These Miso Caramel Cookies are crispy around the edges, chewy in the middle and laced with sweet and salty, umami miso caramel. Eggless & Dairy-free options.
I developed this Miso Caramel Cookie recipe last year while on a hiatus and have been become one of my favourite cookies. Any chance I get, I love adding miso to sweets and desserts because of the touch of savory umami that balances out a lot of the sweetness.
The base of these cookies are very much sugar cookie-like. Each bite starts with a crispiness, followed by a chewy caramel-y soft middle. There are so many layers of flavours, it’s like a slow-dance party where it’s sweet, salty, savory and gently spiced. Truly, a sexy cookie.
For the caramel portion, original recipe called for making chewy miso caramels and imbedding them into the cookies, however I’ve adapted them to make them quicker and easier after so many of you sending me Eric’s gochujang cookies. His gochujang caramel calls for just mixing the ingredients together and then swirling it into the dough, making it so much quicker and easier. For this reason, I borrowed his caramel method to keep things quick and easier.
Ingredients
- egg – I use flaxafaba: aquafaba + flax meal
- butter
- granulated sugar
- vanilla
- cardamom, optional
- salt
- baking soda
- almond flour: I use toasted almond flour that adds nuttiness and warmth to the overall cookie (brown butter vibes, without having to make brown butter)
- all purpose flour
- miso paste: white, yellow or even red if you’re feelin’ frisky (use a lesser amount, though!)
- dark brown sugar
Method
- Whisk together aquafaba and flax meal and set aside for 5-10 minutes until thickened.
- In a medium bowl, use a spatula to mix together softened butter, sugar, flaxafaba egg, vanilla, cardamom and salt. Mix in the almond flour and baking soda. Add the flour and mix gently, using a scoop and folding motion until dough comes together.
- Cover and refrigerate for 12-30 minutes.
- In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 350 F (180 C) and mix the miso caramel together in a small bowl.
- Remove dough from the fridge and spoon the miso caramel over the dough (about 3-4 blobs). Use a paring knife or chopsticks to swirl the miso caramel into the cookie dough (about 4-5 times). For a aesthetic caramel-marble look, be careful not to over-mix.
- Using a 3 or 4 tbsp cookie scoop (about 60 g each), scoop the cookie dough to portion out the dough, and drop onto a lined baking tray about 3 inches apart.
- Bake for 8 minutes, remove from oven and tap on counter. Bake for another 2 minutes and tap on counter. Bake for another 1-2 minutes or until it puffs up, and tap on counter. Bake for a total of 12-14 minutes.
Substitutions
- Flaxafaba – instead of flax + aquafaba egg, you may substitute for a flax egg or chicken egg.
- Miso – these are miso based cookies… but I’ve tried substituting with either savory umami ingredients such as doenjang, soy sauce, kimchi and even fish sauce for that same sweet and salty caramel goodness. You could even experiment with doubanjiang which is Chinese fermented bean paste.
- All purpose flour – use a gluten free blend as needed.
- Almond flour – another nut or seed flour, or more all purpose flour
- Butter – I use dairy free butter (Becel Plant Based Sticks, PC brand or Miyoko’s) for all my baking recipes, however feel free to substitute with what you enjoy using.
- Cardamom: can be substituted with nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon or ginger! Changing the spices will change the final flavour of the cookies, but they add an extra depth of flavour to these cookies.
Storage
Store these cookies in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 weeks. Allow to come to room temperature before enjoying.
Top tip
When scooping the cookie dough, try to keep the miso caramel toward the top of the scoop. Miso tends to burn a little easier, so a lot of direct heat (from the pan) can cause excessive burning of the caramel.
FAQ
Visit the search results to see which questions come up under the People also ask section for your primary keyword, and answer them here
Yes! Follow the steps up until portioning the dough. Once portioned out, cover and keep refrigerated for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Let them sit at room temperature while pre-heating the oven.
Swap 1/4 – 1/3 cup of of the granulated sugar for light brown sugar or reduce the sugar by 2 tbsp. Adding light brown sugar will help lessen the spread (see photo above)
Related
More delicious cookies to try:
If you recreate these Miso Caramel Cookies, let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Hungry for more? Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest for more deliciousness!
Miso Caramel Cookies
- Total Time: 44 minutes
- Yield: 11 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Miso Caramel Cookies are crispy around the edges, chewy in the center and laced with salty-sweet-umami miso caramel. Eggless & Dairy-free (Vegan).
Ingredients
Cookie Base
- 1 flaxafaba egg or egg
- 1 stick (114 g) butter
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (228 g) granulated cane sugar*
- 1/8 tsp cardamom, optional*
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2/3 tsp (3.3 g) baking soda
- 2 1/2 tbsp (18 g) almond flour
- 1 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (194 g) all purpose flour
Miso Caramel
- 1 tbsp (14 g) softened butter
- 1 1/2 – 2 (27 – 36 g) tbsp miso paste
- 3 (40 g) tbsp dark brown sugar
Instructions
- Whisk together aquafaba and flax meal and set aside for 5-10 minutes until thickened.
- Stir the softened butter, miso paste and dark brown sugar in another bowl until well combined and then place into the fridge.
- In a medium bowl, use a spatula to mix together softened butter, sugar, flaxafaba egg, cardamom, vanilla and salt. Mix in the almond flour and baking soda. Add the flour and mix gently, using a scoop and folding motion until dough comes together.
- Cover and refrigerate for 12-30 minutes.
- In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 350 F (180 C) and mix the miso caramel together in a small bowl.
- Remove dough from the fridge and spoon the miso caramel over the dough (about 3-4 blobs). Use a paring knife or chopsticks to swirl the miso caramel into the cookie dough (about 4-5 times). For a aesthetic caramel-marble look, be careful not to over-mix.
- Using a 3 or 4 tbsp cookie scoop (about 60 g each), portion the dough onto a lined baking tray about 3 inches apart. Note! Try to keep the caramel on top of the dough. Miso burns quite easily, so by keeping most of it on top of the dough, it will burn less since it’s not in contact with the super hot pan when baking.
- Bake for 8 minutes, remove from oven and tap on counter. Bake for another 2 minutes and tap on counter. Bake for another 1-2 minutes or until it puffs up, and tap on counter. Bake for a total of 12-14 minutes.
Notes
- flaxafaba egg: 1 tbsp (8 g) flax meal + 3 tbsp + 1 tsp (50 ml) aquafaba
- You may reduce the sugar by 2 tbsp, but it will spread less. I do not recommended reducing the sugar further than that.
- Cardamom: may be omitted or substituted with 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp nutmeg or 1/2 tsp cinnamon. A tiny bit of spices makes these cookies extra flavourful.
- Makes 11 1/4 cup (60 g) size cookies + 1 smol (48 g) cookie or 12 (58 g) cookies or 10 (70 g) cookies. The larger the cookie, the slightly longer bake time it will need (upper end).
- Caramel portion loosely adapted from Eric Joon’s Gochujang Cookies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Japanese-American
These are the best vegan cookies I’ve made so far!! The miso caramel is adds the perfect balance of salty and sweet that I love in baked goods and the texture is perfect !! I used a chia-seed egg as I didn’t have flax seeds and I also added some toasted sesame seeds on top for an added flavour. I’ve shared with friends and frozen some for later! Thanks for a fab recipe x
What a wonderful recipe! The recipe is super easy and you actually get a cookie like it’s described. The saltiness of the Miso really balances the sweetness of the cookie. I’m doubling the recipe next time!