Sourdough chocolate chip cookies are absolutely life-changing, and you’ll never look at your sourdough discard the same way again.

When I came across this recipe, I was beyond skeptical. 

Sourdough cookies!?!?!

How does that even work?

But believe it or not, sourdough chocolate chip cookies not only come out perfectly crisp every time, they’re also unbelievably delicious.  Better, I dare say, than the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had.

If you’re looking for a way to use your sourdough discard, look no further, this is it!

Sourdough Discard Cookies

To be clear, this is a “sourdough discard” recipe, which means you’re not actually souring the cookie dough and raising it with the wee little beasties in the sourdough starter.  Sourdough discard recipes are designed to incorporate the flavor (and nutrition) of sourdough, without all the work of carefully cultivating a loaf all day.

These cookies are flavored with sourdough, and even left to rest overnight in the refrigerator, but they’re still leavened with baking powder and soda.

(By the way, all the best chocolate chip cookies are baked after an overnight rest in the refrigerator.  It allows the flour to fully hydrate and the flavors to come together.  The brown sugar and vanilla need time to meld and really infuse into the cookie, and the dough always bakes better chilled anyway.  You should be doing this with your regular cookies too, not just the sourdough chocolate chip cookies.)

How do Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies Work?

The key to making these sourdough chocolate chip cookies work lies in the ingredients.  They have a bit more sugar than the average cookie, and a bit less butter.  That helps prevent the dough from being too wet, even with half a cup of sourdough discard included in the recipe.

But what about all that water in the sourdough?  Doesn’t it make the cookies cakey?

Nope, the trick is, you have to brown the butter first.  This drives off the water from the butter, and leaves room for the water in the sourdough without making a cakey cookie.

Browning the butter also adds incredible flavor to the finished cookies, and is complimented by just a hint of sour tang from the sourdough.  Add in a pinch of salt to finish them, and chunks of your favorite chocolate (light or dark), and you’ve got a recipe for the perfect chocolate chip cookies.

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients

This recipe for sourdough chocolate chip cookies is adapted from The Sweet Side of Sourdough, which has dozens of sourdough discard recipes (mostly desserts, but some breakfasts and muffins too).

I’ve made the recipe a bit simpler, rounding out things like “1 cup plus 1 tablespoon” type measurements.  With a few tweaks, the recipe is much simpler to follow, and the cookies are absolutely perfect.  Still, for best results, use a baking scale to measure your ingredients.

For a batch of 12 to 15 large cookies (or 20 to 24 small ones), you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup butter (8 Tbsp or 113 g)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed (140 g)
• 1/2 cup sugar (100 g)
• 1/2 cup sourdough discard (115 g)
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose white flour (200 grams)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups chocolate, chopped, plus more for topping after baking

How to Make Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are two tricks to making these sourdough chocolate chip cookies.

First, brown the butter ahead of time, then chill it before making the cookies.  You want to measure the butter as is, and then brown it.  So 1/2 cup butter is what you put into the pan to brown, measured before browning, rather than after.

Second, have patience.  This recipe has very little hands-on time, but the butter does need to cool completely before making the cookies.  The cookie dough also needs to be formed and then chilled overnight.

I tried doing this the lazy way, and just browning the butter and running through the recipe without any pauses…baking them about a half hour after I started.  They’re not the same.  Trust me.

Here’s how you do it right…

Brown the butter in a pan, taking your time to do so.  Don’t let it burn.  The butter should cook on low heat for about 3 to 5 minutes until you see little flecks of brown at the bottom of the pan.  As soon as it browns, remove it from the heat.

Pour the butter into a container and place it in the refrigerator to cool completely (about an hour).  It should be firm and no longer liquid.

Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and add both types of sugar (brown and regular granulated sugar).  Beat the mixture until it’s light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add in the sourdough discard, and beat until fully incorporated. 

Next, add the egg and vanilla, and combine.

In a separate bowl, stir the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together.

Add the dry ingredients and stir the mixture until just combined.  Do not overwork the dough.

Chop the chocolate into chunks (or use chocolate chips), and gently fold into the dough.

Form the cookies into balls, and refrigerate the formed cookies overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the cookies on a pan, allowing plenty of space between them.  Don’t put more than 6 per pan.

Bake the cookies for 15 to 17 minutes, until set.  Do not overbake.  Smaller cookies may take a bit less time.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes before removing them to cool completely on a cooling rack.

(This dough can also be frozen once formed.  If you freeze the dough, do not defrost it before baking.  Place the frozen cookies on the tray and bake as you otherwise would, just add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.)

Sourdough Discard Recipes

Looking for more sourdough discard recipes?

• Sourdough Discard Crackers
• Sourdough Discard Chocolate Cake
• Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough

Yield: Makes about 12 to 15 Large Cookies

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Print

Sourdough chocolate chip cookies are the most delicious way to use your sourdough discard.

Prep Time 2 hours

Rest Time 12 hours

Bake Time 15 minutes

Total Time 14 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (8 Tbsp or 113 g), see note
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed (140 g)
• 1/2 cup sugar (100 g)
• 1/2 cup sourdough discard (115 g)
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose white flour (200 grams)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups chocolate, chopped, plus more for topping after baking**

Instructions

1. Brown the butter in a pan over low heat. It should take 3 to 5 minutes to brown, but don't let it burn.  When you see flecks of brown at the bottom of the pan, remove it from the heat.
2. Pour the butter into a container and place it in the refrigerator to cool completely (about 1 to 2 hours).  It should be firm and no longer liquid.
3. Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and add both types of sugar (brown and regular granulated sugar).  Beat the mixture until it's light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add in the sourdough discard, and beat until fully incorporated. 
5. Next, add the egg and vanilla, and combine.
6. In a separate bowl, stir the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together.
7. Add the dry ingredients and stir the mixture until just combined.  Do not overwork the dough.
8. Chop the chocolate into chunks (or use chocolate chips), and gently fold into the dough.
9. Form the cookies into balls, and refrigerate the formed cookies overnight.
10. The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
11. Place the cookies on a pan, allowing plenty of space between them.  Don't put more than 6 per pan.
12. Bake the cookies for 15 to 17 minutes, until set.  Do not overbake.  Smaller cookies may take a bit less time.
13. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes before removing them to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Notes

The butter in this recipe is measured first before browning, so you'll add 1/2 cup butter to the pan and then brown it. It'll lose some volume during the browning process, and end up as slightly less than 1/2 cup when you add it to the cookies. If your dough is looking a bit dry and not coming together, you can add an extra tablespoon of sourdough starter to help bring it together.

The original recipe suggested using 1 cup of milk chocolate and 1 cup of dark chocolate (60 to 70%). My favorite chocolate that I keep on hand is dark chocolate that's about 55%, which is just a bit too dark to be called milk chocolate...and it worked out perfectly in this recipe.

Use whatever chocolate you prefer, dark, light or even white chocolate.

For the best chocolate chunks, chop up an extra 1/4 cup of chocolate and save it for topping the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.

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