Learn how to make sourdough chocolate chip cookies at home with your sourdough discard!
These bakery-style cookies are soft, thick, and chewy. Loaded with chocolate chips in every bite!
Make the dough in advance and keep it in the fridge or freezer. You'll never be more than minutes away from satisfying your sweet tooth!
Sourdough chocolate chip cookies are a thing. A very delicious thing indeed!
Sourdough discard makes a naturally fermented cookie that your family will rave about.
Just like our sourdough peanut butter cookies, sourdough ginger molasses cookies, and sourdough oatmeal cookies, they are perfectly sweetened and stay soft and fresh tasting for days.
They are everything you're looking for when it comes to homemade chocolate chip cookies, but better!
Instructions
In order to create a soft and chewy sourdough chocolate chip cookie, the batter must NOT be over-mixed.
After several test batches, we found that the following method worked best for incorporating the ingredients without overmixing the dough.
To achieve this, use the paddle attachment with a stand mixer to beat cold, cubed butter with the sugars until it starts to come together, 45-60 seconds. The mixture will be thick and uneven looking.
Add the chocolate chips and continue to beat on low speed for 30 seconds. The texture of the chocolate chips will help blend the butter and sugar together evenly. (We are not looking for light and fluffy.)
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and add them to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until it has a "crumbly" texture, 20-30 seconds.
Use a fork to beat the egg, sourdough discard, and vanilla in a small bowl. Add it to the batter and mix on low speed until "just incorporated", 20-30 seconds.
Use a spatula to make sure the ingredients are fully combined.
The goal is to avoid over-mixing the batter so that you get a thick, chewy, perfect cookie!
Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough into 12 large balls. Place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. 24 hours is best!
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes, or until the outside of the cookies are golden brown and the middle still looks slightly under-baked.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Tips and Tricks
After each addition of ingredients to the stand mixer, mix until "just incorporated". You do not want to add any air to the batter. Adding too much air creates a more "cake-like" cookie.
Bread flour is higher in gluten, which produces a more chewy cookie. If you don't have bread flour, you can use all-purpose flour in its place.
Enhance the flavor of the cookie with flaked sea salt. Add a pinch on top of the dough balls before you place them in the oven. (This is totally optional but highly recommended!)
How to store and freeze
Baked cookies
Store baked sourdough chocolate chip cookies at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 7 days. (To keep them extra fresh and chewy, place a small piece of white bread in the container.)
Freeze any leftover baked cookies for up to 3 months. After the cookies have cooled completely, individually wrap them in plastic wrap and insert them into a freezer-safe bag.
Unbaked cookie dough
Store unbaked cookie dough in the fridge, covered tightly for up to 7 days. (According to the FDA, unbaked cookie dough is not safe for consumption.)
To Freeze unbaked cookie dough, portion the dough out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and place it in the freezer. Transfer the frozen dough balls into a freezer-safe container and keep them frozen for up to 3 months.
Bake in a 375°F (190°C) oven for 17-20 minutes, straight from the freezer.
Alternatively, allow the dough to thaw in the fridge overnight and bake according to the original directions.
Other sourdough discard recipes you may like:
- sourdough brownies
- cut out sourdough sugar cookies
- sourdough thumbprint cookies
- sourdough blueberry muffins
- sourdough sugar cookie bars
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
INGREDIENTS
Dry Ingredients
- ¾ cup + 1 teaspoon (95 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup + 1 teaspoon (125 g) bread flour (all-purpose can be substituted, see notes)
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Wet Ingredients 1
- 1 large (1) egg
- ½ cup (125 g) sourdough starter discard
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
Wet Ingredients 2
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter (cold, cubed)
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) white granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups (340 g) chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
INSTRUCTIONS
Mix dry ingredients
- Use a whisk or a fork to mix the bread flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
Mix wet ingredients 1
- In a separate small bowl, use a whisk or a fork to beat the egg, vanilla extract and sourdough starter until smooth. Set aside.
Mix wet ingredients 2
- Place the cold, cubed butter, light brown sugar and granulated sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat on low-speed until the mixture forms small crumbles, 45-60 seconds. Add the chocolate chips and mix on low-speed 30-45 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low-speed until the batter starts to become a crumbly mixture, 20-30 seconds. Pour in the egg mixture and mix on low-speed until the dough comes together and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 20-30 seconds. Use a spatula to stir the batter, ensuring all of the ingredients have been fully incorporated.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough into 12 balls, (2 scoops per cookie) and place them on a parchment-lined baking tray. Cover the dough with a sheet of plastic wrap so they do not dry out. Chill the dough in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. (24 hours is best!)
- Bake in a preheated, 375°F (190°C) oven for 15-17 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the center still appears slightly under-baked. Remove and allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
NOTES
- Store baked cookies at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 7 days. Place a small slice of white bread inside the container to help keep cookies fresh.
- Freeze unbaked dough for up to 3 months.
- Bread flour can be replaced with equal parts all-purpose flour. Using 100% all-purpose flour will produce a less chewy cookie.
Rachael Robertson says
Quite possibly the best cookies I have ever tried!!!
Julie Davis Latham says
Can you use active sourdough starter? or does it have to be discard?
Amy says
You can use active starter but the cookies might be more cakey than chewy.
Carol says
Have you used einkorn flour with this recipe? Are there any changes you would make if you did?
Amy says
Hi Carol, I haven't used the einkorn flour with this recipe. That being said if I were to try it out, I would use 2 cups of einkorn all-purpose flour in place of the 2 wheat flours.
Louise says
My family is loving these sourdough chocolate chip cookies. They are rich, soft, and just the perfect texture. I made a double batch but with 4 20-somethings, three of whom are boys, there will only be crumbs by morning (along with a sudden milk shortage!). Thank you!
Emily Khakhalkin says
I chilled mine for 7 hours. They turned out fairly flat. The aftertaste was a little too sour for me. The flavor I enjoyed, but mine came out more like a chewy cookie bar. My first time doing a desert with discard, I guess it's a little more tricky because everyone's sourdough discard's are a little different.
DANE HOOVER says
Definitely true about the sourdough starter. Depends on how stiff or runny it is. I find that a more liquid starter makes flatter cookies.
Alyson says
These are my favorite sourdough chocolate chip cookies and I love how easy they are to make! This week, I was craving oatmeal scotchies but still needed to use up some starter discard, so I used this recipe and added butterscotch chips, some cinnamon, and old fashioned oats - they were fantastic!
David Roehrig says
How much of the butterscotch chips, cinnamon and oats did you use?
Patricia says
Have not made recipe, but wondering how would you mix these without a stand mixer?
Amy says
You can definitely mix without a stand mixer. You'll just need to cream the butter and sugar by hand or you could also use a hand mixer if you have one!
Sandra Ross says
I am going to try these as I love all your recipes. I like oatmeal in my chocolate chip cookies. Have you a suggestion for adding this?
Amy says
You could probably add a 1/2 cup of oats to the batter without having to make other changes.
CC says
They taste good, but the texture and appearance are very different than described. Mine came out cakey aside from the gluey-ness due to the bread flour. I’m wondering if my flour is to blame, though. It tends to run highly absorbent (I always need the highest hydration doughs for my bread) plus I live at altitude in an arid climate. I have never made adjustments for those things in the past, but this recipe may be more sensitive. Next time I will lower the flour amounts slightly to see if I get flatter bakery style like everyone else did. I love discard recipes so thank you for this!
Amanda says
Mine were also cakey in texture and I used all purpose flour, no bread flour. I think I could have smashed them flat instead of leaving in a ball and that would have helped some.
Emily Khakhalkin says
I smashed mine down because of your comment and they baked on the flatter side.
Wren says
The best homemade cookies I've ever tried to make! I love that they stay chewy in the middle and crispy on the edges, it's perfection 🥰
Amy says
Thank you Wren! 🙂