How This Bold Japanese Ingredient Can Upgrade Your Cookies

Miso is known for adding a rich, umami flavor to countless meals, from flavorful salmon dishes to what would be otherwise lackluster soups. However, you might be surprised to learn that this bold Japanese ingredient is also a superstar in the world of baking. While you're gathering and mixing ingredients to make a batch of cookies, consider bringing in some miso as well for an easy upgrade with a big flavor payoff.

If you're surprised, think about how the earthy, salty notes of miso easily balance out the sweetness of chocolate chip cookies, or really any cookie with a strong sugary element. When used in the right quantities, miso can be perfect for finding that perfect balance between sweet and salty that pulls people in for another cookie. Need some ideas? Add in the miso at the same time you would peanut butter for a peanut butter cookie with an unexpected depth of flavor. Just be sure to add a small amount for your first try and think about using a milder, less aged variety of miso (like shiro miso). Regardless of the other bold flavors you pair with miso, be sure to refrigerate the cookie dough before baking so that the flavors at play have time to tone down and blend together — yes, resting your cookie dough really does matter.

What flavors work especially well with this ingredient? Cookies baked with both miso and vanilla extract sport an unstoppable flavor. The vanilla helps balance out sweetness while enhancing salty flavors at play, resulting in a flavor profile similar to salted caramel. Chop up and mix in a dark chocolate bar — 70% cocoa works nicely here — to enhance the flavor and texture of your cookies even further. Depending on the type of chocolate you use and the base recipe, the cookies can sport the gooey texture and rich, complex flavor of your dreams. That's because the nuttiness of the miso enhances the unique chocolate flavor without overpowering the cookie as a whole.

After mixing together your ingredients and separating the cookie dough into smaller portions to bake, consider coating each portion with demerara sugar. This chunky, crunchy, golden-brown sugar sweetens beverages and desserts alike and is often the ingredient responsible for the unique sweetness of sugar cookies and crème brûlée. The subtle notes of molasses and toffee that demerara sugar adds blend perfectly with the umami-rich notes of miso.