I always keep a jar of miso in the fridge. When I’m drained from the day, and when I’m unhealthily obsessed with my weight, I conjure up a sad concoction of steamed vegetables and call it dinner. Miso became a lifesaver because when I stirred a generous spoonful of it into my dinner, it suddenly lifted everything – and dinner was less sad. Miso’s a flavor bomb that imparts a savory and rich intensity to anything it touches. It belongs in more places than you’d think: I put it into sauces, sandwiches, soups, and even, yes, desserts.

The original recipe was quite heavy on the salt and, following that recipe, led to some very happy palates. I then, however, decided to cut down on the salt and include some miso.  You can’t taste the miso for its pure flavor but you can taste an umami depth sitting in the background.

They’re d*mn good, I tell you. Probably the best chocolate cookies I’ve had. These are so incredibly moreish and chocolatey – you want to try them, trust me.

Recipe adapted from Pierre Herme
Makes about 36 cookies
Ingredients
150g butter
120g brown sugar
50g caster sugar
1 tsp red miso
175g flour
30g cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
a small pinch of salt
150g dark chocolate, chopped into very small pieces

Method
Beat the butter in a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, until soft and creamy. Add both sugars and the miso paste. Beat for a few minutes more until fluffy.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together.

Put the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, give it a stir before you beat it to mix it in, for no more than 30 seconds. You don’t want to overwork the dough, and you want to give it a stir before so you avoid flour flying everywhere.

Incorporate the chocolate pieces in.

It’s ok if the dough is crumbly. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half.

Work with one half at a time on top of a large piece of cling film, shape it into logs that are about 3cm in diameter. Wrap well in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours and up to three days (they can be frozen too).

Preheat the oven to 160C. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, slice the logs into rounds that are about 5mm thick. Arrange the rounds on the baking trays, leaving about 2cm of space between them.

Bake the cookies for 12 minutes. They won’t look done or firm but just take them out and leave them to cool. The texture will be great, trust me.