Tested and retested over a dozen times, my recipe for homemade sourdough chocolate chip cookies is one you’ll make over and over again. Using leftover discarded sourdough starter, you’ll whip up the cookies using a bowl and spoon; no stand mixer needed!
Chewy, pillowy, and extra chocolatey (recipe calls for chocolate chips and chunks), these soft-baked cookies are ready in about 35 minutes. This recipe is vegetarian and easily dairy free.
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Sourdough Discard Cookies
After discovering how amazing sourdough discard is in baked recipes, I want to add it to everything!
You can make so many things like Sourdough Discard Crackers, Sourdough Discard Pizza Crust, and much more with discard. I say, put it in everything!
So, it was such a delight to find sourdough cookies from a local bakery. The texture was pillow soft, tender and chewy. This discovery rocked my cookie world!
With my newfound sourdough cookie discovery and practice making hundreds of cookies in pastry school, I got to work converting an old favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, into a new sourdough cookie recipe.
“These cookies are FANTASTIC. I’ve had many requests for more since I started making them!”
Heather
This Recipe Is
- pillowy and tender
- rich and chocolatey
- mixed with bowl and spoon
If you enjoy making Sourdough Discard Recipes, you’ll enjoy these tasty, and timeless sourdough cookies.
About the Key Ingredients
- Melted Unsalted Butter – use high quality for best flavor. Butter tenderizes the cookies and adds so much flavor! It’s unsalted so we can control added salt.
- Sourdough Starter Discard – use your 100% hydration stirred-down sourdough starter. It adds flavor and tenderizes the crumb.
- Chocolate Chips – look for semi sweet chocolate chips, about 60%. If preferred, use milk chocolate chips, although the cookies will taste sweeter. I like Ghirardelli’s flatter chocolate chips (for excellent puddling – seen in the first picture above) or try Guittard Baking Chips, 63% Extra Dark Chocolate (seen in the images below).
- Chocolate Bar (chocolate chunks) – you’ll need one chocolate bar for these cookies. Choose at least 70% chocolate, 80% if you love dark chocolate, chopped. For dairy free, look for vegan chocolate chips and bar.
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How to Make Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
step by step
To create puddles of chocolate, chop your chocolate bar into BIG chunks, about 1/2 inch (1.3cm) each, so long as they fit into your cookie scoop or, you can add a few chunks to the top of the cookie before baking.
Sourdough Cookie Flavor Development
If baked right away, sourdough flavor isn’t apparent in these cookies. Rather, the magic comes in the cookies’ tenderness and keeping qualities.
However, if you’d like to tease out that tasty sourdough flavor from your cookies, simply rest the cookie dough in the fridge for up to three days. Do this by keeping them in the same mixing bowl, covered, scoop, then bake, or you can scoop all the cookies and rest in the fridge between parchment paper in a covered container.
The sourdough flavor is more apparent on day three than day one.
Traci’s Tips
- Dairy Free? Yes Please! I tested this recipe with Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, and it works well. Use your favorite dairy-free chocolate chips and bar. I like Enjoy Life Foods and Theo Chocolate. *See recipe notes for more details.
- No Refrigerator Resting: After scooping, there’s no need to rest in the fridge unless more sourdough flavor is desired.
Pillowy Soft Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups + 1 tablespoon (260 grams) Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder, non aluminum
- 3/4 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons (155 grams) Unsalted Butter
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) Light Brown Sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (80 grams) Organic Cane Sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 cup (65g) Sourdough Discard, 100% hydration stirred down
- 1 Large Egg
- 2/3 cup (115 grams) Chocolate Chips, I use 60% Semi Sweet
- 3 ounces (85 grams) Chocolate Bar, I use 70% – 80% Dark, chopped into large chunks.
Instructions
- Set oven rack in center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit (177 Celsius). Line a sheet pan or pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
Mix the Cookies:
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a small sauce pot, heat the butter on low until melted. Set aside.
- Into a large mixing bowl, transfer the melted butter. It should be warm to the touch. To the butter, add the brown sugar and cane sugar. Whisk until incorporated. To the butter mixture, add the vanilla and sourdough discard. Whisk until incorporated. Crack the egg into the batter. Whisk until smooth.
- To the butter mixture, add the flour mixture all at once. Use a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients, folding and pressing the dough until there are no dry bits left. The cookie dough should be stiff.
- To the batter, add the chips and chunks. Tip: if you'd like puddles of chocolate on the top of your cookies, hold 1/4 of the chunks out and place a chunk on top of the cookie ball after scooping. Mix until the chocolate is evenly distributed. Optional: For More Sourdough Flavor rest cookies in the fridge for up to three days. This can be done right in the mixing bowl, covered, before scooping. Or, scoop (see below), then store cookies between sheets of parchment paper in a lidded container. Bring to room temperature before baking.
Scoop:
- Scoop cookies using a number 40 ice cream/cookie scoop and transfer to prepared pan spacing cookies at about 2 inches (5 centimeters) apart. Or portion to 1 1/2 tablespoons each, then roll into a ball. To Freeze (optional): At this point the cookies can be frozen. Freeze cookies on a parchment lined sheet pan. Once frozen, transfer to a storage container and freeze for up to three weeks. When ready to bake, thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Bake.
Bake:
- Bake cookies at 350 Fahrenheit (177 Celsius) for 10-13 minutes OR when the cookies are just turning golden around the edges and the bottom is golden. Remove sheet pan from oven and set on cooling rack. Optional Tip: to fix any wonky edges or to force your cookie into a more rounded shape, when the cookies are just out of the oven, place a large round biscuit or cookie cutter over the cookie on the sheet pan (the cookie should fit within the cutter). Gently, use your hand to swirl the cookie cutter in a circle to force the cookie into a round shape (see blog post picture above). Allow cookies to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes. Optional: A sprinkle of flaky sea salt is quite nice on these cookies. Just a pinch goes a long way.
- To Store: Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before placing in a cookie jar or other lidded container. Add a small slice of bread to the cookie jar to keep the cookies fresh and tender for about three to four days.
Video
Notes
- Reduce added salt to 1/4 tsp. due to the salt content in Earth Balance.
- Because the dough is a bit softer, rest in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes so that the dough is easier to scoop.
- Use your favorite dairy free chocolate chips and bar. I like Enjoy Life Foods and Theo Chocolate.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Made it? Leave a comment below!
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The absolute BEST cookie. I wish I can give more than a 5 star review. When baking these I did brown the butter on the stove first for a little nutty flavor. The cookies baked beautifully and I already having my house ask for more! Thanks for sharing this DELISH recipe! Cant wait to check out the others :)
Love hearing this, Julia! Thank you for your note, and brown butter tip (yum!)!
One of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes! I often get asked for the recipe when delivering to others… thank you for sharing your goodness! :)
Best news ever, Anita! Thank you for your note!
I’ve been baking these for a couple years now. I just made a batch and the amount of flour did seem like it was more (I hadn’t seen your note about the recipe change before I started making them). They definitely came out fluffier. I prefer the old recipe but these are great too. My kids will still eat them :). Mine flatten out just enough with the old recipe. It’s a keeper for sure!
Hi Jackie! Thank you for your note and giving the new version a go. It’s interesting how results can vary depending on a variety of factors (like all sourdough!). I added the original recipe to the notes, for this very reason. So glad your kiddos are enjoying the cookies!
Can I use melted coconut oil?
Hi Shaz! While I’ve not tried it in this recipe, I think it could work. I’d reduce the amount slightly, by a few teaspoons since butter has water in it. Keep us posted if you give it a try!
These cookies are FANTASTIC. I’ve had many requests for more since I started making them!
Thank you for your note, Heather!!
How bad did I ruin my cookies if I added an extra 20g of discard? I doubled the batch and did my math wrong.
Hi Corinne… I’m sorry to hear this. I’m thinking you’ll get a bit more spread in the cookies.
These taste delicious! Today is my first day making anything GF sourdough. The only question is why did mine stay in a ball shape? Haha!
Hi Teagan! Did you sub gluten free sourdough discard? If so, what kind of flour did you use for these? Thank you for your note and review!
I did use GF discard and that recipe used buckwheat flour so maybe that’s why?
Hello, will this work with gluten free sourdough discard ? and gluten free flour?
Hi Amira! Without testing, I just don’t know. If you experiment, please keep us posted!
Hi Amira,
It works wonderfully! I used King Arthur GF Flour, which is also what I used to make my starter
Can I make these egg free? :)
Hi Darci! I’ve not tried it, but if you’re up for an experiment, I’d use 1/4 cup apple sauce to substitute the egg.
Thanks!
Hi there! I made these for my family last week and they were an absolute hit! I’ve never tasted a cookie with that flavor profile and texture, absolutely amazing! I was wanting to make them again today and was wondering if I could use fed starter? If so would I need to make any other adjustments? Thanks!
Hi Keegan! Super happy to hear you’re enjoying the cookies. Thank you for your note and five star review! While I’ve not tried it, making them with fed starter should be fine. I’m thinking they may be puffier and a bit more sour. However, without testing, I’m not sure if there’d be any adjustments.