Miso Chocolate Cookies

These small batch miso chocolate cookies are sweet and chocolaty, with a hint of welcome saltiness from the savory miso paste. We could not stop eating them!

Sharing this recipe makes me nostalgic for my favorite food magazine, delicious. which ceased publishing last Autumn, much to the sadness of all of its fans. I had been a reader since discovering the Australian edition back around 2002 when I moved to Kuala Lumpur. Its UK sister magazine started publication at the end of 2003, boasting a Christmas roast turkey crown from Jamie Oliver on the cover. 

If you’ve been reading along here for a while, you know how I feel about Jamie. How could I not by that magazine?! And I was hooked from there on out. 

This recipe is adapted from one in a more recent issue, March 2024. It was created by the very talented Pollyanna Coupland. She named these pan-bang cookies and you’ll soon see why from the method.

Miso Chocolate Cookies

I used semi-sweet chocolate for these cookies because that’s what we love but the original called for milk chocolate so you can choose. I always have both white and black sesame seeds on hand so I used half and half. The original didn’t specify but the photos look like all white so use what you’ve got!

Ingredients for 10-12 cookies

1 cup or 230g butter, softened

1 ¾ cups or 350g light brown sugar

1 egg

2 ¼ cups or 280g flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 ½ teaspoons white miso paste

3 ½ oz or 100g semi-sweet chocolate

4 tablespoons sesame seeds

Method

Measure out your miso paste, sesame seeds and chop the dark chocolate into bits with a sharp knife. 

With electric beaters or in your stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. 

Beat in the egg.

Sift in the flour, baking soda and salt and mix again.

Mix in the miso and half the sesame seeds.

Mix in the chopped chocolate. 

Heat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare two cookie sheets by lining them with baking parchment or silicone liners.

Spoon the dough out onto a large piece of cling film. 

Using the cling film, roll it into a thick log. If you don’t want to bake all the cookies today, the balance of the log can be rewrapped and frozen for up to a few weeks, until you do. 

Slice the log into 10-12 discs.

Put three of them on one of your lined cookie sheets, leaving plenty of room around each one. Sprinkle some of the remaining sesame seeds over the top of the discs, then chill the cookie sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes. 

Remove from the freezer and put the cookie sheet straight into the preheated oven for 8 minutes. 

Prepare the second sheet of cookie dough discs and put them in the freezer.

 

After 8 minutes in the oven, the discs should have spread outwards and puffed up a little. 

Remove the tray and bang it down sharply on the counter, which will cause the dough to spread outwards even more. Mine didn’t get all crinkly like Pollyanna’s but they did spread out. 

Put the baking pan back in the oven for 3 minutes, then remove and bang it again. 

Return for a final 3 minutes, then remove and let the cookies cool on a wire rack while you bake the rest of them in batches. 

Serve with some cold milk and enjoy! 

Welcome to the 13th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter M. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the M recipes below:

• Grilled BBQ Meatball Skewers from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Mambazha Pulissery from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Mastica Ice Cream from A Messy Kitchen
• Melon and Prosciutto Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Methi Chole from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Mexican Green Chile Pimento Cheese Dip from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Mini Turkey Meat Loaves from Blogghetti
• Miso Chocolate Cookies from Food Lust People Love
• Mix Flour Shankarpali/Shankarpara from Sneha’s Recipe
• Sweetened Condensed Milk Cookies from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Here are my posts for the 2026 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Ají de Cerdo aka Peruvian Pork Stew

B: Baby Cos Peach Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing 

C. Traditional Cullen Skink 

D. Coconut Cream Date Caramel 

E. Edamame Summer Salad 

F. Lamb Feta Mint Patties 

G. Ricotta Gnocchi à la Poêle 

H. Hazelnut Vodka 

I. Italian Sausage Stuffed Mini Peppers - this post!

J. Jägersuppe - Hunter's Soup 

K. Easy Chicken Kapama 

L. Easy Lamb Shoulder Roast 

M. Miso Chocolate Cookies - this post!

To check out the Alphabet Challenges for 2024 and 2025, click here.

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Fresh Scallop Ceviche

Made with Jersey hand-dived scallops, onion, cilantro and chili peppers, this spicy fresh scallop ceviche is a delicious start to any special meal. Or a light lunch!

Among the best benefits of living on an island is the gorgeous seafood that is available. It may cost more than buying from the freezer section of your supermarket but as a treat, it is so worth it!

As a bonus, hand-dived scallops are more sustainable and eco-friendly. Often supermarket scallops have been harvested by dredging which causes severe ecological harm by dragging heavy metal rakes across the seabed. This method damages fragile habitats (like coral reefs and biogenic reefs), scoops up large amounts of unwanted bycatch (non-target species like crabs and fish.) It also fatally chips or crushes a significant percentage of both harvested and discarded scallops. 

I learned about our scallop divers on a local Facebook group where a family member of the divers posts when she’ll have scallops available for pick up from her home. They are shucked and packed up in one-pound bags, £11 each. When I see her posts, I can’t resist asking her to put my name on at least one bag!

The scallops are so fresh that often I just clean them up and we eat them sliced as sashimi with soy sauce and wasabi paste. Divine! This is the first time I made ceviche with them but it won’t be the last. 

Fresh Scallop Ceviche

For the chili peppers, I used a mix of red and yellow – the ají amarillo is a traditional Peruvian pepper but hard to come by in the rest of the world. I was fortunate to have a friend who was growing them and shared a small plant with me! Use all red if that’s what you’ve got. 

Ingredients

12 fresh scallops (weight with roe 15 oz or 425g)

Juice 3 seedless limes

½ small purple onion (about 60g)

2-4 fresh chili peppers

1 bunch cilantro (about 25g)

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Method

Finely slice the half onion and mince the chili peppers. 

Put them in a non-reactive bowl with the salt and then squeeze the lime juice over them. Leave to macerate while you clean the scallops.

Remove the roe and the tough “foot” from the scallops. I find the best way is just to use your clean fingers to gently separate them. Using a sharp knife, I end up inevitably cutting the scallop by accident.

Discard the “foot” but what you do with the roe is up to you. A lot of people like to pan-fry it with butter and garlic but personally, I’m not a fan of the texture. I have salted and dried it to make bottarga.

Slice the scallops into three circles each. 

Pull the leaves off of the cilantro stems and chop them finely.

Add the scallop rounds to the lime juice bowl and stir gently to combine. 

Try to tuck the scallops down into the juice and mostly under the onions and peppers. 

Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate. Set a timer for 30 minutes.

When the timer rings, gently stir the ceviche making sure that any scallops that were near the top, are now right under.

Add in the chopped cilantro but do not stir yet. 

Just use a spoon to press it down into the lime juice as best you can.

Set a timer for another 30 minutes.

When the time rings, gently stir the cilantro into the mixture. The scallop ceviche is ready to serve!

As you can see, I plated some of mine up in little lettuce leaves, three or four scallop rounds per leaf, making sure to add some of the lovely onions, cilantro and peppers. 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing ceviche recipes ahead of National Ceviche Day on 28 June. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the links below.

• Ceviche de Camaron - Shrimp Ceviche from Sneha's Recipe
• Fresh Scallop Ceviche from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Kothey Momo - Himalayan Dumplings

Kothey momo aka Himalayan dumplings are small, hand-folded dumplings filled with savory meat and/or vegetables and wrapped in a thin layer of dough. These are a cheater’s version, made with gyoza skins.

When I first saw momos as the theme for this week’s Sunday FunDay post, I had to look it up! What are they even? I quickly discovered that momos or actually properly momo (which is the singular as well as the plural in their native tongue) are the unofficial national dish of Tibet.  

According to Wikipedia, “They are one of the most popular fast food in Nepal and many other South Asian region populated with people of Nepali origin and people of hilly origin. They are also common in places with noticeable Nepalese and Tibetan diaspora, such as Assam, Delhi, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Shillong, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.”

Fillings vary from place to place and can include yak, mutton, chicken, pork, or vegetables. They are most often steamed and served with a clear soup, though some versions are pan-fried and paired with a spicy tomato chutney.

Kothey momo is one of these variations. The word “kothey” in Nepali refers to the cooking method and roughly translates to half-fried or pan-fried on one side.

The dumplings are first fried in oil until the bottoms turn golden. You then add water to the pan to steam the dumplings. They puff up dramatically (so don’t crowd the pan!) then contract when the lid is removed. Once the water evaporates, they are fried again to get the bottom crispy once more.

Kothey Momo - Himalayan Dumplings

This recipe makes about three dozen momo, depending on how you divide your filling. I have adapted it from several I found online, with special nod to NishKitchen who uses store-bought dumpling skins, which felt like permission for me to do the same. So much easier than making them yourself!

Ingredients

For the filling:

1.1 lb or 500g ground pork 

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 whole spring onions, finely chopped

1 –2 hot red chili peppers, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

1 tablespoon canola or other light oil

1 big bunch cilantro (25g), hard stems removed, the rest finely chopped

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

For making the momo:

1-2 tablespoons canola or other light oil

1 package (300g - you won’t use them all) gyoza skins

For serving:

Chutney of your choice (I served these with my spicy tomato chutney.)

Method

Combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for an hour (or more) before assembling your kothey momo. This allows the flavors to blend together.

Lightly wet the edge of one gyoza skin with water. Hold it on your palm and place a scant tablespoon of filling in the center. Fold it in half to form a semi-circle, then pleat and seal the edges tightly.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the momo and cook without turning them until the bottoms become lightly golden.

Pour enough water into the pan to cover the dumplings halfway. 

Cover with a lid and turn the heat to medium high.

When the water has completely evaporated, uncover and let the bottoms crisp up again.

Add a little more oil to the pan and repeat until all of your momo are cooked. Serve them hot with the chutney of your choice.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing momo! Many thanks to our host Renu of Cook with Renu. Check out the links below.

• Easy Veg Momos  from Cook with Renu
• Keto Fried Cabbage Momos from Sneha's Recipe
• Kothey Momo - Himalayan Dumplings from Food Lust People Love
• Spiced Lamb Dumplings - Nepalese Momos from Karen's Kitchen Stories

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join

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