This exceptional recipe was originally published in May 2021 and has since been updated with fresh photos, enhanced tips, and expanded details to ensure your baking success.

You might be wondering how miso paste, a traditional Japanese fermented soybean paste often found in savory dishes, could possibly elevate a sweet chocolate chip cookie. The answer lies in its incredible umami and subtle saltiness. This “secret ingredient” acts like a natural flavor enhancer, much like a sprinkle of sea salt on a classic cookie, but with an added layer of nutty, earthy, and slightly sweet complexity. It’s a truly game-changing addition that balances the sweetness of the chocolate and sugars, creating a sophisticated flavor profile that is absolutely addictive.

While miso paste is a staple in many savory culinary traditions, I promise you it has a remarkable place in the world of baking. These brown butter miso chocolate chip cookies achieve the perfect harmony between sweet and savory, taking a beloved classic to an entirely new dimension. The combination of nutty brown butter and umami-rich miso makes these cookies seriously next level – a gourmet treat that’s surprisingly easy to make at home.

Much like my popular butterscotch chocolate chip cookies and espresso chocolate chip cookies, these delightful treats are bursting with flavor, thanks to the magic of brown butter, and they are designed to be made without the hassle of a mixer. If your heart yearns for a more traditional or classic chocolate chip cookie experience, be sure to explore my recipes for M&M chocolate chip cookies or Oreo chocolate chip cookies!

If you’re new to the wonderful world of browning butter, don’t fret! It’s a simple technique that adds immense depth of flavor to your baked goods. Take a moment to review my comprehensive step-by-step guide on how to make browned butter for all the details and tips you’ll need to master this essential skill.

Why You’ll Fall in Love with These Miso Chocolate Chip Cookies!

• Unforgettable Depth of Flavor: The dynamic duo of miso paste and brown butter introduces a complexity and richness to these chocolate chip cookies that is simply unparalleled. Brown butter contributes nutty, caramelized notes, while white miso adds a subtle saltiness and savory umami, elevating the overall taste profile far beyond a standard cookie.
• Giant Puddles of Melted Chocolate: Instead of relying on conventional chocolate chips, this recipe calls for chopping up a high-quality chocolate bar. This intentional choice guarantees glorious, gooey puddles of melted chocolate distributed throughout each bite, mimicking that coveted bakery-style aesthetic and indulgence.
• Perfect Texture Harmony: These cookies boast an ideal texture balance – super soft and irresistibly chewy centers, contrasted beautifully with delightfully crispy, golden-brown edges. Every bite offers a satisfying contrast that keeps you coming back for more.
• No Fancy Equipment Needed: Forget about lugging out heavy mixers! This recipe is designed for simplicity, requiring only basic kitchen tools like a few mixing bowls, a trusty whisk, and a flexible rubber spatula. This makes them accessible for bakers of all skill levels.
• Sweet and Salty Perfection: The unique blend of sweet sugars and chocolate with the savory undertones of miso creates an exquisite sweet and salty combination that tantalizes the taste buds. It’s an unexpected twist that proves incredibly harmonious and addictive.

Essential Ingredients for Your Miso Cookie Masterpiece

Gathering the right ingredients is the first step towards baking perfection. Here’s what you’ll need for these incredible cookies, along with a few insights:

• All-Purpose Flour: This recipe has been meticulously tested and perfected using standard all-purpose flour. It provides the ideal structure and tenderness for these soft and chewy cookies. For best results, measure your flour accurately, ideally by weight using a kitchen scale, to avoid overly dense cookies.
• White Miso Paste: The star secret ingredient! White miso paste, also known as Shiro Miso, is a fermented mixture of soybeans and rice. It boasts a milder, slightly sweeter, and more delicate flavor profile compared to its red or yellow counterparts, making it perfectly suited for baking. Its umami richness provides an incredible depth that enhances the chocolate and caramel notes. You can delve deeper into the fascinating world of miso paste on Food52. Look for it in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, often near the tofu.
• Unsalted Butter: Always opt for unsalted butter in baking. This allows you complete control over the total salt content in your cookies, which is especially important with the addition of miso. We’ll be browning this butter, transforming it into a nutty, golden liquid that forms the flavor foundation of these exceptional cookies.
• Chocolate: While chocolate chips are convenient, I highly recommend using a chopped dark chocolate bar. Chopping a quality dark chocolate bar (around 60-70% cacao) yields irregular pieces that melt into glorious, molten puddles throughout the cookies, offering a more luxurious and visually appealing result. However, feel free to use your favorite dark, semi-sweet, or even milk chocolate chips if that’s what you have on hand.
• Sugars: A blend of light brown sugar and granulated sugar ensures the perfect balance of moisture, chewiness, and sweetness, contributing to both the texture and flavor development.
• Eggs: Using one whole egg plus an extra egg yolk adds richness, moisture, and enhances the chewiness of the cookies without making them cakey. Ensure your eggs are at room temperature for better emulsification with the butter and sugars.
• Vanilla Extract: A crucial flavor enhancer that complements the chocolate and brown butter beautifully. Use pure vanilla extract for the best taste.
• Leavening Agents (Baking Powder & Baking Soda): A combination of both provides the ideal lift and spread, contributing to the cookies’ signature soft and chewy texture with slightly crispy edges.
• Kosher Salt: Even with the miso, a touch of kosher salt is essential to balance the sweetness and bring out all the complex flavors.

Savory & Sweet: Adaptations & Creative Variations

While this recipe is perfect as written, feel free to experiment and make it your own! Here are some ideas for substitutions and variations to suit your taste or what you have available:

• Chocolate Choices: If you prefer the convenience or texture of chocolate chips, you can absolutely swap out the chopped chocolate bar for an equal weight of chocolate chips. Experiment with different types too – milk chocolate will yield a sweeter cookie, while semi-sweet or bittersweet chips will offer a deeper, more classic chocolate flavor. White chocolate chips could also add a creamy, sweet contrast.
• Miso Quantity Adjustment: If you’re new to baking with miso or prefer a more subtle savory hint, feel free to decrease the amount of white miso paste to just 1 tablespoon. This will still provide that intriguing umami depth without being as prominent. However, I encourage you to try the full 2 tablespoons for the most robust flavor!
• Butter Options (Without Browning): While brown butter is highly recommended for its unique nutty flavor, you can melt the butter and use it without browning if you’re short on time. If you choose this route, the dough will be slightly wetter. To prevent excessive spreading during baking, ensure you chill the cookie dough for at least an hour (or even longer) to allow the butter to firm up.
• Nutty Additions: For an extra layer of crunch and flavor, consider folding in a ½ cup of toasted chopped pecans, walnuts, or macadamia nuts with the chocolate chunks. The nuts will complement the brown butter and miso beautifully.
• Spice It Up: A pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, or even a tiny dash of cayenne pepper (for a hint of warmth) can add an interesting twist to these cookies, enhancing their overall complexity.
• Toffee Bits: Stir in some toffee bits along with the chocolate for an extra layer of buttery, crunchy sweetness that pairs wonderfully with the brown butter and miso.

Your Journey to Perfect Miso Chocolate Chip Cookies: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these detailed steps to create your own batch of irresistible brown butter miso chocolate chip cookies. Precision and patience are key for the best results!

Step 1: Brown Your Butter to Perfection. Begin by placing the unsalted butter in a small, light-colored saucepan. Melt it over medium-low heat. Once the butter has completely melted, increase the heat slightly to medium and start stirring continuously with a heat-proof rubber spatula or whisk. The butter will foam, then the milk solids at the bottom of the pan will begin to turn golden brown. Keep a close eye on it! As soon as you detect a wonderful nutty aroma and those dairy solids have transformed into a beautiful light or golden brown color, immediately remove the pan from the heat to prevent burning. Pour the browned butter (ensuring you scrape out all those flavorful brown bits!) into a separate mixing bowl and allow it to cool completely before proceeding. This step is crucial for the deep, complex flavor of your cookies.

Step 2: Combine Your Dry Ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Whisking ensures that all the leavening agents and salt are evenly distributed throughout the flour, which is important for consistent cookie texture. Set this bowl aside.

Step 3: Prepare the Wet Ingredients. Once your browned butter has cooled to room temperature (it shouldn’t be warm to the touch, as it could scramble the eggs), add the white granulated sugar, light brown sugar, vanilla extract, and miso paste to it. Whisk thoroughly until the mixture is smooth and well combined. The miso paste will fully incorporate and dissolve into the butter and sugars.

Step 4: Incorporate Eggs and Dry Ingredients. Add the large egg and the extra egg yolk to your wet ingredient mixture. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is glossy, smooth, and emulsified. Next, pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with your dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture until just combined, being careful not to overmix. Stop folding as soon as no streaks of dry flour remain. Finally, add the majority of your chopped dark chocolate chunks (reserving about ¼ cup to the side for topping the cookie dough balls) and gently stir them into the dough.

Step 5: Scoop, Top, and Chill the Dough. Using a medium or large cookie scoop (a 2-tablespoon scoop is ideal for bakery-style cookies as pictured), portion out the cookie dough balls. Place them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or a plate. Now, take your reserved ¼ cup of chocolate chunks and gently press a few pieces onto the top of each cookie dough ball. This simple trick ensures beautiful puddles of melted chocolate on the surface of your baked cookies. Once scooped and topped, transfer the baking sheet or plate to the refrigerator and chill the cookie dough for a minimum of 1 hour. Chilling is essential for flavor development and to prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking, especially since we are using melted butter.

Step 6: Bake to Golden Perfection. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with fresh parchment paper. Arrange no more than 6 chilled cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, ensuring adequate space between them for spreading. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and set, but the centers still look slightly soft. Immediately upon removing from the oven, if desired, you can add a few more chocolate chunks on top for an extra “bakery look.” Let the cookies cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes to firm up before carefully transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy the irresistible sweet and savory magic!

Expert Tips & Tricks for Flawless Miso Chocolate Chip Cookies

Achieve cookie perfection with these insider tips and clever tricks:

• Embrace a Weighing Scale for Accuracy: For consistently perfect results, I always, always recommend using a digital kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients, especially flour. It is incredibly easy to accidentally add too much flour when measuring by volume (cups), which can lead to dry, dense, and crumbly cookies. A scale ensures precise measurements every time.
• Customize Miso Intensity: This recipe uses 2 tablespoons of white miso paste for a noticeable yet balanced umami flavor. However, if you’re experimenting or prefer a milder hint of miso, feel free to decrease the amount to 1 tablespoon. Adjust to your personal preference!
• Achieve Those Beautiful Chocolate Puddles: To get that coveted bakery-style appearance with molten chocolate puddles on top, here’s the trick: after scooping your cookie dough balls, press a few extra chocolate chunks directly onto the top of each ball before baking. For an even more dramatic effect, you can also press a few additional chocolate pieces onto the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven, while they are still warm and pliable.
• Master the Art of Brown Butter: Browning butter adds incredible depth and a nutty, caramel-like flavor that elevates these cookies. However, it requires attention! Keep a very close eye on the butter as it browns. Once it starts to foam, stir constantly. The moment you smell a distinct nutty, toasted aroma and see the milk solids at the bottom turn golden brown, take it off the heat immediately. It can go from perfectly browned to burnt in seconds! Don’t forget to scrape all those delicious, tiny brown bits into your mixing bowl – they are packed with flavor.
• Don’t Overmix the Dough: Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet, mix only until just combined and no streaks of flour are visible. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, which can lead to tough, dense cookies.
• Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure your eggs are at room temperature. This helps them emulsify better with the fat and sugar, resulting in a smoother, more uniform dough and a better cookie texture.
• The “Cookie Scoot” for Roundness: If your cookies come out with irregular shapes, use this simple trick! Immediately after removing them from the oven, take a large, round cookie cutter (or a bowl/cup larger than your cookie) and place it over each warm cookie. Gently scoot the cookie around inside the cutter in a circular motion. This will neaten up any uneven edges and help form perfectly round cookies.

Frequently Asked Questions About Miso Chocolate Chip Cookies

Explore More Irresistible Cookie Recipes!

If you’ve loved these unique miso chocolate chip cookies, you’re sure to enjoy these other fantastic cookie creations:

Have you baked this delightful recipe? Please take a moment to rate it below! And don’t forget to share your creations and tag me on Instagram @alpineella and Pinterest! I absolutely love seeing your beautiful bakes!

Miso Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ella Gilbert

Nutrition