These Almond Miso Oatmeal Cookies come out crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, with salty and nutty flavor addition from white miso paste.
Miso and cookies are probably two things you would have never thought to put together. It might sound like a weird combination, but these Almond Miso Oatmeal Cookies can be proof that they can go well together. These cookies come out crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, with salty and nutty flavor addition from white miso paste. These cookies definitely taste like a cross between miso soup and salted caramel in a good way since I use some light brown sugar to give the caramel flavor.
What is Miso?
Many of you should have probably tried miso soup at least once if you have visited Japanese restaurants. The Japanese people consider miso soup as a staple in their lifestyle. Miso paste gives miso soup most of its flavor. Therefore, if you have tried miso soup before, I guess you can figure out how miso paste tastes like. Typically, miso tastes extremely salty, but it also has a great umami flavor. It does not sound particularly delicious as miso is actually not meant to be eaten plain.
Miso is a Japanese fermented paste made from a mixture of soybeans (often mixed with other grains), sea salt, and koji (a mold starter). It is brownies in color and left to ferment for 3 months to 3 years, which means it is a natural source of healthy probiotics (good bacteria) and is great for digestion.
Tips for Making Almond Miso Oatmeal Cookies
1. Use white miso
There are many types of miso, depending on how long the fermentation process, the type of grain, and the proportions of the ingredients, the flavor can be sweet or salty, mild or pungent. Start just by looking at the color of the miso, which is a good indicator of how strong it will be.
White miso (shiro, in Japanese) is mild and slightly sweet. In general, white miso has less salt and more koji (mold). Meanwhile, red miso has a deeper flavor. It contains more salt, which allows for longer fermentation times which results in the development of a complex, umami-rich flavor with a bit of funk.
I recommend using white miso for Miso Almond Oatmeal Cookies since it is the mildest kind of miso with a slightly sweet taste. Meanwhile, a longer fermented miso is also generally saltier than white miso and has a more assertive, pungent flavor.
2. Do not add too much miso
Miso paste is high in salt, so plain miso tastes extremely salty. If you have seen my previous Miso Soup recipe, a tablespoon of miso is enough for making about a cup of soup. Hence, the ratio of miso paste and cookie dough is pretty crucial for this recipe. Do not forget to spoon and level the miso paste, because the added miso will create saltier cookies.
3. Cream the butter and sugar
It is really important to use cold butter because cold butter has the ability to hold air. When creaming the butter, miso, and sugar together, you are using the sugar to incorporate air pockets into the butter, which will make your cookies light and crisp. Beat them for about 3 minutes until lighter and fluffier.
3. Choose your oats
You can actually choose a different type of oatmeal for this recipe. There are three main types of oatmeal to choose from: rolled oats, quick-cooking oats, and instant oats. Rolled oats are less processed than quick oats, thus retaining more nutrients. When you make oatmeal cookies with rolled oat, the whole oats are clearly visible in the cookies and the cookies’ texture is slightly chewy. Quick-cooking oats are rolled oats that have been broken down into smaller pieces and enables them to cook more quickly. They have a slightly finer texture and cookies that are made with this type of oats tend to look prettier because they give a baked good a very uniform texture. Lastly, instant oats are much finer than quick-cooking oats and it simply needs hot water added. They tend to absorb more moisture and can alter the texture of the cookies.
Rolled oats and quick-cooking oats are great for oatmeal cookies. This time, I used rolled oats because that was what I had in my pantry for the moment.
4. Shape the dough using an ice cream scoop
Using an ice cream scoop to shape the dough is an easy and quick way to make sure your cookies come out the same size. Don’t roll the cookie dough with your hands as the heat from your body temperature will melt the butter and make the cookies spread when baking. If you roll the cookie dough with your hands, chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before baking.
More Cookie Recipes
If you don’t know, I have tons of cookie recipes that I think you will love.
- Almond Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
- Crunchy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Nutella Stuffed Cookies
- Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
- Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
- Biscoff Stuffed Cookies
Almond Miso Oatmeal Cookies
These Almond Miso Oatmeal Cookies come out crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, with salty and nutty flavor addition from white miso paste.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (225 gr), softened
- 1/4 cup white miso paste
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 gr)
- 1 cup brown sugar (200 gr)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 gr)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 cups rolled oats (270 gr)
- 1 cup almond slices (110 gr)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Prepare 2 baking sheets and grease or line them with parchment papers or baking mats.
- In big bowl, cream butter, miso, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until incorporated. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla.
- In different bowl, combine all purpose flour and baking soda. Stir in the dry ingredient into the wet ingredient. With a spatula, stir in the oats and almond slices until incorporated.
- With ice cream scoop (about 2 tablespoons), drop the dough on prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches apart.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to prevent the cookies from spreading.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Agnieszka says
Hey Jaja, you have everything in grams except for miso. Any idea how many grams this would be?
Thanks!
Jaja Bakes says
Thanks for the reminder, I totally missed that. I search that a tablespoon of miso is about 17 grams, so 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) is supposed to be 68 grams.