the familiar with a funky twist … Miso Butterscotch Blondies

For months I have been on the lookout for recipes that use miso, a lot if at all possible. About a year ago, I made some delicious chicken wings with honey, butter and a few spoonfuls of red miso in an effort to use of some miso I had on hand. You see, I have three tubs taking up space, one white, one red and one brown, leftover from a past consulting project and a year later the problem hasn’t diminished in the slightest. That miso is still there and though it will keep indefinitely properly wrapped, I don’t want to keep it indefinitely. Make soup, my friend said. It’s not a bad idea, the average miso soup recipe uses about ¼ cup, but I’m a little tired of soup. So instead, the tubs get shoved into a quiet forgotten corner until I move something and am confronted with their presence. Which is exactly what happened the other day. I need to deal with this stuff or toss it once and for all. It was time to start looking for some ideas.

So what is miso, you ask? While most of us have likely had a bowl of miso soup at sushi restaurants, I’m not sure how many have ventured beyond that or even know what it is. Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans and some type of grain, usually barley or rice, and is used in Japanese cooking. The mixture ferments for anywhere from a few months to a few years, turning into a thick paste that serves as a seasoning for soups, marinades and other things. In Japan there are more than 1,300 kinds and they vary in color, aroma, and flavor based on where it was made and how long it ferments. In the US we typically see three primary types – white/shiro (mild, best used for soups, dressings or light marinades), red/aka (deeper flavor suited to stews and braises) and brown/genmai (an earthy mild flavor that is quite nice raw). There’s some good information here if you’re interested in learning more.

In addition to soup, miso makes nice vinaigrettes, marinades, lovely glazes, stews and braises. Esteemed Japanese Chef Nobu Matsuhisa pretty much made his reputation on a miso-marinated black cod. I googled endless recipes for salad dressings, fish dishes and stews but the dessert recipes caught my eye. How interesting. The salty-funky addition of a little miso would add great flavor and depth to something sweet like a cake. I once tried a miso brownie recipe, which was terrible, but the idea stuck. This could work.

Turns out I was right. I zeroed right in on one from Food52 – Miso Butterscotch Blondies. Oh those sounded good! And good they were, the earthy saltiness of the white miso perfectly offset the sweetness of the butterscotch chips and added a wonderful deeper flavor to what could be a one-note type of cookie. Miso and butterscotch are a perfect match and I’m annoyed I hadn’t thought of it sooner. I changed the recipe a bit, cutting it in half to yield a smaller pan batch and tweaked a few other things for a cakier texture. Then I went ahead and took the suggestion to sprinkle a little smoked sea salt on top, partly because I have two jars of smoked salt I don’t use and partly because it sounded like a good fit. It was. This one’s a keeper.

Sure, the recipe only uses two teaspoons of the dang stuff and at this rate I’ll have to make 100 pans to go through that tub but even small progress is a step forward. If anyone has a lead on a recipe that uses cups and cups of miso, speak up. In the meantime, I’ll keep looking.

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: FANCY COMFORT. The flavor is familiar: sweet, caramely rich and buttery but there’s something there you can’t quite place. Something a little earthy, a little funky, a little salty. You like it, a lot, but can’t quite pinpoint what it is. It’s the secret ingredient, the sleeper flavor. That miso takes what could be a regular ‘ol bar cookie and turns it a bit on it’s ear, making it much more interesting. I love butterscotch in all its forms and I really like these cookies and the nuance the miso adds. Don’t forget the smoked salt on top if you can help it; really brings it all together. Enjoy!

Eight years ago: Galette de Gayon – Fig Walnut & Honey Galette
Seven years ago: Peach Frozen Custard
Six years ago: Sweet Corn Soup
Five years ago: Bastille Day Lunch – Figgy BBQ Sauce
Four years ago: Roasted Ratatouille with Sweet Corn Polenta, Bloody Mary Vinaigrette
Three years ago: Gateau Breton
Two years ago: Grilled Zucchini with Garlic Herb Gremolata
Last year: Fig & Goat Cheese Foccacia

MISO BUTTERSCOTCH BLONDIES – recipe adapted from this one
makes a 9”x9” pan
If you don’t have scotch, bourbon works well too.

2 Tablespoons coarsely ground almonds (blanched, toasted before grinding)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons white (shiro) miso paste
¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons scotch (the smokier the better)
¼ cup butterscotch chips
½ teaspoon smoked sea salt (or a flaky salt like Maldon)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, line a 9”x9” pan with a criss-cross of foil or parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the ground almonds, baking powder, salt and flour. Set aside until needed.
3. Combine butter and miso paste in a small saucepan and cook over a low flame until the butter has browned and smells nutty, about 5 minutes.
4. Pour into the bowl of a standing mixture fitted with the paddle attachment.
5. Add the brown sugar and vanilla paste (or extract) to the warm butter and mix on low for 1-2 minutes to combine
6. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each to fully incorporated before moving on.
7. Add the vinegar and scotch and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl.
8. Decrease the speed to low, add the dry ingredients in 3-4 additions, mixing each until just incorporated. Scrape the bowl.
9. Add the butterscotch chips and mix until just combined.
10. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth and top with the smoked sea salt.
11. Bake until the blondies just pull away from the pan but are still a bit wet in the center, about 25 minutes.
12. Let cool, then cut into neat squares.

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