Peanut butter miso cookies are chewy peanut butter cookies with a hint of savory flavor from miso paste. These unique cookies strike the perfect balance of rich, salty, and sweet; everyone will love them!
After my chocolate chip miso cookies and miso brownies were big hits amongst readers, I knew a peanut butter flavor was needed! These peanut butter miso cookies strike the perfect balance of rich peanut butter and savory miso flavor.
The miso paste, while undetectable, brings a delectable umami flavor to the cookies, making them super addicting!
If you love peanut butter recipes, you must try my super popular Monster Cookie Bars, Nutter Butter Cookie Bars, and Peanut Butter Marbled Cookies.
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why you'll love these peanut butter miso cookies
- These are chewy peanut butter cookies with a chewy texture and crispy edges with crackled sugar tops for a subtle crunch, similar to my marshmallow cookies.
- If you are a peanut butter lover, you will love this recipe! I've been told by many people that these are the BEST peanut butter cookies. I know it sounds weird, but the miso paste is the best flavor enhancer to balance out the richness.
ingredient notes & substitutions
Miso paste: You can find miso in the refrigerated section near the tofu at the grocery store. You may notice red miso or yellow miso, which have their own unique flavors. I recommend using white miso paste!
Peanut butter: This recipe calls for creamy peanut butter, but you could substitute crunchy peanut butter if you prefer more texture in your cookies. I recommend buying no-stir peanut butter, this will prevent too much oil from getting into the dough.
Brown sugar: While this recipe calls for light brown sugar, dark brown sugar can be substituted.
Cane sugar: I recommend using coarse cane sugar instead of granulated sugar for perfect crackled tops.
Find the full ingredient measurements and instructions in the recipe card below!
recipe instructions
Step 1: Cream the butter. In a stand mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, cream the unsalted butter, peanut butter, and miso paste together until combined. You can also use a large bowl and hand mixer.
Step 2: Mix in the sugars. Mix in the light brown sugar and granulated sugar. Cream for 2-3 minutes until it looks light and fluffy.
Step 3: Mix in the wet ingredients. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Step 4: Fold in the dry ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until just combined.
Cover and chill the dough in the fridge until firm, at least 1 hour.
Step 5: Scoop! Scoop two tablespoons of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roll each one in cane sugar.
Then chill the tray of cookie dough balls in the freezer overnight. This chill time gives them the best flavor!
Step 6: Bake! Roll the cookies in sugar again, leaving a pile of it on top. There must be enough sugar on top or they won't crack!
Bake the cookies in the oven until the middles are puffy and crackled.
Let them cool on a wire cooling rack until set. If desired, you can drizzle them with melted peanut butter or enjoy them as is!
expert baking tips
- Use a kitchen scale. Baking with a scale is much more accurate than cup measurements. To convert this recipe, click the "metric" button next to the ingredients title on the recipe card. If you do not have a scale, use a spoon to fluff the flour first, then spoon it into your measuring cup.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Using room temperature ingredients creates a smooth, fully blended dough that will result in a uniform texture and even baking.
- Additions: Feel free to add in some chopped chocolate bars or peanut butter chips for more flavor.
- Use a cookie scoop. For ease of scooping and perfect-sized portions, use a cookie scoop!
storage & freezing
Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Once scooped, keep the frozen dough balls in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to three months. You can bake them straight from the freezer, just don't forget to roll them in sugar before you do!
recipe faqs
Definitely! If you don't care for the miso, you can make them as regular peanut butter cookies.
Overbaking the cookies can result in a hard and crisp texture. Because every oven is different, baking times may vary. I recommend looking for the centers to be puffy and crackled, with light brown edges. The cookies will continue to bake on the hot tray out of the oven so don't worry if they are slightly underbaked.
You can find it near the tofu in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Most stores carry it, but if you can't find any, you can also order it online.
For the best flavor, the cookies should chill overnight. If needed, you can bake them the same day after they have been chilled in the freezer for at least 1-2 hours. This will prevent them from spreading too much.
Recipe 📖
Peanut Butter Miso Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup no-stir unsalted peanut butter room temperature
- 3 tablespoon white miso paste room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ⅛ cupt granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅓ cup cane sugar for rolling
Instructions
- In a stand mixing bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, and miso until smooth and combined, about 1 minute.½ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup no-stir unsalted peanut butter, 3 tablespoon white miso paste
- Mix in the sugars for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.1 cup light brown sugar, ⅛ cupt granulated sugar
- Mix in the egg and vanilla.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined.1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour, or until firm.
- Then scoop the dough into 2 tablespoon-sized balls, roll them in cane sugar, and place them onto a parchment-lined baking tray.⅓ cup cane sugar
- Chill the tray in the freezer overnight. This chill time gives the cookies the best flavor! If you need to bake them the same day, chill them for at least 2-3 hours in the freezer before baking.
- Then preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.
- Roll the cookies in cane sugar again, leaving a pile of sugar on top of each dough ball. This is crucial for achieving the crackled tops!
- Bake the cookies spaced 2-3 inches apart for 10-11 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the centers are soft, puffed, and crackled.
- Let the tray cool on a wire rack. If desired, you can drizzle them with extra melted peanut butter or enjoy them as is!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The calorie information provided for the recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
Kim says
What's the drizzle for this? I just made these cookies and wanna try that amazing looking drizzle with them! 😍❤️
Cambrea Gordon says
Hi Kim! It's a drizzle of peanut butter!
Rebecca says
Some of the best peanut nut butter cookies ever. Got raving compliments from them. 🙌🏻
Nadya says
I found some white miso paste at trader joe’s and always wanted to know what the hype was around putting it in dessert. These were really simple to make and really good!
Cambrea Gordon says
Yay! They are one of my favorite peanut butter cookies, so glad you enjoyed them!
Katilyn says
These are unreal! Perfect peanut butter flavor and the best chewy texture. The miso made such an interesting flavor, dare I say I am addicted now?? I made these along with your nutter butter bars and miso chocolate chip cookies and I was truly in dessert heaven!
Tara says
These cookies have the perfect amount of peanut butter flavor without being able to taste the miso! So yummy.
Anjali says
What a fun twist on regular peanut butter cookies!! The miso added amazing flavor!
Donna says
Loved these! Have to admit I only made them because I was intrigued about how they would taste with the miso, but they were amazing! Definitely making a double batch next time
Tracy says
That miso flavor is incredible! What a way to elevate a cookie. A new favorite - thank you!
Chris Gipson says
Love everything miso and had to try these. Cookies had great texture and great flavor. Definately a keeper.
Connor says
These were absolutely delicious. I made a batch and let the dough chill in the fridge overnight. The dough was gorgeous and soft even before baking, everyone loved them!
Cambrea Gordon says
I'm so happy to hear they were enjoyed! Thanks for the kind review Connor!
Janelle says
Can these be made gluten free? Just wondering since they seem to have tendency to go dry and crumbly, which can already be a problem with some gluten free baked items.
Cambrea Gordon says
Hi Janelle! I have not made this recipe with gluten-free flour before, I would love to hear how they turn out though! If you notice they have a tendency to get dry and crumbly, I recommend baking them less to keep them soft!
Ellie says
Your instructions are well written and easy to follow, and the cookies are very tasty.
I made these gluten free but sadly they didn’t turn out as I’d hoped.
I used a one-to-one gf flour blend and followed the recipe instructions exactly, including the note about freezing for about 40 minutes until hard. The baked cookies didn’t spread flat, but remained mounded. Even after cooling about 45 minutes, they were very soft and crumbly and soft on the inside. Almost cake-like. The only recommendation I didn’t follow was to weigh the flour. Perhaps a different brand of gf flour might have made a difference, but I won’t know until I experiment with that myself. I wonder if the author has any thoughts on this, or perhaps another experienced baker who tried this gf? There’s an art to converting some recipes successfully to gluten free! Otherwise, I’d like to end on a positive note and repeat that the recipe was well written and the final product was tasty, even absent the texture I expected. 🙂
Cambrea Gordon says
Hi Ellie! It sounds like you may have over-measured the flour. Usually, Bob's Red Mill 1:1 GF flour is a great substitution. I would try spoon-measuring the flour next batch. This means fluffing the flour in the bag first, then spooning it into your measuring cup/spoon! This should help, let me know if you have any other questions! 🙂
Paula says
I made these cookies yesterday for a friend of mine. I didn‘t have the miso paste so I just left it out. I was a little sceptical at first because I am not the biggest fan of Peanutbutter. But oh my gosh I looove them!! By far the best Cookies I have ever made!
Cambrea Gordon says
Hi Paula! That makes me so happy to hear, I felt the exact same way about peanut butter cookies before I made these so I am so glad to hear you and your friend enjoyed them! 🙂
Cindy Richter says
I have never made cookies with miso so when I saw this recipe I was intrigued. It's the perfect combo of salty-sweet and I am a huge fan! I will definitely make these again...
Cambrea Gordon says
Cindy! Thank you so much for making them and leaving such a nice comment, I am so glad you loved them! 🙂
Esther says
Seriously one of the best cookies i've ever made! The miso wasn't prominent but I could definitely tell it gave them a slight savory note. I will be making these again soon they're already gone!!