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Stacks of soudough ginger cookies on a wooden board with one sourdough cookie missing a bite.

Sourdough Ginger Cookies

If you love classic ginger biscuits with crackly tops, crisp edges and a chewy centre, these sourdough ginger cookies are about to earn a permanent spot in your recipe card collection. They’re warmly spiced, deeply flavourful and made with sourdough starter discard for extra chew and complexity.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Chilling Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine British, Sourdough, Worldwide
Servings 8 large cookies
Calories 242 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 75 g unsalted butter
  • 125 g plain flour all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda bicarbonate of soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 75 g granulated sugar
  • 70 g light brown sugar
  • 1 egg yolk large
  • 80 g sourdough discard 100% hydration
  • 80 g stem ginger *see notes drained and finely chopped (about 4 balls)

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 want to use an electric mixer here as it will promote gluten development).
  • In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and ground ginger.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just enough to combine.
  • Finally, add the chopped stem ginger 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 180°C (350℉). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Divide the cookie dough into 8 even pieces (about 60g each) 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 12-14 minutes. The cookies should have browned crispy edges, but the centre should still be a little soft and puffy. As soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, drop the tray from 20cm height onto a kitchen worktop – this creates that signature cracked tops.
  • Leave them on the tray for 10 minutes to firm up, then transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack.

Notes

Stem ginger is widely available in the UK (sometimes called preserved ginger in syrup), but can be harder to find in regular grocery stores in the United States. The best substitute is finely chopped crystallised (candied) ginger — use the same quantity. It will be slightly less juicy and a little firmer, but still gives that warm, spicy bite. Avoid fresh ginger as a direct substitute — it’s too sharp and lacks both sweetness and tenderness these cookies rely on.

Nutrition

Calories: 242kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 114mgPotassium: 35mgFiber: 1gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 267IUVitamin C: 0.001mgCalcium: 15mgIron: 1mg
Keyword Sourdough Cookies With Stem Ginger, Sourdough Discard Cookies, Sourdough Discard Ginger Cookies, Sourdough Ginger Cookies
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