

These cookies were the result of a happy accident. (The best things always are, aren’t they?) When the peanut butter ran out, similarly creamy white miso stepped in. The other ingredients were tweaked to offset the miso’s savory character, and what came out of the oven was salty and sweet, crunchy and chewy. A brief stint in the fridge helps mellow the miso’s bracing brackishness, and a roll in Demerara sugar adds a subtle crunch that pairs well with the tender cookie.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 18 cookies

  • cups/225 grams all-purpose flour
  • ¾teaspoon baking soda
  • ½teaspoon baking powder
  • ½cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
  • 1cup/220 grams light brown sugar
  • ½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
  • cup/80 milliliters white miso paste
  • ¼cup/60 milliliters chunky peanut butter
  • 1large egg
  • teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½cup/105 grams Demerara sugar, plus more as needed

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (18 servings)

218 calories; 8 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 24 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 266 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Peanut Butter-Miso Cookies Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

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

  2. Step

    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. Step

    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. Step

    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. Step

    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. Step

    6

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

  7. Step

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

  8. Step

    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.

Ratings

5

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6,881

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

patty

Delicious! I would also cut back just a bit with the sugar. Flattening cookie with spatula ( done with 2nd batch) is easier than banging on the counter and scaring the dog to death....

Alexa Weibel, Senior Staff Editor, NYT Cooking

I can vouch for this cookie — it's truly the perfect cookie, in my book: It's super easy to make and it achieves that perfect crisp-tender texture. The miso flavor adds complexity without overwhelming the cookie, which is the perfect balance of salty and sweet. I love this cookie exactly as it is!

Stacie

Used natural peanut butter. Added black sesame seeds to sugar. Topped with a bit of flaked salt. Best Cookie EVER!!!!

Susan B. A.

Love peanut butter and love miso! A great combo. I made 3 tweaks I believe made these cookies even better.Added 1/4 tsp vanilla salt (I make my own with spent, dried van. beans. Sugar, too). Yes, miso can be salty, but this was needed. Used just a bit over HALF the sugar, and used vanilla sugar for the granulated. Chilled bowl in fridge overnight, set out 2 hours - *then* scooped. No room in my fridge for cookie sheets.Yummy - and now I can eat two if I want - and I do!

Annabelle

I've made this four or five times before, always with white miso, but the store was out of white miso and so today I made them with red miso! Followed exactly as written otherwise, and didn't modify anything about the quantity of miso used. They tasted just as delicious as they always do!

Kelly

Not a huge fan of peanut butter, so subbed tahini instead. SO GOOD. The sesame/miso mixture was delicious and the texture is chewy and perfect. Will make again and again.

Charlotte Cant

I modified this recipe for a vegan friend-1/4 cup applesauce instead of egg and 1/2 cup coconut oil instead of butter. Delicious!

Stephanie

I agree with everyone who cut the sugar! I reduced the sugar by about half. I also added a splash of soy sauce, an about a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger. These cookies are incredible.

Su

This idea appeals enormously, but the recipe calls for a full 1/2 c more sugar than my standard peanut-butter cookie recipe. I'm assuming that the developer thought that more sugar was better to balance the miso, but this sounds too sweet (and miso has its own sweetness). Anyone know if the extra sugar has a structural role here? And if you try reducing it, let us know how it works!

Deejay

Could someone please explain the purpose of whacking the cookie sheet against the counter? I’m unfamiliar with this technique. Thanks so much!

Annabelle

I just made these and they are absolutely delicious. The only changes I made were hand-mixing everything (I don't have a stand mixer), and rolling the dough in granulated sugar instead of Demerara. These look so impressive but were so easy to make. I'd highly recommend!

the certifiable foodie

I just made these cookies, but substituted the wheat flour for America’s Test Kitchen gluten free flour blend and then added a few teaspoons of whole milk.This recipe totally works gluten free as well!Cookies are perfect, chewy and crispy with so much depth of flavor.

ginger

I made it as written and found it to be a littIe boring (missing some oomph) ...so the next time I cut the sugar by about 20%, added a little cayenne and powdered ginger to the batter, and rolled in a mixture of demerara sugar, cayenne, and powdered ginger. I half dipped the cooled cookies in dark chocolate and dusted them with sesame seeds, sea salt, cayenne, and powdered ginger. My boyfriend is a big complex/savory dessert fan and loved these so much! These are very versatile.

JB

Pushes out the air pockets and makes them chewier in the middle

Alli

I had on hand only peanut butter called Creamunchy by the manufacturer (in between creamy and crunchy), but otherwise followed the recipe. I make a lot of cookies, and will be adding this recipe to the rotation. My own cookie (eaten before dinner in the name of science) was just stolen by my four year old, so indications are good that the cookies will be also popular with youngsters.

Lynn E

Really good and easy to roll. The dough flavor is alarming before baking but it does all mellow out after a fridge sit and baking thankfully. I coated in sesame seeds instead of sugar. Can't believe I waited so long to make these!

emily r.

I’ve made these a few times, and I make them gluten free. They are my favorite!! I use natural creamy peanut butter, half the amount of both sugars, and make the cookies about 40g in size. I don’t have a sweet tooth, but I crave these. Delicious.

Diana

Note for future lots of folks recommend cutting sugar in half. And see measurements for ml to gms.

Hannah

I love these cookies so much. They are fantastic every time. I think using red miso makes them a bit more interesting and I've never gotten feedback that they were too funky that way. Turbinado sugar is another substitute that I think makes them more interesting. But they are also great when made exactly by the recipe. If you're on the fence at all MAKE THEM!! You won't regret it.

Courtney

To prevent the bottom of the cookies from burning, allow the dough to return to room temperature after removing it from the refrigerator.

JP

Not sure what all the hype is about. I felt like there was no distinct flavor in these cookies: not peanut butter and not miso. Just didn't WOW me. IF there's a next time, I'd cut back on sugar and add more peanut butter. I actually think it needs something else, but I'm not sure what: heat, spice, chocolate? Also, these are LARGE cookies. I prefer them half size and would do so next time.

Laura T

Wholeheartedly agree that this is a delightful cookie. Perfect blend of salty and sweet. I did cut back on the sugar, as others suggested.

Margaret

I made these with the unmodified sugar amounts and didn’t find the cookies too sweet at all. I did use slightly more peanut butter and correspondingly less miso, and reduced the cooking time by a few minutes (peek at the bottom of the cookies to see if they’re getting too brown). So addictive and good.

Hg

Has anyone tried freezing the after refrigerating for a few hours?

Alma

Don’t reduce sugar, messes with texture but be sure to use light brown not dark brown

siri

These are my favorite cookies to make! I have probably made them 5-7x now, so I think people should heed my advice. I follow the recipe to a T with one change: cut the white sugar. The cup of brown sugar is enough and the subtraction does not mess up the recipe. They end up perfectly sweet, salty, moist and amazing. Also, red miso, white miso, crunchy PB, smooth PB - all end results have been perfection.

Deb Lowry

So good! I don't think they need rolling in sugar. I made some that way but preferred the ones I sprinkled some tiny maldon salt flakes on. The dropping of the cookie sheet on the counter is how you get that crackled look but you must wait until there is a little browning on top. I dropped one batch too early and so they had a more uniform color. Regardless, can't stop eating these.

caits

I love this recipe. The flavor is amazing. BUT the bottoms burn every time. I keep trying to modify the cooking time / temp to avoid burning while still setting the cookies and haven’t cracked it. Most recent attempt was 300 degrees for 12 min plus 3 min. Any suggestions?

Alice

Per America’s Test Kitchen, use no more miso than 300 mg worth! This greatly reduces how much of my brand, Miso Master, to use in recipe to a mere 2 tsp

Yoon

There are many kinds of miso paste. There is white, red and Korean miso paste that are all different. Which one should i use?

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Peanut Butter-Miso Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do they put fork marks in peanut butter cookies? ›

So it looks like that there are utilitarian reasons for the cross-hatching—to allow for even cooking—but it might have been passed along for nearly a hundred years for primarily aesthetic reasons, where the cross-hatching is more to identify the cookies as peanut butter ones, rather than to cook them well.

Why do my peanut butter cookies taste weird? ›

Your other source of fat should be butter, not shortening. Butter will make your cookies taste buttery; shortening will make them taste suspiciously vacant, like Katy Perry's voice post-autotune. Yes, shortening yields chewier cookies than butter does, because butter contains water and shortening doesn't.

Why can't you use natural peanut butter in cookies? ›

Using natural peanut butter requires a serious stir, Cook's Illustrated notes. Those oils and fats need to be completely reintegrated into the other solids before it can be used. Otherwise, parts of the peanut butter will be drier than others and it could affect the final texture of your cookies.

Why are my peanut butter cookies always hard? ›

If your peanut butter cookies are hard, you likely cooked them for too long. They should not be baked for more than 8 or 9 minutes.

What happens if you don't criss cross peanut butter cookies? ›

Why Do You Put a Criss-Cross Pattern on Peanut Butter Cookies? Pressing a fork into these peanut butter cookies prior to baking helps flatten the cookies slightly, promoting oven spread. The fork marks also encourage the cookies to bake more evenly and brown evenly.

What happens if you don't flatten peanut butter cookies? ›

If you don't flatten the cookies first, then the fork does double duty – it performs both functions. One very subtle result of creating the pattern is that the little tips of dough bake up crisper than the rest of the cookie, giving you both a bit of additional texture and deeper taste where the dough is more baked.

Is it better to use butter or shortening in peanut butter cookies? ›

Cookies Made with Butter vs Shortening

The butter cookie provides better flavor and a crispier exterior with browning around edges and a chewy interior; the shortening cookie spreads less, holding its shape better while baking.

What happens if you add too much peanut butter to peanut butter cookies? ›

This may not sound like a lot, but it is enough that it can affect the quality of your cookies – adding too much peanut butter can make them dry, hard, and crumbly.

Why are my peanut butter cookies dry and crumbly? ›

If you're wanting to use natural (no sugar added) peanut butter, the cookies will be less sweet and they will likely spread out more. Using natural peanut butter will change the structure and texture of the cookies. Why are my cookies dry and crumbly? This is most likely a classic case of using too much flour.

What is the best brand of peanut butter for peanut butter cookies? ›

PEANUT BUTTER – For best results, use classic creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy. I tested these with natural peanut butter as well and it didn't make a huge difference, but there can be a lot of variability in natural nut butters.

What ingredient should not be in peanut butter? ›

To keep the peanut spread thick at room temperature, manufacturers add artery-clogging saturated or trans fats. When shopping, scan the ingredients for “partially hydrogenated oil,” “hydrogenated oil” or “palm oil” -- those are ones you want to skip.

What is the best kind of peanut butter for cookies? ›

Peanut Butter: It's best to use a processed peanut butter like Jif creamy or Skippy creamy. I do not suggest using natural style, oily peanut butter. Crunchy peanut butter adds peanut chunks as well as a more crumbly texture. I prefer to use creamy in this recipe.

How do you moisten peanut butter cookie dough? ›

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

What ingredient makes cookies harder? ›

Baking powder

Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate and acidic salts. The reaction of these two ingredients results in a cookie that is soft and thick, but slightly harder.

How can you tell when peanut butter cookies are done? ›

Unlike many other cookies, peanut butter biscuits only fully harden once they've been removed from the oven. Here's how to tell when peanut butter cookies are done: The tops of the cookies are a uniform light brown. They're soft to the touch but not moist or mushy.

Does the fork trick work for cookies? ›

My trusted method for getting ripply, jagged-topped cookies has been simple–scoop the cookie dough with two forks, or as I like to call it, forking your dough. Take two forks and rough up the dough a little bit. Use the tines of both forks to gather up as much dough as you want in a bundle.

How to put fork marks in peanut butter cookies? ›

Using the long tines of a fork and pressing down on the dough ball twice , one vertically and one horizontally, flattens the dough evenly and leaves attractive marks. Win-win!

Why do people poke fork holes in sugar cookies? ›

I used a new technique for me on these sunglasses cookies. I poked holes in the cookie to prevent cratering and I've been pleasantly surprised by how well it works.

Why do people poke sugar cookies with fork? ›

because it allows the cookies to, like, have steam come into the middle of them. and bake the middle. and even rate as the outsides.

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