These Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies are truly chewy (not crisp or gooey) with a rich nutty, toffee-like flavor thanks to the addition of browned butter and dark brown sugar. Incorporating a little bit of sourdough discard to these chocolate chip cookies adds a delicious tang that makes these cookies truly unique.
Sponsored by Imperial Sugar
Crisp and gooey cookies are good, but in my opinion nothing beats a truly chewy cookie. Many cookies claim to be chewy but are actually under baked gooey cookies. While gooey cookies can be really good, gooey sourdough cookies taste raw and are unappealing.
Thanks to the perfect ratio of ingredients and tried and tested baking method these Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies are truly chewy and will retain their texture without becoming crispy and stale.
Recipe Box Series
This Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is part of my Recipe Box Series with Imperial Sugar. Each month, I’ll be releasing recipes for classic bakes made with a sourdough twist! You can look forward to comforting classics like Sourdough Sticky Buns, Sourdough Fudge Brownies, Apple Pie with Sourdough Crust, Sourdough Pumpkin Bundt Cake and Sourdough Monkey Bread.
Sugar is such a vital part of every dessert, it imparts flavor, texture, moisture, and without it, it would be impossible to make our favorite bakes. I use a combination of Imperial Sugar Extra Fine Granulated Sugar and Imperial Sugar Dark Brown Sugar in these cookies. The granulated sugar gives the cake structure and lightness, while brown sugar adds moisture and rich toffee-like flavor. The combination is essential to the texture of this recipe, but if you only have one in your pantry, use dark brown sugar to maintain the chewy texture of these cookies.
I’m so grateful to Imperial Sugar for making the Recipe Box Series possible and so proud to be partnering with a company with such a long tradition of producing such high-quality products. Imperial Sugar products are 100% pure cane sugar, non-GMO and provide consistently delicious results.
Baking with sourdough discard
Sourdough discard adds a great tangy flavor to these cookies. That little bit of acidity cuts through the sugary sweetness of these oatmeal cookies. You can bake these Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies with discard directly from the fridge. Since you are not using it to make bread, your sourdough starter does not need to be activated or fed for it to work in this cookie recipe.
Try my sourdough discard cookie recipes
- Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies
- Sourdough Discard Chewy Spice Cookies
- Sourdough Ube White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Sourdough Discard Crinkle Cookies
- Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Time needed: 2 hours.
How to make the best Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Start with brown butter
Brown butter gives these cookies a rich nutty flavor. Let the brown butter cool completely or it will melt your sugars and cause your cookies to spread while they bake.
- Add flavor and moisture
Miso and powdered milk are optional (but highly recommended) additions that add rich flavor to these cookies. If you don’t normally stock these in your pantry, these cookies will taste great even without them. One addition you can’t skip is olive oil. The chewy texture of these cookies depends on the perfect ratio of flour with fat. Browning butter cooks the water out of butter, adding a little bit of oil maintains the balance of fat and flour, keeping these cookies chewy, moist and fresh for days.
- Add the right mix-ins
The best chocolate chip cookies are made with chocolate chunks and not chips. Chocolate chips contain more lecithin, a chemical that allows them to keep their shape, and less cocoa butter. Chocolate bars will impart a richer mouthfeel and will create gorgeous chocolate puddles in your cookies. In our household, no cookie is worth making without walnuts, so I always add them to my cookies. If you have nut allergies or don’t have any on hand feel free to leave them out completely.
- Make the batter and chill the dough
Chilling your cookie dough is an essential step that you should not skip. If you have trouble with your cookies spreading, it’s probably because your butter was still too warm when you baked it. Chill your cookie dough for at least an hour up to 2 days before baking. The longer you chill your dough the more flavor it will develop.
- Use a cookie scoop
Scooping your dough using a cookie scoop instead of rolling your cookie dough imparts the desirable scraggly texture in these cookies.
- Use a light-colored baking sheet
These cookies were developed and tested using light-colored baking sheets. Darker baking sheets heat up more in the oven, this will cause your cookies to become over baked and lose their chewy texture. The baking times for these cookies are quite precise and depend on the color of your baking sheet. If you only have dark baking sheets, try baking your cookies for 1 or 2 minutes less (although I cannot guarantee the same results).
- Let your cookies cool on baking sheet
Letting your cookies cool on the cookie sheet is just as important as baking. Your cookies will be soft and under baked when you pull them out of the oven. Residual heat from your baking sheets will continue to bake your cookies as they rest. Let your cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Special equipment:
If you have trouble with your cookies spreading, your butter was probably too warm when you baked them. Try to chill your cookies for a longer period of time before baking.
If you don’t have time to chill your cookie dough for an extended period, try portioning them out first and then freezing the dough balls for at least 30 minutes. You’ll still have to chill the dough for some time but it won’t take as long as chilling the entire bulk of cookie dough.
To make these cookies ahead, portion them out and freeze them on a baking tray for 1 hour. When completely frozen, store them in a ziplock bag for up to a month. Bake them at 375 F, but add 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.
Sourdough cookies incorporate sourdough discard in the cookie dough. Sourdough adds a nuanced flavor and moisture that makes these cookies taste fresh for longer.
Yes! Since you are not using it for leavening, your sourdough discard does not need to be active and can be used unfed, straight from the refrigerator.
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 113 g 1 stick butter
- 21 g 1 tablespoon miso, any kind (optional)
- 5 g 1 tablespoon milk powder (optional)
- 20 g 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 egg yolks
- 100 g ½ cup Imperial Sugar Dark Brown Sugar
- 67 g ⅓ cup Imperial Sugar Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
- 56 g ¼ cup sourdough discard
- 8 g 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 180 g 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 10 g 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 5 g ½ teaspoon salt
- 113 g 1 bar 70% chocolate
- 100 g 1 cup walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Brown butter: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat,. Once melted, continue to heat butter for 2 to 3 minutes swirling the pan occasionally to loosen the milk solids from the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat when the milk solids are golden brown and the butter has a nutty aroma. Transfer the butter to a heatproof bowl. Whisk the miso and powdered milk into the brown butter, if using. Let the brown butter cool for 10 minutes.
- Make the cookie dough: Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, egg yolks and vanilla to browned butter and whisk until combined. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes.
- Whisk the mixture after the rest period until it looks fluffy and lighter in color. Stir in sourdough discard until no traces of discard remain.
- Fold the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt into the brown butter mixture until no traces of dry flour remain.
- Add mix-ins: Stir in the chopped chocolate chips and walnuts (if using).
- Chill dough: Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Prepare for baking: As your dough chills, preheat the oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Portion out cookie dough: Using a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, divide the dough into 12 roughly equal portions. Arrange 6 cookies on each baking sheet, spacing them out evenly.
- Bake: Bake cookies one tray at a time (refrigerate the remaining cookie dough portions) for 11 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the tray from the oven and let the cookies set for 5 to 10 minutes on the baking tray. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
- Enjoy and store: These cookies are better after they have cooled slightly and the interior has set. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Did you make this recipe? Do you have questions? Let me know!