- Brown butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden and nutty. Remove from heat, pour in a large mixing bowl and stir in espresso powder and milk powder. Let the butter cool for 10-15 minutes.
- While the butter is cooling, in a small separate bowl whisk egg, yolk, and miso until smooth and set aside.
- When the butter has cooled, whisk in sugars and vanilla till smooth and glossy.
- Add in the egg miso mixture to the batter.
- Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Fold dry into wet just until almost combined, a few noticeable flour streaks.
- Stir in chocolate just enough till comnbined and you don't see anymore flour.
- Cover and chill dough 30 to 60 minutes.
- In a small bowl mix miso sugar topping and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and scoop dough into large balls. Smear a pea-sized dab of miso sugar on all over the top of the cookie dough ball.
- Bake at 350°F for 10–11 minutes.
- Cool 5 minutes on pan, then transfer to rack to fully cool. The centers will appear underbaked at first and will continue to cook through even on the cooling rack.
Notes:
How to Brown Butter (The Right Way)
- Place the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat.
- Let it melt completely, then continue cooking. It will foam, then quiet.
- Swirl the pan occasionally. Watch for golden bits forming on the bottom.
- When it smells nutty and looks amber, remove from heat.
- Immediately stir in the espresso powder and milk powder.
You want golden, not burnt. Think toasted hazelnut, not coffee ash.
Storage Instructions:
These cookies are best the first and second day they’re baked, when the centers are still plush and the chocolate is glossy. But they hold beautifully.
- Room Temperature:
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Add a small piece of bread to the container to keep them soft. - Refrigerator:
Not recommended. The cold dulls the brown butter aroma and firms the crumb. - Freezer (Baked):
Freeze cooled cookies in a zip-top bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm briefly in a 300°F oven. - Freezer (Dough):
Scoop dough balls and freeze solid. Transfer to a bag and bake straight from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes to bake time.
*Milk Powder
Milk powder deepens the brown butter flavor, giving it that bakery-style, toasted richness. It’s usually found in the baking aisle near evaporated milk or in the international foods section.
- If you can’t find it, you can skip it. Just add 1 TBSP room temp milk to the wet batter.
- The cookies will still be delicious.
- You’ll simply lose a little of that layered, nutty depth.
Think of it as a flavor amplifier, not a requirement.
**Espresso Powder
Espresso powder doesn’t make these taste like coffee once baked, but the dough might. The espresso actually sharpens the chocolate and rounds the sweetness.
- If you don’t have it, leave it out.
- The cookies will still shine.
- You’ll just miss a whisper of intensity in the chocolate.
Both of these ingredients are enhancers, not structural. The soul of this cookie is still brown butter + miso. Everything else is just tuning the volume.
