Are you tired of that excess sourdough starter haunting your fridge? Fear not! With these chewy Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies, you can finally turn that sourdough discard into something delicious instead of a guilt trip.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies But With Sourdough!
Who knew your beloved chewy cookies could get an upgrade from your sourdough bread baking adventures? Using sourdough discard not only prevents food waste but also brings a great sourdough tang to the mix and infuses your cookies with a rich flavour that'll leave you wondering why you didn't try this sooner!
Simple. Delicious. And they even boast a slightly longer shelf life, in our experience. Honestly, best cookies ever! So why not try our Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies or Sourdough Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies next time.
For more sourdough discard recipes, have a look for inspiration below:
Fancy a cookie with a little twist? Try Sourdough Tahini Cookies With Chocolate Chunks instead! And if you're looking for cookies for Easter, try our Sourdough Cookies With Mini Eggs. Think more is more? Try our Sourdough Turtle Cookies With Pecans, Caramel and Chocolate Chips!
The Problem of Extra Moisture in Sourdough Discard
When incorporating sourdough starter discard into recipes, it's essential to consider the extra moisture it brings. Typically, recipes that use sourdough starter will reduce other liquid ingredients, such as water or milk, to account for the water content in the starter.
However, cookie recipes like our chewy chocolate chip cookies often don't contain additional liquids, making it tricky to balance the moisture levels.
Since we're using a 100% hydration starter in this recipe, which contains equal parts of water and flour, we need to account for about 40g of liquid. To tackle this, we turn to the butter and eggs.
By browning the butter, we can allow it to reduce and evaporate some of the moisture, ensuring our cookies don't turn out too wet.
Additionally, we skip the egg whites in this recipe, which helps to maintain the right consistency for the dough while still achieving that delightful chewy texture we all love.
Equipment and Tools
- Small Saucepan: to brown the butter in.
- Large Bowl: metal bowls are best if you are using an electric mixer.
- Electric Mixer: or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
- Rubber spatula: to scrape down the sides of the bowl when mixing.
- Large baking sheets: you will need two cookie sheets to make 8 cookies. They spread in the oven, so they do need quite a bit of space!
- Parchment paper (we love Bacofoil Baking Parchment) or a silicone cookie sheet.
- Wire rack.
Ingredients and Substitutes
Here's everything you'll need to make this sourdough chocolate chip cookies recipe. You can find ingredient quantities and full method in the recipe card at the bottom of the post:
- unsalted butter: European-style butter with 82% butterfat works best.
- plain flour: also known as all-purpose flour.
- baking soda: also known as bicarbonate of soda. Do not replace it with baking powder, as it will produce a cake-like cookie.
- salt.
- caster sugar: or white granulated sugar.
- light brown sugar: essential ingredient for a chewy cookie.
- egg yolk: we used large egg yolks in the UK, so you may need extra-large in the US.
- sourdough discard: 100% hydration. You may also use active sourdough starter as the dough isn't left to ferment for long.
- nutmeg: if you dislike the flavour of nutmeg, you may skip it or replace it with a drop of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
- milk chocolate chips: or you can use a good quality chocolate bar broken up into chocolate chunks. Replace milk chocolate with dark chocolate chips, if that's your preference. Or go all in, and try our Triple Chocolate Chip Sourdough Cookies or Sourdough Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies. Ran out of chips? Try our Chocolate Chipless Sourdough Cookies.
- sea salt: for sprinkling.
Step-By-Step Method
1. To make browned butter, place the butter in a small pan and heat it over medium heat. The butter should melt, then foam, and then the milk solids finally brown. Leave the butter to cool down slightly.
2. Add both brown and caster sugar to a large mixing bowl. Pour the brown butter over the sugar, and using an electric hand mixer, beat the mixture for 2-3 minutes until the sugar starts dissolving. It will still e very grainy though, and that's ok.
3. Add an egg yolk and whisk again for approx 2 minutes.
4. Add the sourdough discard and mix with a balloon whisk until combined (you don't want to use an electric mixer here as it will promote gluten development).
5. In a separate medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just enough to combine.
7. Finally add the chocolate chips and mix to distribute them evenly throughout the sourdough cookie dough.
8. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 4 hours to let the dough chill.
9. Preheat the oven to 160°C Fan. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
10. Divide the cookie dough into 8 even pieces and shape each into a ball.
11. Place the cookie dough balls onto the parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving plenty of space in between them.
12. Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes. The cookies should have golden brown crispy edges, but the centre should still be a little soft and puffy.
13. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a little bit of flaky salt and leave them on the tray for 10 minutes to firm up.
14. Transfer the sourdough discard cookies onto a cooling rack.
Tips For Best Results
To ensure you achieve the best results with your sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies the first time you make them, consider the following tips and tricks:
1. Don't Skip Browning the Butter
This step is crucial! Not only does browning the butter add a rich, nutty flavour to your cookies, but it also helps reduce the overall moisture content by allowing some of the liquid to evaporate. This results in a denser, more delicious cookie.
2. If You Want To Use a Stand Mixer
For the best cookie consistency, use the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mixing on medium speed initially helps combine the sugars and butter and incorporate the egg yolks. Then, switch to low speed when adding the sourdough discard to ensure even mixing without overdoing it. Mix in the dry ingredients by hand.
3. Achieving a Chewy Texture
- The combination of brown butter and the right mixing technique is key to achieving that desirable chewy texture. Brown butter helps retain moisture, which contributes to the cookie's chewiness.
- Avoid overmixing the dough once you add the dry ingredients; this prevents gluten development, which can lead to a cakey cookie instead of a chewy one.
4. Chill the Dough
Allow the cookie dough to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. This step not only improves the flavour but also firms up the dough, making it easier to shape and bake into perfect cookies. They spread less if properly chilled too.
Storage
To keep your delicious Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies fresh, store your cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days to maintain their chewy texture.
If you want to enjoy them later, place cooled cookies in a freezer-safe bag and store them in the freezer. They'll keep well for up to three months.
Freezing Unbaked Cookies: For even more convenience, shape the cookie dough into balls and freeze them on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer the dough balls to a freezer-safe bag. When you're ready to bake, simply place the frozen dough balls on a lined baking sheet and add a couple of extra minutes to the baking time. Enjoy fresh cookies anytime!
Other Cookie Recipes
If you love these Sourdough Cookies, you'll want to explore even more delicious cookie recipes! Check out our classic milk chocolate chip cookie recipe, Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies and other delightful treats that will satisfy your sweet tooth.
Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Small Saucepan
- Large Bowl
- Rubber Spatula
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- 75 g (2.65 oz) unsalted butter
- 125 g (1 cups) plain flour all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 75 g (⅔ cups) caster sugar
- 70 g (⅓ cups) light brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk large
- 80 g (⅓ cups) sourdough starter discard 100% hydration
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 150 g (⅞ cups) milk chocolate chips
- sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- To make browned butter, place the butter in a small pan and heat it over medium heat. The butter should melt, then foam, and finally brown. Leave the butter to cool down slightly.
- Add both brown and caster sugar to a large mixing bowl. Pour the browned butter over the sugar, and using a handheld electric mixer, beat the mixture for 2-3 minutes until the sugar starts dissolving (it will still be grainy, and it's ok).
- Add an egg yolk and whisk again for approx 2 minutes.
- Add the sourdough discard and mix with a balloon whisk until combined (you don't wan to use an electric mixer here as it will promote gluten development).
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just enough to combine.
- Finally, add the chocolate chips and mix to distribute them evenly throughout the sourdough cookie dough.
- Cover the dough and place it in the fridge for 4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C Fan. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Divide the cookie dough into 8 even pieces and shape each into a ball.
- Place the balls onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving plenty of space in between them
- Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes. The cookies should have browned crispy edges, but the centre should still be a little soft and puffy.
- Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with sea salt flakes and leave them on the tray for 10 minutes to firm up.
- Transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack.
Anonymous says
These were the perfect way to use up some sourdough starter and make a delicious treat!!
Ieva Greber says
For sure! Definitely one for the sweet treat lovers!
Swathi says
Sourdough discard chocolate chips looks delicious I have tried it, and my kids loved it.
Ieva Greber says
That's great to hear! Thanks for giving our recipe a go! 🙂
Sonja says
Using sourdough discard in cookies is a great idea! But what I loved most about this post is, that you explained how you calculated the replacement. Super useful for adapting recipes!
Ieva Greber says
Thank you, it's certianly handy to know how to substitute things in the recipe in case you want to experiment yourself with adding sourdough to your favourite recipes 🙂
Criss says
I made these sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies, and they’re so good! Chewy, soft, and full of flavor!