Name: Miso Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 cup oat flour (process 1.25 cups rolled oats); ½ cup all purpose flour; ½ tsp baking soda; ½ cup tahini; ¼ cup (½ a stick) of vegan butter; ½ cup white sugar (sub coconut sugar); ¼ cup white miso; 1 tbsp flaxseed meal; ¼ cup unsweetened plant-based milk; 1 tsp vanilla extract; ⅓ cup chopped dark chocolate; sea salt for topping

Miso tahini chocolate chip cookies. You’ve heard of miso chocolate chip cookies and tahini chocolate chip cookies, so it was about time we put them together to create this insane salty-sweet cookie. Crisp golden-brown perfection on the outside, slightly chewy on the inside, and the right amount of sweetness. It’s a chocolate chip cookie, but with the coolest undertones of flavor. We love being quirky in the kitchen!

Miso tahini chocolate chip cookies. Crisp golden-brown on the outside, slightly chewy on the inside, and that insane salty-sweet flavor.

Before we dive into these miso tahini chocolate chip cookies, let’s just get one thing straight. If you think it’s weird for miso to be in a cookie, I don’t think we’ll get along. Now keep reading so you can change your mind and hopefully, we’ll be able to get along.

As much as I love the classic chocolate chip cookie, I feel like they need a little something extra to really bust the roof. I enjoyed the cookie recipe in Mississippi Vegan’s cookbook (not the same as the one linked) a whole lot and ever since then, I’ve refused to not add an element of intrigue in my cookies. Even if it’s something as simple as some chunky salt, that’s good enough. His cookies used stuff like almond extract, rosemary, and pecans, all of which really added to the cookies without being a complicated recipe! I guess you can say I’ve been influenced.

So here I decided to go with tahini and miso. I hope you’re familiar with using tahini in your baking, because it is truly magnificent. Use it for hummus, use it for cookies––same deal. As for white miso, it is a fermented soybean paste that is incredible in all contexts (i.e. see miso mushrooms, my favorite breakfast). I’ve literally started mixing miso and tahini together and spreading that on toast. Miso has that umami flavor which seems like you wouldn’t want it in a cookie, but wrong. Fact: salty sweet cookies are superior.

In my opinion, the best kind of cookie is not too fluffy, crisp on the outside, and slightly chewy on the inside. Cakey cookies? I like them (because when you add a bunch of dark chocolate to something what’s not to like), but I’m not in love with them. I tried making these miso tahini chocolate chip cookies twice. The first time, they were delicious, but they tasted more like a typical tahini chocolate chip cookies and were a bit too chewy. The second time, they were even MORE delicious, carried a distinct flavor, and had that cookie texture I love!!!

Each of the ingredients in these cookies have a purpose. I prioritized taste and texture for this recipe, but they did turn out healthyish because of the fiber and healthy fats! It’s a cookie that satisfies. I learn a lot each time I attempt to perfect a baking recipe, so here’s what you need to know:

Tahini

Tahini is basically like peanut butter, but made with sesame seeds. It is most commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine, but in our global society, I guess we’re doing chocolate chip cookies with them too. You’re going to want a nice liquidy and smooth tahini to get the texture of this cookie dough perfect. I use Kevala, but I’ve also heard great things about Soom Foods and Trader Joe’s. If you do not have tahini but the thought of a miso chocolate chip cookie is gnawing at your brain, you can sub any nut or seed butter you’d like! I think almond butter or peanut butter would be delicious, but the taste would be different.

Miso

Use white miso! This type of miso has the mildest and sweetest taste. I usually use white miso for everything beyond desserts too. It’s super versatile! I haven’t tried cooking or baking with other kinds of miso, but you can read about them here. And if you’re going to join the miso fan club, more miso recipes are linked at the bottom of this post.

Oat flour + all-purpose flour

This cookie is mostly oat flour (1 cup) and some all-purpose flour (1/2 cup). For the oat flour, I never actually buy oat flour and I’m pretty sure most people don’t. Just process rolled oats in a processor! I love using oat flour for cookies because 1) it’s a cheap pantry staple that you feel good about using in large quantities, 2) it has a nutty taste and texture that compliments the “nutty” taste of the tahini, and 3) oats rock, duh. The all-purpose flour in this recipe helps keep the cookie together and helps it crisp up more. However, if you wanted to do this recipe with only oat flour, I’m sure it would work out. It might just be a compromise on texture.

Vegan butter

So the first time I made this recipe, I thought I would do it with tahini as the only fat source. But butter sure does help cookie crisp up nicely. Using half a stick of vegan butter on my second try prevented them from being cakey and overly chewy! If you do not have vegan butter on hand, use softened coconut oil. And if you would prefer to avoid butter or oil entirely, you can do so. Just be aware that the cookie will be cakey and not so crisp.

Sugar

You can use white sugar or coconut sugar here, but I used white sugar. The first time I made this, I used maple syrup, and I’m afraid that hid the taste of the miso and tahini more than I would have liked. As for the difference between white sugar and coconut sugar, it depends on your preference. I love the taste of coconut sugar in baked goods and would highly encourage giving it a try! From a health standpoint though, the difference is negligible. (This is something I’ve only recently learned, but that’s a topic for another time.) I would avoid brown sugar because it adds moisture. If you are going to use brown sugar though, pay attention to how much milk you add.

Dark chocolate

So I know most chocolate chip cookies just use those bags of semisweet chocolate chips. But if you’re going to make GOOD cookies, why not make it with the chocolate you would want to eat on its own? That’s why I always use a chopped up vegan dark chocolate bar. It makes a difference!

Plant-based milk and flaxseed meal

Instead of making a flax egg, I just added a tablespoon of flaxseed meal and 1/4 cup of oat milk straight into the wet ingredients. The job is done.

Salt

No explanation needed. The chunkier the better. Currently waiting to get my hands on some Maldon salt, but my chunky sea salt will do for now.

A few other things to keep in mind

Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes before adding in the chocolate chips and baking. This is key to make sure it doesn’t spread too much. You can refrigerate for longer, but the longer you refrigerate, the thicker the cookies will be. And I wanted these to be a bit thin and crispy, so I stuck to 30 minutes.

Bake low and slow. For me, 22 minutes at 350 F did the trick, but I would recommend checking on them starting from 15 minutes because everyone’s oven is different.

Happy baking!