The Joy of Peanut Butter-Miso-Caramel Cookies
There are plenty of peanut butter cookie recipes to be sure. Soft ones. Crispy ones. Ones made with smooth peanut butter; others made with crunchy. And plenty more done up with all sorts of bits and bobs.
Then, there is Joanne Chang’s “Peanut Butter-Miso-Caramel” cookies.
They are in one simple word: perfection.
They not only taste deeply and richly of lush peanut butter, but have the added crunch of chopped roasted peanuts to boot. The piece de resistance is that little bit of white miso that adds a shadow of savoriness. They taste much like Asian peanut noodles, only sweeter and in delightful cookie form.
Best yet, they have a crackly sugar exterior that helps these cookies stay spot-on crispy outside and chewy throughout for days on end.
This fabulous recipe is from her newest and sixth cookbook, “The Joy of Cookies” (Harvest), of which I received a review copy.
The James Beard Award-winning Chang has a degree in applied mathematics and economics from Harvard University. But it’s baking that turned out to be her true passion. Today, she and her husband Christopher Myers own 11 locations of their Flour bakery in Boston and Cambridge, as well as Myers + Chang, a Chinese restaurant.
With a variety of cookie recipes, as well as personal stories about how they came to be, this book is a joy, indeed.
You’ll find yourself never wanting to leave your kitchen, not with the likes of everything from “Almond Croissant Cookie,” “Melt-in-Your-Mouth Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumb Bars,” and “Sticky Bun Crisps” to “Chai Spice Palmiers,” “Chocolate Caramel Cozies,” and “Red Velvet Whoopie Pies.”
These miso peanut butter cookies were inspired by a popular dish of wok-roasted carrots with a miso-brown sugar-butter glaze served at Meyers + Chang. Although Chang had stopped selling peanut butter cookies at Flour, owing to the increase in peanut allergies among customers and even one of her own bakers, her husband missed his favorite cookie. So, she started experimenting. These are now, she writes in her book, “the new peanut butter cookie of choice in our household.”
Mine, too. And it’s a good bet it will be yours, as well.
You don’t even need a stand or hand mixer to whip up a batch, either.
Start by making a caramel by simmering sugar and water in a saucepan. I give Chang huge credit, too, for providing some of the best and most precise instructions I’ve ever read for the caramel, which can be a tricky process if you’re new to it.
Once the caramel is the ideal amber color, whisk in butter, brown sugar and miso, and finally, an egg. Next, fold in chunky peanut butter, vanilla, and baking soda, before adding the flour and chopped roasted, salted peanuts. Refrigerate the dough for half an hour to firm up a bit.
When ready to bake, form the dough into small balls, then roll each one in sugar, before sliding the pan of them into the oven.
The recipes states it makes 20 to 24 cookies. I made more like 16, so I amended the recipe below to reflect that.
They emerge from the oven with the consummate crisp-chewy texture that I can’t get enough of in cookies. And they possess a big mouthful of peanut-y goodness.
They’re a little sweet, a little savory, and 100 percent irresistible.
Peanut Butter-Miso-Caramel
(Makes 16 to 24 cookies)
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick or 115 grams) unsalted butter, cold from the fridge
1/3 cup (90 grams) white miso paste
3/4 cup (165 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg (about 50 grams), cold from the fridge
1/3 cup (85 grams) chunky natural peanut butter (ingredients should contain just peanuts and salt)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (70 grams) roasted salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
About 1/3 cup turbinado or granulated sugar, for rolling
Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the granulated sugar with enough water (about 1/3 cup or 75 grams) to moisten all of it. Bring the syrup to a boil over high heat and keep boiling without touching or moving the pot until it starts to caramelize, 3 to 5 minutes. The syrup will start to brown on one side of the saucepan and you’ll smell the beginnings of caramel. At this point, reduce the heat to medium-high and gently swirl the saucepan to even out the caramelization. Continue swirling until the caramel is deep amber and beginning to smoke a bit.
Remove the pot from the heat and carefully add the butter and the miso paste and whisk until both are fully incorporated. The mixture may sputter a bit and the steam is very hot, so be careful. Once the mixture is fully combined, scrape it out into a medium bowl. Add the brown sugar and whisk to mix it into the caramel. It may start to separate, so stir vigorously until it comes together.
Whisk in the egg until it is thoroughly mixed in and the mixture is homogeneous. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in the peanut butter, vanilla, and baking soda. Fold in the flour and the peanuts until they are entirely mixed into the dough. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes so the dough can firm up a bit. (You can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month at this point. If frozen, defrost the dough overnight in the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour, then proceed as directed.)
Pour the turbinado or granulated sugar for rolling into a shallow bowl. Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out rounded scoops (about 40 grams each) and roll them around in the sugar. Place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake, one sheet at a time, in a 350°F/180°C oven for 12 to 14 minutes, until they are golden brown on the edges and set in the middle. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies cool for 5 to 10 minutes on the sheet, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Adapted from “The Joy of Cookies” by Joanne Chang
More Joanne Chang Recipes to Enjoy: Honey Cashew Morning Buns
And: Apple Snacking Spice Cake
And: Big White Chocolate, Almond and Cherry Cookies
And: Soy Sauce Deviled Eggs with Five-Spice
And: Brown Sugar-Oat Cherry Muffins
