Light, airy with a rich chocolate flavor, these Sourdough Crinkles are quick and easy to make. Sourdough discard adds a lot of moisture which lets these cookies stay fresh for days making them perfect for gift giving.
Crinkle cookies were my absolute favorite growing up. I've always been an absolute chocolate fiend, so I could never get enough of these rich and fudgy treats. They are such a nostalgic treat that when I recreated them I wanted my recipe to resemble the ones I ate as a kid, soft and chewy but full of fudgey chocolate flavor.
What is a crinkle cookie?
Crinkle Cookies are rolled in powdered sugar right before they go in the oven. As the crinkles bake they flatten out and develop their unique, signature crackly top. The powdered sugar adds a delicious sweetness which balances the rich dark chocolate flavor of the Dutch processed cocoa powder.
Love These Sourdough Discard Crinkle Cookies? Check out my My Top 5 Sourdough Cookie Recipes.
Baking with Sourdough Discard
Sourdough discard adds a great tangy flavor to these Sourdough Crinkle Cookies. You can use your 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. Older discard will have a tangier, acidic flavor than freshly-fed sourdough starter. Both will work for this recipe, you’ll get a slightly different result but your cookies will still be delicious!
Cookie Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour - the low protein content of all-purpose imparts a light and tender texture to these cookies without compromising its structure
- Cocoa Powder - I used Dutch processed cocoa powder to create this recipe, do not use natural cocoa powder which is more acidic and will impart a different texture to your cookies
- Salt - Brings out the flavor and sweetness of these cookies
- Baking Powder - Main raising agent, it imparts lightness and airiness to these cookies (do not substitute baking soda)
- Granulated Sugar - Imparts sweetness and structure to these cookies
- Canola Oil - Tenderizes the cookies and imparts a cakey, chewy texture (substitute any neutral-flavored oil)
- Eggs - 2 whole eggs and 2 yolks, imparts richness without adding too much moisture
- Sourdough Discard - Adds a delicious tang, contrasting the rich bitterness of cocoa powder
- Vanilla Extract - Adds a floral flavor that compliments chocolate
- Powdered Sugar - The last touch before these cookies are baked, responsible for the signature crackly top of these cookies
Equipment
Step-by-step Instructions
1. Whisk dry ingredients
2. Combine wet ingredients
3. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients
4. Stir until no traces of flour remain
5. Portion out cookie dough and roll in powdered sugar
6. Bake cookies at 350 F for 10 to 12 minutes
Frequently Asked Questions
No. These cookies are so quick, easy and require no chill time. I posted a previous version of this recipe which required a 2 hour chill time. Two hours is a long time to wait for cookies! With further testing, I found that even without time in the refrigerator these cookies turned out perfectly fine and did not spread too much.
Unlike butter, oil does not contain any water and has the same consistency no matter the temperature. So while cookies made with butter have a tendency to spread, there is no such danger with cookies made with oil. Chilling them a little does give them a richer fudgy texture, but if you don’t want to wait they turn out perfectly rich and chocolatey nonetheless.
Absolutely! You can make the cookie dough up to 1 week in advance. Store the cookie dough in the fridge before portioning them out.
Freezing Instructions: For even longer storage, portion out your cookie dough and place the balls on a small baking sheet (no need to space them out). Freeze the tray uncovered, for 1 hour, once completely frozen move the frozen cookie dough to a ziploc bag and store for up to 1 month. Bake frozen cookie dough at 350 F for 15 to 18 minutes.
These cookies last about 7 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Absolutely! Simply use the same proportion of freshly fed sourdough starter in the recipe. Your starter won’t add a strong tangy flavor to your cookies, but will still work.
If you don’t have a starter, but still want to try out this recipe, simply add 43 grams of all-purpose flour and use whole eggs instead.
These cookies need to be baked for 10 to 12 minutes. Baking for less time will result in fudgey, chewy cookies, while baking them for longer will result in a light and cakey cookie. Both are delicious, you really can’t go wrong with these cookies!
If you liked these Sourdough Crinkles, you'll love my Sourdough Discard Chewy Spice Cookies, Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies and Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies.
Sourdough Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
- small cookie scoop
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 270 grams all-purpose flour
- 80 grams cocoa powder
- 8 grams salt
- 10 grams baking powder
- 350 grams granulated sugar
- 175 grams canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 86 grams sourdough discard
- 6 grams vanilla extract
Topping
- 50 grams powdered sugar
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two 18 by 13 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients: Whisk together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.270 grams all-purpose flour, 80 grams cocoa powder, 8 grams salt, 10 grams baking powder
- Mix wet ingredients:Combine granulated sugar, oil, egg yolks, eggs, sourdough discard and vanilla extract. Stir until no traces of eggs or sourdough remains.350 grams granulated sugar, 175 grams canola oil, 2 large eggs, 2 egg yolks, 86 grams sourdough discard, 6 grams vanilla extract
- Make the dough: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no traces of flour remains.
- Portion out cookie dough: Pour powdered sugar into a small, shallow bowl. Using a cookie scoop, portion out the dough and drop each ball into powdered sugar. Coat the cookie completely in powdered sugar. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, use a measuring spoon to portion out 1 ½ tablespoons of dough, roll the dough into a ball in your palms.50 grams powdered sugar
- Bake:Position the cookies 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops look dry.
- Enjoy and store: These cookies are best enjoyed once they have completely cooled, they are even better the next day! Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Michelle Tan says
Can I cut down sugar to 100g
Make It Dough says
You can certainly try, but I have never done that myself so I can't guarantee the results.
Jenn says
I halved the sugar and thought they were fine. A little dry, so take small bite...no idea if that had anything to do with the reduced sugar...
Josine says
I baked them yesterday as a treat at work, and now some co-workers want the recipe, but they don't have sourdough discard. What must I change to make them without the discard?
Make It Dough says
So glad you loved it! I'd try using whole eggs. However, I can't guarantee the results as I've never attempted this before.
Tiffany Hu says
Hi! Does the type of cocoa powder matter here? Dutch processed ok?
Make It Dough says
Yes! Dutch processed works great for this recipe!
Evangeline says
Hi! Can I replace oil for butter? Thanks!
Make It Dough says
Butter has some water content, you'd probably have to brown the butter to remove some of the water from it before using. I've never tried this myself so I can't speak about the results!
Delynda says
Do I had to use discard? Or can I use my starter on my counter?
Make It Dough says
Both are fine
Delynda says
I forgot to ask you if I could, refrigerate overnight and bake off in the morning?
Make It Dough says
Refrigerating overnight works great!
Jennifer says
If I can’t eat cocoa powder, are there any other non-chocolate alternatives?
Make It Dough says
I'm afraid these work best with cocoa powder. Try one of the other cookie recipes on my blog, the oatmeal or soft baked cookies are quite good and you can substitute nuts or dried fruits in place of the chocolate chips.
Suzanne says
You could try carob powder. A lot of people who can't have cocoa powder use carob powder as a substitute.
Make It Dough says
Thank you for the suggestion! I never even considered carob. But it's true that it would would for flavor and it is shown to be healthier than chocolate
Kathy Poidomani says
I love, love, love these cookies! I baked these cookies for a friend & her husband said they were the best cookies he'd ever tasted. So here's what I did: I used whole wheat starter, added cinnamon & used a little less chocolate, and added Mexican vanilla. I was raised in South Texas & love Mexican chocolate so the cookies had that flavor. Tomorrow I'm making them & will add a dash of chili powder or cayenne! Double yum!! Thanks for a GREAT recipe!
Make It Dough says
Hi Kathy! Thank you so much for letting me know that the recipe worked for you. I'm ecstatic that you and your friends loved it. So great to hear that whole wheat starter worked for this recipe!
Make It Dough says
So glad you loved them! Your substitutions sound absolutely delicious!
Mary Diehl says
Made a double batch today so I can freeze and bake as desired! I added a few handfuls of mini chocolate chips and ohh man they are soo good!
Make It Dough says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Jenn says
Just wondering how many cookies this makes. I want to try it but there are only 2 of us, so I don’t want to make too many... wondering if I need to halve the recipe the first time... thx
Make It Dough says
I wouldn't advise 1/2 the recipe. You can certainly freeze a portion of the dough and store it until you are ready to bake.
SwingLean says
I have to say that these are going on regular rotation! The only changes I made was to replace 50g of the gran sug with brown sug, and after chilling the dough overnight I scooped, froze for 15, then dusted with powdered sugar before baking. I also divided the dough in half and added mini chips to one half, but seriously didn't prefer them to no chips. Perhaps I may try full size chips or chopped dark chocolate in the future. Brilliant results!
Make It Dough says
So happy you loved these! I think they are definitely chocolatey enough without added chocolate chips but you never know until you try. Chips and transforming these to double chocolate cookies with no powdered sugar sounds like a winner though!
Coco says
I have made these six times. Once I used sugar substitute and they came out great. The last two batches, however, were swimming in oil after the refrigeration period. So much so that I have had to pour it off. I am using all your measurements and a scale. What in the heck am I doing wrong?
Make It Dough says
That's so odd. The only time I've come across anything similar is when my oil was not fully emulsified when I made brownies. All I can think of is that there is something that's happening during the process of mixing that's not letting the oil get fully incorporated into your batter, but I can't be sure. I'll have to make these again to see if I can pinpoint the issue.
Make It Dough says
Thanks so much for pointing that out! A huge oversight on my part. It has been corrected on that recipe.