Hopefully you’ve been convinced that  miso soup for breakfast is a great way to start the day. Now: miso for dessert! These brownies don’t have the health benefits of soup, but the savory nuttiness of miso evokes popular modern flavor profiles of salted caramels and bacon infused chocolate. When warm they have an excellent aroma and smooth rich texture, and are equally delicious chilled for a picnic (or when you sneak a piece from the refrigerator!)

South River makes our current favorite miso. Four flavors are packaged in glass containers, an advantage to those wanting insurance from the possibility that toxins from even BPA-free plastics  can leach into food. In 2011 Copywriters’ Kitchen’s, Lorraine Thompson list’s six reasons why we should use glass instead of plastic in the kitchen; 3 years later the argument can be made as persuasively if not more. Off the soap box:

Miso Brownies – makes one 8 x 8 inch pan, serving 9-16

INGREDIENTS:

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate broken into chunks

7 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons mild miso (our favorite: South River Wood Fired Organic Chickpea Miso)

3/4 cup (4.5 oz.) gluten free flour mix (ours, yours, or Trader Joe’s)

3/4 cup (2.75 oz.) almond flour (remember you can grind your own in a coffee mill.)

2 large eggs

2/3 cup (5 oz.) organic granulated sugar

1 tablespoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Melt the chocolate, butter, and miso in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Remove from heat, whisk to blend, and let cool to warm.

2. Combine the flour and almond flour in a small bowl.

3. Beat the eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Slowly add the sugar continuing to beat until thickened and light in color.

4.  Stir in the room temperature chocolate mixture, scraping down the bowl as necessary.  Fold in the flour mixture and pour into the prepared pan.

5.  Bake at 325 for 25 minutes if the pan is 8 x 8, or 22 minutes if the pan is 9 x 9.  Let cool well before cutting. The can be warm, but require time out of the oven to set up nicely. Chilled, they have the consistency of fudge.

Tea-rrific makes a new line of ice creams featuring flavors like Masala Chai and Ginger Matcha which are perfectly suited to the subtly different taste of these delicious brownies.

Melting the chocolate, butter, with miso

Whisking the chocolate mixture to blend

Slowing adding the sugar to the beaten eggs

Eggs and sugar beaten until pale and thick

processing almonds to “flour” incorporating a little GF flour to prevent clumping

Whisking the GF flour and almond flour

Incorporating the cooled chocolate butter mixture into the eggs and sugar

Spreading the batter into the lined 8″ x 8″ pan

Out of the oven to cool before cutting