miso date sesame cookies
consider this the sophisticated older sister of the choc chip cookie
What I’m reading: “An analogue desire in a digitised world”, on Vittles via Substack. Beautiful writing by Jonathan Nunn that inspired me and made me hungry for rotisserie chicken.
What I’m listening to: Dolly Alderton on Changes with Annie MacManus
What I’m eating: spectacular pizza at Ooh-Fah, Auckland. I will be back VERY SOON for the lardo pizza (pictured below)
If you know me, you’ll know that I always have a stash of cookie dough in the freezer. It’s kind of like a safety blanket: have a bad day? Bake an emergency cookie. Last-minute celebrations? Emergency cookie. Got rained on? COOKIE.
Normally, I just have my classic chocolate chip cookie dough in the freezer (recipe here): portioned into 60g balls and labelled with clear baking instructions (in case it’s not me doing the baking).
Recently, though, I had a craving for a slightly more nuanced, sophisticated cookie. Something that ticks all the same boxes, but with a bit more class. This doesn’t replace the choc chip cookie, but is potentially a bit more elegant. It’s sweet and salty, with nutty tahini, salty miso and crunchy sesame seeds. It gets this beautiful deep golden colour from the date caramel (which is honestly so tasty, I’m already looking forward to making another batch - maybe for pancakes?). I had a very specific idea for how I wanted these cookies to look, and I achieved that by rolling the cookie balls in sesame seeds before chilling and baking.
Without further ado, you’ll find the date caramel recipe below, and paid subscribers also get the full cookie recipe - happy baking!
Recipe: date caramel
Ingredients
100g Medjool dates, pitted
80g water
30g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
120g caster sugar
Method
Place the dates in a saucepan with 40g of the water. Heat gently for 3-4 minutes, until the dates have softened and turned into a bit of a pulpy mash.
Meanwhile, place the butter, vanilla and salt in a bowl. When the dates have broken down, put them in the bowl with the butter, vanilla and salt, and stir until the butter has melted and you have a homogenous paste.
Place the remaining 40g of water in a saucepan with the sugar, and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Watch carefully as it turns into caramel - do not stir at this point, but you can tilt the pan gently to re-distribute the heat. When the caramel is a deep golden brown colour, turn off the heat and add the date mixture. Whisk vigorously until it has emulsified into a butterscotch-type sauce. Pour this into a bowl and allow to cool.
Recipe: miso date sesame cookies
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