Chocolate Treasure Coins

I really love Japanese food. Really, I do. But there are a few things I've tried and tend to stay away from. A few items include takoyaki, senbei, dried fish snacks, and most wagashi. Wagashi are traditional Japanese sweets usually made from sweet bean paste, mochi, and fruit. While incredibly delicate and beautiful, their consistency is too mushy for my liking. Plus I find them too sweet. Fruit daifuku on the other hand, is amazing. Especially the strawberry kind. 

Anyways, I've always been somewhat of a dessert connoisseur, especially when it comes to chocolate.  Unfortunately, Japanese desserts don't usually contain chocolate (that's where they lose a lot of Emily points). Among my favorite chocolate confections: the chocolate chip cookie. It's classic. I made cookies all the time back in the States, but I think I really amped up my cookie game here in Japan. It took me a while to track down brown sugar, all purpose flour, and chocolate chips, but I think my improvisations have swayed in my favor. Plus, there's a secret ingredient to these babies! If my oven wasn't also my microwave, then I'd be able to make larger batches, but I suppose that helps limit how many I can eat at a time. 

In case you're wondering about the title of this post, I named it in honor of one of my new favorite shows: Final Space. It's hilarious. Go watch it. 

Browned-Butter Miso Chocolate Chip cookies

  • 1 cup butter, browned* (200g)

  • 1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (275g)

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50g)

  • 1/4 cup miso paste**(57g)

  • 1 egg + 1 egg yolk

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

  • 1 cup all purpose flour (128g)

  • 1 cup rye flour (128g)

  • 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

  • 2 cups chocolate chunks*** (100g)

Oven temp: 350F or 180C

****Bake time: (Chilled) 12 minutes, (frozen) 14 minutes

How To:

Cube butter so that it melts quicker. *Turn heat to medium and melt butter in a saucepan. It will sizzle and pop, so be careful. Eventually the butter will pop less and become foamy. When brown specks appear in the foam and the butter smells nutty, then it's done. Remove from heat and pour into a stand mixer or heat proof bowl. Let cool slightly before adding the sugar. 

Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar and miso paste to the bowl and mix to combine. **I use awase miso, which is a mixture of red and white miso. White miso would also work well. Make sure the miso paste does NOT contain dashi. This is an important broth used in Japanese cooking, and can contain fish ingredients, which is not an ideal pairing for cookies.  Add the egg and egg yolk, then vanilla. Mix until smooth. 

Add flours gradually so that the batter is easier to mix by hand, or is less messy when mixed in a stand mixer. Do not over mix! Halfway through adding the flour, add the baking soda. Right before the flour is fully incorporated, add the chocolate chunks. Mix until there are minimal flour streaks in the dough and the chocolate is evenly spread out. 

***I use dark chocolate disks, because they melt easily and because dark chocolate is the best. In the photos I used Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips because that's what I had at the time. They work perfectly well, but chocolate chips don't become gooey because they have edible wax in them. I am also a fan of hand-chopping Ghirardelli chocolate bars, but if this sounds like too much work, then use whatever you like best. 

Lastly, refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes. Overnight is better, as the flour has more time to absorb the flavors. You can also scoop balls of cookie dough to freeze and bake at a later time. 

****The baking time may vary depending on your oven. As a general rule when it comes to cookies, bake until the edges are browned, the top is golden, but still dough-y looking. It's ultimately a matter of preference, but the time can be adjusted depending on whether you like chewy or crunchy cookies. 

Enjoy the chocolate treasure coins!