Easter time calls for indulgence, and what better way to celebrate than with a delicious recipe that puts your sourdough discard to good use? These Sourdough Easter Cookies With Mini Eggs are chewy, rich, and packed with crunchy chocolate eggs, making them the perfect balance of nostalgia and sourdough magic. Browned butter and sourdough discard team up to create deep, caramelised flavours-so good, you might find yourself baking these long after Easter is over.
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Baking With Sourdough Over Easter
Easter is the perfect excuse to slow down, fire up the oven, and fill the house with the smell of freshly baked goodness. With a few days off, there's no better way to spread the sourdough love than by sharing homemade treats with family and friends.
Whether you're whipping up sourdough cookies, sourdough cherry scones, Sourdough Easter Bread or diving into other sourdough recipes, Easter sourdough baking is all about indulgence-so go on, make something delicious (and claim it's for sharing).
Oh, and we have plenty hot cross bun recipes too! Choose between classic sourdough hot cross buns, chocolate sourdough hot cross buns or hot cross buns with discard!
The Issue of Water in Sourdough Discard in Cookies
When making any sourdough cookie recipe, it's important to keep an eye on the water content from the sourdough starter discard.
Most recipes that use starter adjust other liquids - like milk or water - to avoid adding too much liquid, but cookies are a bit trickier since they don't usually have extra liquids to tweak.
For the sourdough version, we're working with a 100% hydration starter, meaning half of it is water. That's roughly 40g of extra moisture to manage-but don't worry, we've got a plan.
First, we brown the butter, letting some of the moisture evaporate for the best results.
Second, we ditch the egg whites and use only egg yolks, keeping the dough rich and chewy without making it too wet.
Don't have a sourdough starter? No problem. Try our Easter Cookies with Mini Eggs instead!
Ingredient Note
I've adapted my Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies and given them an Easter-themed spin. Here's everything you'll need:
- unsalted butter: we use European butter with 82% butter fat.
- plain flour: also known as all-purpose flour.
- baking soda: a.k.a. 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.
- egg yolk: large.
- sourdough starter discard: 100% hydration. You may use active starter if that's what you have as the cookies don't go through a fermentation process and the starter doesn't act as a leavening agent in this recipe.
- mini eggs: Mini Eggs are small chocolate eggs that have a crisp, pastel-coloured sugar shell and a creamy milk chocolate centre. The most famous version is made by Cadbury, but many brands produce their own versions.
OPTIONAL EXTRAS: We love adding a pinch of nutmeg or a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract) to these cookies!
Find the ingredient quantities, detailed instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
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 finally brown. Leave the butter to cool down slightly.
2. 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 a couple of minutes until the sugar starts dissolving (it will still be grainy, and it'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 hand mixer here as it will promote gluten development).
5. In a separate large bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just enough to combine.
7. Finally, add the crushed up chocolate eggs (leave some larger pieces for later) and mix to distribute them evenly throughout the sourdough cookie dough.
8. Cover the dough and place it in the fridge for 4 hours.
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 using your hands or a cookie scoop.
11. Place the balls onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving plenty of space in between them. Press in the reserved mini egg pieces on the tops of the cookies.
12. Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes. The cookies should have crispy golden brown edges, but the centre should still be a little soft and puffy.
13. Leave the baked cookies on the tray for 10 minutes to firm up, then transfer them onto a cooling rack.
Storage
The best way to keep your sourdough discard cookies fresh is to store them in an airtight container at room temperature, where they'll stay soft and chewy for up to five days-if they last that long!
For longer storage, pop them in the freezer. Place the cookies in a freezer-safe airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. When you're ready to enjoy, let them thaw at room temperature or give them a quick warm-up in the oven for that freshly baked feel.
More Sourdough Cookie Recipes
If you love good sourdough discard recipes, why stop here? There are endless ways to turn your extra starter into irresistible treats.
Try Sourdough Sugar Cookies or Sourdough Red Velvet Thumbprints for a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth classic, or go for the ultimate comfort bake with sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies.
And if you're a peanut butter fan, sourdough peanut butter cookies will hit the spot with their rich, nutty flavour and soft, chewy texture. Sourdough Tahini Cookies and Sourdough Red Velvet Cookies are another wonderful option! Time to put that discard to delicious use!
Sourdough Easter Cookies With Mini Eggs
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 a.k.a. bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 75 g (¾ cups) caster sugar
- 70 g (⅓ cups) light brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk large
- 80 g (⅓ cups) sourdough starter discard 100% hydration
- 150 g (⅔ cups) mini chocolate eggs crushed + some bigger pieces left fo decorating
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 and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just enough to combine.
- Finally, add the crushed up chocolate eggs (leave some larger pieces for later) 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. Press in the reserved mini egg pieces on top of each cookie dough ball.
- 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.
- Leave these Sourdough Easter Cookies on the tray for 10 minutes to firm up, then transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Chelsea says
Delicious! Did them as a trial run for easter and they will definitely be on the menu next week, so good!!
Ieva Greber says
Thank you for giving them a go! So glad they will make another appearance for Easter! 🙂
Criss says
I baked these sourdough Easter cookies with mini eggs and they were so fun to make—crispy edges, chewy center, and a great way to use up discard. Festive and tasty!