Brown Butter Miso Chocolate Chip Cookie
aka the umami cookie
Crowning a singular recipe for a chocolate chip cookie as *the best* is a clear a sign as a declaration of war that you can find these days. Perhaps it is because there are so many good recipes to choose from, each bearing their own distinct characteristic that makes them so beloved. Sarah Kieffer has her wise owl pan banging chocolate chip cookie, which display impressive ripples and wrinkles along the edge and a soft puddly interior. Many famed pastry chefs including the beloved Jacques Torres insist an overnight rest is essential for the development of deep caramelly flavors. Bon appetit’s hat in the ring has a cookie dough that is made in one bowl, no overnight resting necessary, and the addition of brown butter for a deep nutty note. King Arthur’s recipe of the year was for a super-big super soft chocolate chip cookie that employed the high gluten content of bread flour, and the use of a tanzhong for a cookie that had deeply chewy edges and soft interiors.
Perhaps the long answer then is that finding a recipe that suits you is a pic- your-own- adventure-situation. This is personal, like find the right pair of jeans. Like thin crispy cookies? Find a recipe high in butter and low in flour, the high butter content makes the cookie spread in the oven. For a crisp cookie, using melted butter is what makes the difference. Like a cakier chewy cookie? roll back the butter slightly, up the flour content a bit, and use a higher proportion of sugar. Hand mixed vs mixer beaten butter makes a difference too, as beating the butter with a paddle incorporates air and makes a loftier but decidedly less chewy cookie.
Our desires are driven by cravings then, it seems, and I had a very specific one a few nights ago. For me, the ideal cookie is always on the saltier side, which satisfies my perpetual desire for sweetness and salinity in one bite. This time, however I was intrigued by the idea of making the cookie not just slightly salty but savory. What would a cookie with umami taste like? Like many recipe developers these days, I have rejoiced in the mainstreet availability of ingredients like miso and sesame oil and curry pastes in regular supermarkets. Miso is a favorite ingredient, as it delivers a wonderfully salty, slightly funky umami bite to foods. I even put it in my chili.
So what would a miso chocolate chip cookie taste like? I gave into my craving determioned to find out.
The hardest part of developing a recipe is finding a place to start. The solution seemed simple enough, use what I liked about other recipes to put together a master recipe. I liked the thinness and rippled edge of sarah kieffer’s cookies, though perhaps slightly less thin and spread out? I liked the chewy density of Samantha Seneviratne’s chewy chocolate chip cookie, which had a higher proportion of flour to butter than Sarah’s, and a high sugar content. I liked the nutty flavor of bon appetit’s cookie, and mixing the batter all in one bowl by hand seemed approachable and ideal since I like a chewy cookie and fewer dishes to wash. I decided the flavor of the brown butter, and the caramel flavor of brown sugar would compliment the miso, so I made the decision to only use brown sugar, like the king arthur flour recipe had done. But the miso, how much miso to use? This was pivotal. Additionally I like a salty cookie, but miso itself can be quite salty, so the amount of kosher salt had to be rolled back, but how much?
My first test yielded intriguing results. I browned one stick of butter, immediately transferrred it to a bowl and added a stick of cold butter, allowing the residual heat to slightly melt and temper the butter- another source of ire, softening butter in preparation for baking. This worked well. I found a happy medium in the amount of flour I used. I opted to roll back the amount of kosher salt to far to compensate for the tablespoon and a half of miso I used. This backfired, the cookie was neither salty enough nor did the mellow sweetness of the miso shine through. The texture of the cookie was fabulous though, so at least I had chosen a good place to start.
In my next test I upped my measurements to 2 heaping tablespoons of miso while simultaneously increasing the amount of kosher salt as well. Salt rips open our taste buds, and allows foods to taste more like themselves, so this choice was obvious. The result was a vast imrovement. I distributed this second batch to taste testers who all agreed it was a good cookie, and enjoyed the texture, but did not really taste the miso. Perhaps this was a good thing? I couldnt decide.
While I was pleased with next batch, something was still missing. That x factor, the deep umami I had been searching for failed to satisfy my craving. Could there be another ingredient I had overlooked? Soy sauce is often used hand in hand with miso to punch out those particular notes. So I thought why not? It wouldnt be that crazy. Let’s add soy sauce to the cookie dough. Furthermore, lets double down on the brown butter. Go for broke. Celebrate those flavors. I did roll back the salt just a tiny bit since soy sauce is also deeply salty.
Well, that did it. I present for your consideration, a salty, funky, brown buttery chocolate chip cookie to add to your reportoire. No butter tempering needed. Mix it one bowl and lick the spoon. I can’t wait to hear what you think of them.
Brown Butter Miso Chocolate Chip Cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 cup/ 2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups/ 426g brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons white miso
2 1/2 cups / 355g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups/ 340g dark chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, or feves
METHOD
In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, brown the butter, swirling the pan constantly to ensure even browning and to prevent sputtering. Immediately transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Add the brown sugar and fold to combine. Crack in your eggs, add the vanilla and soy sauce. Whisk to combine. Add the miso, whisk until the lumps of miso disappear.
Sprinkle over the flour, then add the salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Fold the dough until no streaks of flour remain.
Add chocolate chips, discs, or chopped chocolate, mixing to combine.
Rest in the refrigerator at least 2 hours until the dough is cold and firm, but ideally overnight.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees farenheidt.
Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, scoop a large golfball amount of dough -about 3 heaping tablespoons onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment. I put 6 on each cookie sheet, allowing plenty of room for them to spread.
Bake for 4 minutes, then remove from the oven and rap the cookie sheet against the stovetop until the cookies flatten slightly.
Return the cookies to the oven and bake two additional minutes before removing, and tapping them again. This will spread the cookie out and create wrinkles along the edges.
Return the cookies to the oven and bake for another two minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are golden and the centers are soft but set.
Allow the cookies to cool on sheet pans before removing, as they will continue to firm up as they cool down.
