Table of Contents

Step 1: Cream the Butter, Peanut Butter, & Miso. Begin by thoroughly creaming together the softened unsalted butter, creamy peanut butter, and white miso paste in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. This initial step is vital for developing a smooth, homogenous base for your cookies. Mix for approximately 1 minute, or until the ingredients are fully combined and appear uniform in texture. If you don’t have a stand mixer, a large bowl and a hand mixer will work just as well.

Step 2: Incorporate the Sugars. Next, add the light brown sugar and granulated sugar to the creamed mixture. Continue to cream these ingredients together for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until the mixture becomes visibly lighter in color and develops a fluffy texture. This step is crucial for incorporating air into the dough, which contributes to the cookies’ ultimate chewiness and spread.

Step 3: Add Wet Ingredients. Mix in the large egg and vanilla extract until they are just combined with the creamed butter and sugar. Be careful not to overmix at this stage. After mixing, make sure to use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, ensuring all ingredients are fully incorporated and no dry spots remain.

Step 4: Gently Fold in Dry Ingredients. With a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and fine sea salt until they are just combined. It is extremely important not to overmix the dough at this point, as overmixing can lead to tough, dense cookies. Stop mixing as soon as you no longer see streaks of dry flour.

Once the dough is prepared, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator until it is firm, which will take a minimum of 1 hour. This chilling process is essential for enhancing the flavor of the cookies and preventing them from spreading too much during baking. For the absolute best results and deepest flavor, an overnight chill is highly recommended.

Step 5: Scoop and Roll. Once your dough is sufficiently chilled and firm, use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out uniform balls of dough. This ensures consistent sizing and even baking. Roll each scooped ball thoroughly in coarse cane sugar, ensuring it’s generously coated. Place these sugar-coated dough balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving ample space between them.

Then, for the truly best flavor and texture, chill the entire tray of cookie dough balls in the freezer overnight. This extended chill time allows the flavors to meld and prevents excessive spreading, resulting in perfectly chewy cookies.

Step 6: Bake to Perfection. Before baking, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Then, crucial for those signature crackled tops, roll the cookies in cane sugar one more time, ensuring there’s a generous pile of sugar on top of each dough ball. This second coating of sugar is absolutely essential for achieving the beautiful crackled appearance; without enough sugar, they won’t crack properly!

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-11 minutes, or until their middles are beautifully puffy and crackled, and the edges are just beginning to turn a light golden brown. It’s important to remember that cookies continue to bake slightly on the hot baking sheet after they come out of the oven, so don’t worry if the centers seem slightly soft – they will set as they cool. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. If desired, you can drizzle them with a bit of extra melted peanut butter for an added touch of indulgence, or simply enjoy them as is!

Expert Baking Tips

Achieving bakery-quality cookies consistently comes down to a few key techniques. Here are my top expert baking tips to ensure your Peanut Butter Miso Cookies turn out perfect every single time:

• Precision with a Kitchen Scale: For the most accurate and consistent baking results, using a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients, especially flour, is a game-changer. Baking with a scale eliminates the variability that comes with volumetric cup measurements, which can differ significantly depending on how ingredients are packed. To easily convert this recipe to metric, simply click the “metric” button located next to the ingredients title in the recipe card below. If you don’t own a scale, please use the “spoon and level” method for flour: fluff the flour in its container, then spoon it gently into your measuring cup, and level off the top with a straight edge without packing it down.
• Room Temperature Ingredients are Key: Always ensure your butter, eggs, and peanut butter are at room temperature before you begin mixing. This seemingly small detail is vital for proper emulsification. Room temperature ingredients blend together smoothly and evenly, creating a uniform dough. This smooth consistency traps air effectively, resulting in a lighter, more tender, and evenly baked cookie with a consistent texture throughout.
• Creative Additions: Feel free to customize your cookies by adding mix-ins! Chopped chocolate bars (dark, milk, or white), creamy peanut butter chips, or even a sprinkle of chopped salted peanuts can add extra flavor and textural complexity. Fold them into the dough along with the dry ingredients.
• The Power of a Cookie Scoop: For effortless portioning and to ensure all your cookies are uniform in size, a cookie scoop is an invaluable tool. Consistent cookie size means they will bake evenly, preventing some from being underbaked while others are overbaked.
• Don’t Overbake: One of the most common mistakes in cookie baking is overbaking. Cookies continue to firm up as they cool. Look for cookies with slightly golden edges and centers that still appear soft and puffed, possibly with a few cracks. If they look fully “done” and firm in the oven, they will likely be hard and dry once cooled.

• ▢ 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup no-stir unsalted peanut butter, room temperature
• ▢ 3 tbsp white miso paste, room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• ▢ 1/8 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 large egg, room temperature
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/2 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp baking soda
• ▢ 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• ▢ 1/3 cup cane sugar, for rolling

• In a stand mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the unsalted butter, no-stir unsalted peanut butter, and white miso paste until smooth and thoroughly combined. This should take about 1 minute.
  1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, 1/2 cup (115 grams) no-stir unsalted peanut butter, 3 tbsp (60 grams) white miso paste
• Add the light brown sugar and granulated sugar to the mixture. Cream for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the mixture becomes light, fluffy, and well-aerated.
  1 cup (150 grams) light brown sugar, 1/8 cup (35 grams) granulated sugar
• Mix in the large egg and vanilla extract until just combined. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.
  1 large (55 grams) egg, 1 tsp (4 grams) vanilla extract
• Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and fine sea salt until the dry ingredients are just combined with the wet ingredients. Be careful not to overmix the dough.
  1 1/4 cup (150 grams) all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or until it is firm enough to handle. For the best flavor development and minimal spreading, chilling overnight is highly recommended.
• Once the dough is chilled, use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out the dough. Roll each ball generously in cane sugar and place them onto a parchment-lined baking tray, ensuring they are spaced well apart.
  1/3 cup cane sugar
• For an even richer flavor and improved texture, transfer the tray of scooped and sugared cookie dough balls to the freezer and chill them overnight. This chill time is crucial for achieving the best possible flavor and preventing the cookies from spreading too much during baking! If you must bake them the same day, ensure they chill in the freezer for at least 2-3 hours until firm before proceeding.
• When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
• Before placing them in the oven, roll the cookies in cane sugar one more time, ensuring a generous pile of sugar remains on top of each dough ball. This step is absolutely critical for achieving those desired crackled tops!
• Arrange the cookies 2-3 inches apart on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10-11 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the centers are puffed and beautifully crackled, but still appear soft.
• Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. If you wish, you can drizzle them with additional melted peanut butter for extra flavor, or enjoy them exactly as they are!

*Measure your flour properly! This is my #1 baking tip and crucial for consistently perfect cookies. Never scoop a measuring cup directly into your flour bag or container, as this compacts the flour and leads to using too much, resulting in dry, dense cookies. Instead, use the “spoon and level” method: first, fluff the flour in its container, then gently spoon it into your measuring cup, and finally, level off the top with a straight edge (like the back of a knife) without pressing the flour down. For the ABSOLUTE BEST results and precision, use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients!*

The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate and should be used as a general guide. The accuracy of the listed calories is not guaranteed and can vary based on specific ingredients and preparation methods.