Browned Butter Miso Chocolate Chip Cookies

A rich caramel browned butter mixed with umami miso paste make for this addicting chewy browned butter miso chocolate chip cookie.

Once I started browning my butter for my cookies, I've never gone back. This simple step takes less than 10 minutes and brings a nutty richness that takes any recipe to the next level. Infusing the browned butter with sweet, umami miso paste and mixing in semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips creates a magical flavor combination.

Jump to:

• What is browned butter?
• What type of miso should I use?
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• 📖 Recipe

What is browned butter?

Browned butter, also known as beurre noisette in French, is a type of butter that has been heated until the milk solids in the butter begin to brown and take on a nutty, caramelized flavor. This process intensifies the natural flavor of the butter and creates a rich, toasty aroma.

To make browned butter, heat unsalted butter over medium heat in a saucepan until it melts and begins to foam. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, until the foam subsides and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan start to turn brown. The butter will also turn a slightly darker shade of yellow. In this recipe, we'll also be whisking in the miso into the butter.

Not only is browned butter amazing in baked goods, but it can also be used in savory dishes such as pasta (try browning the butter in my Miso Butter Mushroom Pasta recipe!).

What type of miso should I use?

When browsing for miso, you'll find a variety of misos ranging in different colors such as white, yellow, and red.

For this recipe, we'll use white miso which has a more mild and sweet flavor. Yellow miso will have a slightly earthier flavor and can be substituted if you don't have white miso on hand. If you're looking to incorporate more miso into your cooking, try my Miso Soy King Oyster Mushroom (Vegan Scallops) recipe.

Ingredients

• Unsalted butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter in my baked goods because I prefer to have full control of salt proportions. For example, due the addition of both miso paste and baking soda/powder, we are omitting salt from this recipe.
• White miso paste: This recipe calls for white miso paste, but you can also substitute with yellow miso paste if that's all you have on hand.
• Brown sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Eggs: This recipe requires one whole egg and one egg yolk.
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Dark chocolate chips
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. On low-medium heat, melt butter in a pan. Use a spatula to stir constantly. Butter should come to a bubble, use spatula and run it across liquid to see the bottom. If bottom is brown-ish gold, the butter is browned.
2. Add miso to butter and mix until two ingredients are homogenous.
3. Remove from heat and allow miso butter to cool to room temperature. I prefer to keep the browned butter in the fridge until it cools to the texture of softened butter (versus melted butter).
4. In a mixer, cream butter with both sugars until fluffy.
5. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix until homogenous.
6. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add dry mixture slowly into the mixer with the wet ingredients and mix until all the flour is incorporate into the mixture.
7. Fold in chocolate chips. Scrape mixture onto a plastic wrap and roll up tightly. Cool in fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
8. If pulling from fridge overnight, set cookie dough on counter to let it soften to room temperature. Pre-heat oven to 375 °F.
9. Roll cookie dough into 1 tablespoon round balls. Place on baking sheet with plenty of space in between to account for spreading.
10. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let cookies cool on the baking sheet for another 10 minutes. The cookies will continue to bake during this process. Don't over-bake your cookies, the residual heat will help set the cookies.
11. Move from baking sheet to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

📖 Recipe