These Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies Have a Surprise Ingredient

Could umami be the flavor your baked goods have been missing?

If you’re familiar with miso, you probably know that this fermented soybean paste adds rich savoriness to soups, sauces, braises, and marinades. In the same way that adding a sprinkle of flaky sea salt to a pan of brownies intensifies their chocolatey flavor, miso provides a deliciously earthy element to baked goods—and once you taste it, you might realize umami is the flavor you never knew you always needed in your sweet treats.

In this gluten-free oatmeal cookie recipe, organic white miso paste adds a hit of saltiness that pairs beautifully with butterscotch. Anytime you’re baking with miso, make sure to choose a light variety; its shorter fermentation period gives it a delicate flavor that works best with sweets. (For more intense umami flavor that’s perfect for savory dishes, try brown miso paste, which is fermented for eight to 12 months.)

Pro Tip: How to Defrost Cookie Dough

For anyone who’s ever been hit by a late-night cookie craving, here’s a helpful hack: make the cookie dough, portion it out into balls (this step is key), and freeze for cookies anytime. When you’re ready to bake, remove the frozen cookie dough balls from the freezer, let them defrost on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes, and pop them in the oven.

Gluten-Free Miso Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

Yield: 27 cookies
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup neutral oil (like canola or grapeseed)
1/2 cup Thrive Market Organic Light Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Thrive Market Organic Cane Sugar
2 1/2 tablespoon Thrive Market Organic White Miso Paste
1 egg
3/4 cup gluten-free flour
1 1/2 cup Thrive Market Organic Gluten-Free Rolled Oats
1/2 tsp Thrive Market Non-GMO Xanthan Gum
1/4 tsp Thrive Market Organic Ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butterscotch baking chips (try Lily’s)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer, add butter, oil, both sugars, and miso paste. Beat on medium-high for 5 minutes, until creamy. Add the egg and beat again, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until everything is well combined.

Add the flour, oats, xanthan gum, nutmeg, baking powder and butterscotch chips. Beat on medium-low for 3 minutes, until everything is evenly combined and the dough is uniform.

Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, portion out 9 balls of cookie dough onto the baking sheet, making sure they are evenly spaced. Use a spatula to flatten each ball into a 1/2”-thick disk.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once halfway through. Remove the cookies when they’re golden brown. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet.

Recipe credit: Becky Reams

Photo credit: Matthew Schulert