These sourdough chocolate chip cookies are thick, bakery style cookies that you are sure to love.
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.
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🍪 Why you’ll love this recipe
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.
📋 Ingredients needed
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.
- 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.
🥣 How to make these cookies (step by step guide)
To make these cookies, begin by combing your dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl (flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and brown sugar).
Next, add in your wet ingredients (sourdough starter, butter that has been softened to room temperature, egg, and vanilla extract). Mix until everything is well combined. If dough appears a little crumbly, that is OK.
Stir in the chocolate chips with a large spoon. Form the dough into tall ovals (instead of round circles) with about 2 tablespoons of dough each. 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.
Bake the dough on a dark baking sheet (either greased or lined with parchment paper, NOT wax paper) for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Edges should be 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.
- Shape your dough into tall ovals instead of round balls to help them have a bakery style look.
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet before transferring.
💭 Notes
This recipe uses a method called reverse creaming. Many people use this method when making cakes. I find it also works well when baking cookies as it makes the cookies more tender. I first learned about this method from an Amish cookbook when developing my Amish chocolate chip cookies recipe.
⭐ 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.
Other sourdough recipes:
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. 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
- 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 combing your dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl (flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and brown sugar).
- Next, add in your wet ingredients (sourdough starter, butter that has been softened to room temperature, egg, and vanilla extract). Mix until everything is well combined. If dough appears a little crumbly, that is OK.
- Stir in the chocolate chips with a large spoon. Form the dough into tall ovals (instead of the usual round balls, this will help the cookies be thicker) with about 2 tablespoons of dough each. 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.
- Bake the dough on a dark baking sheet (either greased or lined with parchment paper, NOT wax paper) for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Edges should be 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.
- Shape your dough into tall ovals instead of round balls to help them have a bakery style look.
- 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!