These Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies are an ultra soft, thick, bakery style cookie that you are sure to love. They are the perfect recipe for sourdough bakers looking to make something sweet with their sourdough discard.
Chocolate chip cookies are probably my favorite food ever. If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, I’d probably pick chocolate chip cookies. These Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies are one of my favorite cookie recipes ever. They’re a must make recipe for sourdough bakers.
I can’t believe I’ve been baking sourdough for over 12 years now! I used to only bake bread when I first began my sourdough journey then I took a long break when my kids were little. In the past few years, I started making different things with my sourdough discard. I have tons of Sourdough and Sourdough Discard Recipes if you need fresh ideas. While these cookies are probably my number one favorite, this Sourdough Coffee Cake is a close second.
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🍪 Why you’ll love this recipe
- Great for discard: These chocolate chip cookies are a great way to use up some of your sourdough discard. The sourdough discard gives these cookies a little bit of a tangy flavor which sourdough bakers can appreciate.
- Easy: These cookies are fairly straightforward and use common pantry ingredients.
- Taste: These cookies are thick bakery style cookie with tons of buttery and sweet flavor.
- Go-to recipe: These are one of my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipes. I’ve made this recipe over 20 times (basically whenever I don’t feel like baking bread). I’m certain that you will love it too.
📋 Ingredients needed
The complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the printable recipe card further below in the post.
To make these cookies, you will need:
- All purpose flour: The base of the cookie dough.
- Sugar and brown sugar: To sweeten the cookies. You can use light or dark brown sugar. Dark brown sugar has more molasses content and will give you a richer taste in your cookies.
- Salt: You’ll need just ½ of a teaspoon of salt.
- Corn starch
- Baking soda: To help the cookies rise.
- Sourdough starter: Use your unfed sourdough starter for these cookies. If you’d like to learn how to make your own sourdough starter, this post on how to make sourdough starter with blueberries is a great start.
- Egg: You’ll need one large egg for this recipe.
- Butter: I recommend using unsalted butter when baking so that you can control the amount of salt going into the recipe. Salt content in salted butter varies brand by brand and can be inconsistent. Let your butter soften to room temperature.
- Chocolate chips: Use semi-sweet or milk chocolate, whichever you prefer. You could also use chocolate chunks or chop up a chocolate bar. I love the chocolate bars from Trader’s Joes for the latter.
🥣 How to make these cookies (step by step guide)
To make these cookies, begin by creaming together the sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and butter that has been softened to room temperature (image 1).
Add the remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips and mix until everything is well combined (image 2). If dough appears a little crumbly, that is OK, it will come together in your hands as your form the dough balls.
Stir in the chocolate chips with a large spoon (image 3). Form the dough into balls. Chill the dough for at least one hour in your refrigerator.
I like to form all of my cookie dough then set it all on a cookie sheet to chill then separate it out onto a second sheet once it’s ready to bake. You can chill the dough using this method and then freeze a few cookies for later or chill all of the dough in the mixing bowl and then form the dough balls. Either way works.
Add six cookies per baking sheet with enough room to spread (image 4) and bake for 11 to 13 minutes at 350 degrees. You will know the cookies are done when the edges are golden brown. Let the cookies rest for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- Be sure to chill your dough. If you skip this step then the cookies can turn out flat.
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet before transferring.
⭐ Variations
- You can add in chopped walnuts or pecans to these cookies. About ½ of a cup works great.
- If you want M&M cookies you can substitute M&Ms for the chocolate chips.
📋 Recipe FAQs
You can form dough balls and freeze leftover dough then bake directly from the freezer. Add 1-2 extra minutes to the bake time.
Sure you can add any where from ½ of a cup to 1 full cup of nuts. I like adding pecans or walnuts.
🍰 More great sourdough recipes:
- Sourdough Apple Bread
- Sourdough Monster Cookies
- Cinnamon Sourdough Muffins
- Sourdough Discard Oatmeal Cookies
- Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Muffins
- Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake
- Sourdough Cinnamon Cookies
- Sourdough Vanilla Wafers
If you tried these Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies or any other recipe on my site, please leave a ⭐ rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I would love to hear from you and I’m always happy to try to answer any questions you may have. Happy baking!
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Mixer
- Large mixing bowl
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper (optional, make sure you use parchment and NOT wax paper)
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) softened to room temperature (do not melt)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sourdough starter unfed
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- To make these cookies, begin by creaming together the sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and butter that has been softened to room temperature.½ cup sugar, ¾ cup brown sugar, 1 cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips and mix until everything is well combined. If dough appears a little crumbly, that is OK, it will come together in your hands as your form the dough balls.2 ¼ cup all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon corn starch, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 large egg, ½ cup sourdough starter
- Stir in the chocolate chips with a large spoon. Form the dough into balls. Chill the dough for at least one hour in your refrigerator.2 cups chocolate chips
- I like to form all of my cookie dough then set it all on a cookie sheet to chill then separate it out onto a second sheet once it's ready to bake.
- Add six cookies per baking sheet with enough room to spread and bake for 11 to 13 minutes at 350 degrees. You will know the cookies are done when the edges are golden brown. Let the cookies rest for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Be sure to chill your dough. If you skip this step then the cookies can turn out flat.
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet before transferring.
Mihaela | https://theworldisanoyster.com/ says
Great use for sourdough discard!
Stine Mari says
Yum, I love the that we can use sourdough for this!
Marcellina says
So interesting to use sourdough discard for chocolate chips! These look so good!
Jill says
Great use of sourdough starter!
Bernice says
Excellent recipe. I’m always searching for discard recipes and this one is fab.
Lindsay Howerton-Hastings says
YUM! These were gobbled up in an instant and immediately requested to be made again. Fabulous recipe!
amanda says
I haven’t had sourdough cookies before, but these were so delicious – thanks!
Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady says
I am so intrigued by these cookies. I would have never thought of making chocolate chip cookies with sourdough discard.
nancy says
i never heard of sourdough and cookies ! pinned to make later!
Gina Abernathy says
What a great way to use sourdough starter. I never would have thought of that. These cookies look like a true winner.
Shilpa says
Such an awesome way to use the discard!! Will definitely make it. Can I chill the dough longer before baking, like overnight cold fermentation?
Two Pink Peonies says
Yes, you totally can! I actually think they are better if you chill them overnight, thanks so much for your comment. I’ll update the post to include that.
Deb says
What a brilliant idea to use up sourdough discard! And the cookies look totally drool-worthy, I wish I could grab one 🙂
Giangi Townsend says
“Waste not” was my grandmother’s motto and here is a perfect recipe where nothing is wasted. What a great idea to use sourdough discard
Sue says
I never imagined you could use sourdough discard for cookies! Must try!
Jeannie says
what a great idea to use sourdough cookies! gonna give this a try!