Peanut Butter–Miso Cookies

By Diane Unger

1½ Dozen cookies

50 minutes plus chilling and cooling

Free

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These sweet-salty, chewy-crunchy treats are our adaptation of the wildly popular peanut butter–miso cookies from Falco Bakery in Melbourne, Australia. Umami-rich white miso makes the cookies taste full and complex. Because misos can vary in sodium content, look for one with about 300 milligrams per 12 grams of miso. Turbinado sugar is a coarse sugar with a golden hue; the granules give the cookies a glittery appearance and an appealing crunch.

1½

Dozen cookies

Tip

Don’t use natural peanut butter; differences brand to brand in fat and sugar content may impact the cookies’ texture and flavor. Regular chunky/crunchy peanut butters such as Skippy or Jif are best.

50 minutes

plus chilling and cooling

252 grams (1¾ cups plus 3 tablespoons) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, room temperature

218 grams (1 cup) packed dark brown sugar

122 grams (½ cup plus 1 tablespoon) white sugar

88 grams (¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons) chunky peanut butter (see note), room temperature

75 grams (¼ cup) white miso

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil or roasted peanut oil

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

62 grams (⅓ cup) turbinado sugar

Ingredients

252

grams (1¾ cups plus 3 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
1

teaspoon baking powder
1

teaspoon baking soda
8

tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, room temperature
218

grams (1 cup) packed dark brown sugar
122

grams (½ cup plus 1 tablespoon) white sugar
88

grams (¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons) chunky peanut butter (see note), room temperature
75

grams (¼ cup) white miso
2

teaspoons toasted sesame oil or roasted peanut oil
1

large egg
2

teaspoons vanilla extract
62

grams (⅓ cup) turbinado sugar

Directions

01

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar and white sugar on medium-high until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add the peanut butter, miso and oil, then beat, scraping the bowl once or twice, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again, then scrape the bowl.
02

With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Mix, scraping the bowl as needed, just until the dough is evenly moistened, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a spatula, mix the dough by hand to ensure no pockets of flour remain; the dough with be very soft. Press a sheet of plastic wrap against the surface of the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
03

When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position. Line 2 baking sheets with kitchen parchment. Put the turbinado sugar into a small bowl. Divide the dough into 18 portions, about 3 tablespoons each, then roll into 1½-inch balls. Dip each in the turbinado sugar to coat one side; set sugared side up on a prepared baking sheet, 9 per sheet. Bake 1 sheet for 10 minutes.
04

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and firmly rap it twice against the counter to deflate the cookies. Bake for another 5 to 7 minutes, or until the cookies have fissured and are golden at the edges. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely. Meanwhile, repeat with the second batch of cookies.

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Reviews

Alice A.

December 9, 2022

Amazing! Office favorite!

This recipe lends itself well to using the one-to-one gluten free flour baking substitutes. I make both gluten free and AP flour versions. The gluten free are slightly more crisp. Both are delicious even if you slightly overbake. The miso adds that umami that makes people ask, what is in these cookies they are addictive.

Geoff B.

December 3, 2022

Amazing Sure To Please

I’ve made these 3 times and every time they are a huge hit. A super sophisticated version of an old favorite.

Lauren F.

November 18, 2022

Some kind of AWESOME

Great texture- chewy awesome peanut butter cookies to add to the whimsy of the holiday cookie tray! These do not suck!!

Michael D.

July 30, 2022

Bang! These are good.

Slamming a tray of cookies on the counter is so much fun. Make sure you warn your 2 and 4 legged friends that you're about to do it but watching the cracks form as the cookies deflate is a ton of fun. Pop one of these on top of your coffee cup to warm it up and you'll be in heaven.

Eleanor W.

June 12, 2022

Delicious! Even with much saltier miso

I only had saltier miso but I wanted to use it up so I went for it anyways. The bake times suggested were perfect, but with the fan oven setting I would stop the additional time at 5’. Another unique milk street treat :-)

Joanne G.

well, I made these cookies. Yes, the dough is VERY soft. After baking the cookies exactly as instructed, they are very flat. Not what I expected. The flavor is unique. Tasty but just not my favorite.

Janelle C.

Hi Joanne,

As noted in the instructions, be sure to refrigerate the dough for 2-24 hours before baking to avoid a flattened shape. Chilling the dough solidifies the cookies' fat. The longer the fat remains solid, the less cookies spread.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

reginald allen w.

Excellent! Don't judge by the first cookie, because you'll compare them to a traditional p.b. cookie. After you eat the second cookie, you'll trade in your traditional p.b. cookie for these.

Refrigeration is important. Don't skip. The texture of the final product is enhanced by this and rapping on the counter.
The only change I made was reducing the brown sugar a little.

Doug F.

Not my favorite. Second bite better than the first. The flavor of the miso and sesame is pleasant. Fun recipe overall. I chilled dough for 3 hours but I would be interested to see how a 24 hour chill would affect the final outcome.

Kristen P.

These are amazing. My brown sugar was in the dry side and the dough was in the fridge for 24 hours. Love this recipe.

Janice E.

These are now my favorite cookies

Martha W.

I've made these cookies 3 times in the last 2 weeks. I did not have miso, so I substituted tahini, added salt to the recipe and also mixed kosher salt with the turbinado sugar for the topping. We can't get enough of them. Oddly enough, the first batch was very soft, but the subsequent batches were firmer. All were fantastic. And I bought miso, so now I get to try them again.

Joseph B.

The recipe indicates a note about the butter, but I do not see that note.

Janelle C.

Hi Joseph,

Our notes can always be found in the recipe description or, in this case, the tip. As stated in the text, "Don’t use natural peanut butter; differences brand to brand in fat and sugar content may impact the cookies’ texture and flavor. Regular chunky/crunchy peanut butters such as Skippy or Jif are best."

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Angela G.

Thank you for your comment! Your comment is currently under moderation and will appear shortly.

Shirley P.

What about the BUTTER? The recipe says salted or unsalted butter - see note. But I don't understand how the note about using the peanut butter affects my butter choice. I thought perhaps th butter choice has to do with the salt content of the miso, but I don't see anything about that.
So when can I use salted butter and when should I use unsalted?

Janelle C.

Hi Shirley,

Thank you for flagging this! We've updated the recipe to reflect 8 tbsp of salted butter.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Janelle C.

Hi Shirley,

Thank you for flagging this! We've updated the recipe to reflect 8 tbsp of salted butter.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Angela G.

Thank you for your comment! Your comment is currently under moderation and will appear shortly.

Shirley P.

Janelle C.

Hi Shirley,

Thank you for flagging this! We've updated the recipe to reflect 8 tbsp of salted butter.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Janelle C.

Hi Shirley,

Thank you for flagging this! We've updated the recipe to reflect 8 tbsp of salted butter.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Kristy S.

Absolutely love these! They come out bakery beautiful. We froze ours and eat right from the freezer...perfect hot night dessert.

Mia L.

I love these cookies! I don't eat jif peanut butter, so I use the natural creamy peanut butter from Costco (with oil mixed in well) and add in some chopped peanuts. Turns out perfect!

Catherine W.

Delicious. They are not too sweet and the miso with sesame oil give the right amount of savory flavors to this treat. I served them with miso ice cream. Seriously good.

Lee R.

Could I make these as bars? Thanks

Amanda C.

My new favorite pb cookie -my family made 3 batches in one week! We devoured the first batch in about 24 hours. Then made a double batch a few days later, they also disappeared quickly. They are fantastic!!

Shirley P.

We really liked these cookies, but now I'm just about out of white miso with no way to replenish my supply for a while. Can I use the yellow miso I have?

Janelle C.

Hi Shirley,

Yellow miso has a more mild, earthy flavor while white miso may not be precisely sweet, but it has a more delicate and nutty flavor profile, so it might not work out in this particular recipe.

Bethany M.

These are incredible! It's a cookie that has a wonderful complexity and makes me savor every bite! I did not have toasted sesame oil, but I used regular. I let the dough chill for 12 hours. I will be adding these to my rotation!

Bonnie A.

Fantastic recipe--one of my new favorites. Very Milk Street, in the best possible way.

Elizabeth P.

These are great-- freezing a few dough balls to bake later also works quite well and then you get fresh cookies fast and easy later on!

Anne W.

My hardest critic said it wasn't peanuty enough, but the other critic liked it, but thought it tasted gingery. Me? Loved 'em. Chewy and crunchy. Deep flavor.

Megan S S.

Delicious! I didn't quite have enough miso so added some additional peanut butter and left out the additional oil.

Sharon S.

One of the best cookies that I've ever had. Followed recipe and refrigerated overnight. My husband wasn't crazy about them, but that just means more for me! A very sophisticated recipe with a complex and delicious flavor profile.

Sam S.

I thought these were amazing and I can't wait to make them again. Definitely err on the side of under cooking vs over cooking. Also, I didn't have white miso, so I used red (just don't use it enough to justify having 2) and I thought they were still delicious.

Sarah R.

I think these were not my favorite, but I look forward to trying them again with a bit less sugar. I didn’t taste the savory notes that I was hoping for. Even right from the freezer they spread an awful lot, and I followed the measurements exactly. Perhaps I should have used a different brand of miso. My husband deadpanned that they were the best peanut butter cookies he’d ever had, but he said that the last time too (with a different recipe).