It was inevitable, once I saw them, that I would make them. After all, I always have miso on hand – though I sometimes wonder why, when I only use it maybe once a month and sometimes not even then. In fact, it was an attempt to find an excuse for the miso that brought me to it, for I had seen a recipe for savory oatmeal, flavored with miso and butter, and when I went to make it couldn’t discover it in my bookmarks.{{2}}[[2]] I did find it eventually and it was delish, especially with a fried egg and a drizzle of siracha. I wonder if you could add miso to a savory granola?[[2]] Googling miso oatmeal brought up these miso oatmeal cookies, and how could I resist opening the link and taking just a little peep? And after pepping how could I not squirrel the idea away for later?

 

They are fairly good, but their true merit lies in potential, the flavor being a little too subtle once baked for my boorish tongue. The dough, however, is without peer.  I reduced the sugar slightly, putting in just a leetle less than a whole cup of the brown, and only half of the called for white. They are still slightly over sweet when warm. Cooled they might be just right, except they are missing something. Sometimes sugar covers other flavors, so if I were to make these again I would start by reducing that further. I also might add a dash of vanilla, or sub in some maple syrup, to highlight the miso a bit, a la Makiko-san’s idiosyntric pumpkin muffins.

One thing I did, which I rather liked, was use 1/4 cup of coconut oil and one stick of butter. This was of necessity, for I only had one stick of butter, but I think the small addition actually aids the flavor, at least in the dough. In fact, I’d be tempted to go all in just to try it out and see. I’m also wondering if changing to the more aggressive red miso would help, or if that would just make the cookies taste, well, gamey for lack of an existing descriptor.{{1}}[[1]]Although, my dictionary suggests I might try racy. “Off” might be a safer, if vaguer, bet[[1]]

Basically, I don’t think sugar and miso alone are enough. Nuts would definitely help, but I’m afraid they might overwhelm the miso instead of emphasizing it. Maybe sunflower or pumpkin seeds instead? The green pumpkin seeds sold at my local shopper would look lovely against the delicate champagne of these cookies, but I honestly can’t associate them with a specific flavour of their own.

 

I think I’ll have to go try another while I think about it.