miso brown butter chocolate chip cookies

I have baked countless chocolate chip cookie recipes over the years. This one though? This one is THE one.

These cookies have:

  • pockets of chocolate covered in layers of caramel-y cookie
  • the perfect crispy edges and chewy center
  • three ultimate ingredients: miso, brown butter, & milk powder!

Plus, they are incredibly simple to make. They don’t even require a stand mixer!

I was exhausted and honestly a bit emotionally drained as well earlier this morning. But once I started chopping up the chocolate, I felt a little better. Then I rolled the cookie dough into little ping-pong sized balls and felt even better. Then after I slid the pans into the oven and the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted through the air, I felt comforted. And then after patiently waiting for the cookies to cool, I took a bite and thought, ‘these are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made’.

I felt pretty good after that.

Three ingredients make these cookies especially special: miso, brown butter, and milk powder. The miso adds complexity to the flavor, a rich nuttiness. The brown butter gives the dough notes of butterscotch caramel (and an incredible smell!). Adding the milk powder is a tip I learned from Christina Tosi, the owner of Milk Bar and one of my baking heroes. It adds a certain richness and enhances the brown butter.

You can’t miss out on these cookies. That being said, are you ready to bake a warm batch of some incredible cookies?

tips for success

  • Chop the dark chocolate into chunks – keeping the chocolate in medium-sized pieces makes those gooey puddles of chocolate that will not only make your cookies taste better but also make your cookies look better.
  • Refrigerate your cookie dough for over an hour (preferably overnight!) – refrigerating cookie dough helps to reduce the spread since the butter will be solidified before baking, making it take longer for it to melt. Additionally, there are enzymes in the flour that break down when the dough chills, increasing the browning of the cookies while they bake. Even more, refrigerating the dough also develops the flavors, since the flour hydrates as it sits, making the liquid content of the dough decrease and concentrate the flavors.

miso brown butter chocolate chip cookies

makes 21 cookies

ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons (12 grams) nonfat milk powder, optional
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (125 grams) light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons white miso
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 4 oz. dark chocolate, chopped into medium-sized chunks

instructions:

  1. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, brown the butter. If you’ve never made brown butter before, here’s how: melt the butter over medium-high heat. Continuously stir the butter with a silicone spatula (this is key – just keep stirring so it doesn’t burn!). The butter will ‘sizzle’ and eventually foam. Keep stirring until you see several brown specks form in the butter (this takes a couple minutes). When the sizzling starts to die down, the butter is done. Pour the brown butter into a separate small bowl and let it cool until room temperature or slightly warm.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, milk powder, baking soda, and kosher salt together until well-combined. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk the brown butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until combined. Add the miso, vanilla extract, and egg. Whisk until smooth and well-combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients from step two until nearly combined and streaks of flour still remain. Add the chopped dark chocolate, and fold it in until evenly distributed.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour (and up to one day).
  5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  6. Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoons portions. Arrange on the baking sheet at least two inches apart.
  7. Bake for 12 minutes, switching and rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. Pick up the pans a few inches and then drop, “slamming” the cookie pans. Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack. Enjoy!

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