These bakery-style Chewy Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies are loaded with chocolate and are soft and chewy with a crispy edge.
Make the dough in advance and keep it in your refrigerator or freezer so that you can enjoy freshly baked cookies whenever the craving strikes.
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One lesson that is quickly learned when you maintain a sourdough starter is that it has the potential to produce lots and lots of sourdough discard.
Enter sourdough discard recipes. Honestly I probably make more sourdough discard recipes than loaves of sourdough bread. Some of my favorites include these Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Muffins, these Sourdough Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, these Sourdough Discard Mint Chocolate Cookies, this Sourdough Flatbread, these Sourdough Apple Muffins, and these Sourdough Blueberry Scones.
But if I am completely honest one of my favorite foods are cookies! So of course I had to create a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe that would use up some of my sourdough discard.
I made eight versions of of these cookies searching for the right combination of ingredients to create what I consider a pretty darn goo chocolate chip cookies.
Looking for more sourdough discard cookie recipes? Try these Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies, Sourdough Pecan Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookies, Sourdough Discard Gingerbread Cookies, these Sourdough Discard Peanut Butter Cookies, Sourdough Apple Cookies, Sourdough Nutella Cookies, Sourdough Discard Shortbread, Sourdough Ginger Molasses Cookies, these Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies, Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Cookies, or these Sourdough Sugar Cookies.
Recipe Ingredients
All you need are a few simple ingredients to make these soft and chewy Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Bread Flour: I typically use bread flour rather than all-purpose flour in my cookie recipes. Bread flour helps to create a chewier cookie. For accuracy, the best way to measure the flour is by using a digital kitchen scale.
Tip: If you don't have a digital scale, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it with the back of a butter knife. Try not to compress the flour into the measuring cup.
Salt: I add at least a pinch of salt to all of my recipes. Salt complements and intensifies the other flavors. For all of my recipes, I use Morton Kosher Salt which packs more densely than Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you are using Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt you will want to double the amount of salt you add.
Unsalted Butter: Room temperature butter is easier to cream together with the sugar. I use unsalted butter. If you only have salted butter, reduce the salt to ½ teaspoon. There is about ¼ teaspoon of salt per stick of salted butter.
Brown Sugar and Granulated White Sugar: This recipe uses both types of sugar. The brown sugar adds moisture while the white sugar helps the cookie dough spread while it is baking.
Sourdough Discard: Don't worry your cookies won't be sour. This is plenty of sugar to eliminate the sourdough flavor. Bring your sourdough discard to room temperature before adding it to the recipe. It will be easier to incorporate. Active starter or sourdough discard can be used for this recipe.
Pro Sourdough Tip: Keep a glass jar in your refrigerator to store your sourdough discard. Continue adding to it until you have enough to make your chosen sourdough discard recipe.
Chocolate: I have used chocolate chips in my cookies for a long time but recently I have really wanted my cookies to have those delicious looking puddles of chocolate. The only way to achieve this is to use chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips.
Chocolate chips have added a higher percentage of cacao solids and stabilizers that prevent them from melting and allow them to keep their shape when they are baked.
The choice to use chocolate chips or chopped chocolate is up to you.
Tip: To balance the flavor in these sweet cookies use chocolate that is 60% to 70% cacao.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Are you new to sourdough? I have plenty of information to help you on your sourdough journey.
- How to Create Your Own Micro Sourdough Starter
- Scrapings Method for Sourdough Starter
- How to Dehydrate Sourdough Starter
- Storing Sourdough Starter in the Refrigerator
- Storing Sourdough Starter on the Counter
- Best Containers for Storing Sourdough Starter and Discard
- How Long Does Sourdough Discard Last?
- What is the Difference Between Sourdough Starter and Sourdough Discard?
- Best Gifts for Sourdough Bakers
Substitutions and Variations
- If you don't have bread flour, you can substitute regular all-purpose flour. Because of its lower protein content, cookies made with all-purpose flour will be crispier.
- Cocoa Powder: Add 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to the flour mixture to create a chocolate cookie dough.
- Caramel: Stuff the cookies with a piece of caramel to create caramel-filled chocolate chip cookies. Check out my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookies or these Salted Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies for detailed instructions.
- For a pop of flavor, sprinkle the cookies with flakey sea salt before baking.
- Chocolate: Use your favorite chocolate chips or chop up a bar of semi-sweet chocolate. For a sweeter cookie use milk chocolate. For a less sweet cookie use darker chocolate. You could even try white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or caramel chips.
- Candy: Chop up your favorite candy bars like Snickers, Reese's, or stir in M&M's.
- Nuts: Add your favorite nuts along with the chocolate chips. Try adding almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans, or walnuts.
- Coconut: Stir in shredded coconut with the chocolate chips.
Step by Step Directions
Step 1: In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, and sugars with the paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth.
Step 2: Lower the mixer speed to low speed and add the sourdough discard, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.
Step 3: Add the bread flour, kosher salt, and baking soda and mix on low speed until just combined.
Be careful to not over mix. Over-mixing will create tough cookies.
Step 4: Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
Step 5: Wrap the cookie dough in wax paper and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
Step 6: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it into balls, about 2 tablespoons of dough each. Place the dough balls onto a baking sheet about two inches apart.
Tip: The chill time allows the butter in the dough to firm up and allows the flour to fully hydrate. Which prevents the cookies from spreading too much.
Tip: To quickly portion out the dough use a knife to cut the chilled dough into smaller pieces.
Step 7: Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned but the center is still soft.
Allow the cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tip: Use a light-colored cookie sheet. Dark cookie sheets absorb too much heat and can cause your cookies to overbake. Check out this post from Handle the Heat to see a comparison of cookies baked on different types of cookie sheets.
Tip: For crispier cookies increase the bake time by 2-3 minutes.
Make-Ahead, Storage, and Freezing Instructions
Make-Ahead: You can mix up the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Chilling cookie dough keeps it from spreading too much as it bakes by hydrating the flour and solidifying the butter.
Storing: Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Freezing Cookie Dough: Unbaked cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to 3 months. I always have a batch of Condensed Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie dough in my freezer for when a cookie craving strikes.
Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Once frozen, remove from the baking sheet and place in a zip-top bag. Label with the date and contents.
When you are ready to bake cookies, remove the cookie balls from the freezer, let them sit at room temperature while the oven preheats, and then bake. You may need to add a minute or two to the baking time.
Freezing Baked Cookies: Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Once the cookies have cooled completely, place them on a sheet pan and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen cookies to an airtight container or zip-top bag. Label with the date and contents.
Thaw frozen cookies overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, either will work. Cookies baked with active sourdough starter may be a tiny bit puffier.
Want perfectly round cookies? Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven grab a round cookie or biscuit cutter and place it around one of the cookies. Move the cookie cutter in a circular motion to gently round the cookie before it sets completely. Check out my cookie shaping video on Instagram if you have questions.
The size of your chopped chocolate will affect the look and bake of your cookies. Larger pieces will result in less spreading and larger pools of chocolate.
Finely chopped chocolate will allow your cookies to spread more and give them a speckled look.
The secret to soft cookies is to not over bake them. The longer a cookie bakes the crunchier it will become.
Expert Tips
- Use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients rather than the cup measurements. In baking accuracy matters. If you don't have one this is my favorite kitchen scale, because the display pulls out making it easy to see even if you are using a large bowl.
- Use room temperature butter, eggs and sourdough discard. Chilled eggs or sourdough discard may cause some of the butter to re-solidify prematurely. To quickly bring the eggs to room temperature, place them in a bowl of warm water for 10-15 minutes.
- Chill the dough for at least 2-3 hours before baking. Chilling allows the butter to firm up and the flour to absorb more liquid further solidifying the dough. If the dough is baked without chilling it first, the cookies will spread while baking and become thin, hard, and crispy.
- Use a cookie scoop for evenly portioned cookies. Take the guesswork out of portioning cookies by using a cookie scoop to make sure each cookie is the same size. Alternatively, you could cut the block of cookie dough into even pieces with a knife. I find that this method saves me time.
- Baking times for all recipes are only suggestions. The actual baking time will vary depending on your oven. It is helpful to know your oven and worth purchasing an inexpensive oven thermometer. Oven temperatures can vary as much as 50 degrees plus or minus.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
More Cookie Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Chewy Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room-temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup sourdough discard room-temperature
- 2 egg yolks room-temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cup bread flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together 1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 cup granulated white sugar with the paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth.
- Lower the mixer speed to low speed and add the 1 cup sourdough discard, 2 egg yolks, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.
- Add the 2 ½ cup bread flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon baking soda and mix on low speed until just combined.
- Fold in 3 cups chocolate chips with a spatula.
- Wrap the dough in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it into balls, about 2 tablespoons of dough each. Place the dough balls onto a baking sheet about two inches apart.
- Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned but the center is still soft. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
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