These Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with brown butter, semisweet chocolate, and a sprinkle of sea salt. They have an incredible flavor and are perfect for using up sourdough discard! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies
Never did I ever think this internet space of mine would host a recipe as… interesting… as sourdough chocolate chip cookies. However, after falling headfirst into the world of sourdough baking, I’ve become obsessed with finding new ways to use up my discard, and it wasn’t long before my love of desserts and my love of sourdough merged.
Today’s recipe blends these two worlds beautifully, and it surprised me how quickly I fell head over heels for this recipe. In fact, it’s my new favorite chocolate chip cookie, yes, even more than my go-to best chocolate chip cookies–and I never thought I’d find a cookie that topped those. If you love that recipe, just wait until you try this one.
The flavor is unparalleled, rich and deep, intense and chocolatey. Top everything off with a sprinkle of sea salt and it’s true cookie bliss.
It’s not as simple as just adding discard to any old cookie recipe
When developing this recipe I knew that simply adding sourdough discard to a standard chocolate chip cookie dough wouldn’t work. At least, it wouldn’t yield the chewy, flavorful cookie I was seeking. Adding that much liquid was bound to result in too-thick, cakey cookies, which I definitely didn’t want.
I took a few notes from my experience with developing other high-liquid recipes (like my pumpkin cookies) and creatively reduced the liquid and water content in a few ways. We use only egg yolks (no whites) and brown the butter (to cook out the excess water), which takes the cookie to even higher heights. The end result is oft and chewy cookies that aren’t at all cakey and stay soft for days!
What makes these cookies so amazing?
- Sourdough discard adds unique depth and wonderful flavor (it’s not at all sour here) that’s hard to put your finger on, but so good. Like… so good.
- Browned butter imparts a rich, nutty taste that is unparalleled.
- Chopped chocolate and sea salt accents the other flavors perfectly.
What You Need
Here are the key ingredients in these sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies:
- Sourdough discard. If you use my sourdough starter recipe, the amount you will discard there is the exact same amount needed here today. Saving sourdough discard for other recipes (like my sourdough pancakes!) is a wonderful way to reduce food waste (and a great excuse to eat more cookies)!
- Butter. To compensate for the discard and reduce the water content in the dough, we’ll brown our butter. This extra step creates an AMAZING flavor as well, so it’s worth it. If you’ve never browned butter before, I have a post on how to brown butter that might be helpful for you.
- Egg yolks. Discarding the egg whites and just using the yolks also helps to reduce the water in our cookie dough.
- Chocolate. Semisweet or 60% cacao chocolate baking bars are my preference in this recipe. You can use whatever type of chocolate you prefer though, such as semisweet, milk, or dark chocolate. Despite these being sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies, I recommend buying bars and chopping them yourself. This allows the chocolate to distribute beautifully through the cookies and melt more than regular chocolate chips would. It just also adds to that gourmet feel! Yes, of course actual chips will work instead, but I do recommend you try them with chopped chocolate at least once.
- Vanilla extract. This also adds depth of flavor to the cookies. If you have homemade vanilla, now is the time to whip it out.
- Sea salt. Adding a sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top of the baked cookies enhances the sweet and savory flavors, creating a delightful contrast.
SAM’S TIP: I think these sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies taste best when the dough has had quite a bit of time to chill; in fact, I like to let mine sit overnight before scooping and baking. Technically the dough will be firm enough that you can bake it right away (the cookies would just be a smidge flatter), but if you have the patience to let the flavor develop, you will be rewarded with amazing cookies!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown the butter – Cook the butter over medium low heat until it melts, then increase the heat to medium. Stir constantly as the butter bubbles and pops (it’s the most pleasant sound in the world). Once the popping slows, look for golden brown specks forming in the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat, pour into a heatproof bowl, and let cool completely.
- Add the wet ingredients – Add the sugars, egg yolks, and vanilla to the cooled butter, then stir in the sourdough discard.
- Add the dry ingredients – Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually stir them into the wet ingredients.
- Chocolate and chill – Add the chopped chocolate and fold it into the dough until incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes (I like to let mine chill overnight for the best flavor).
- Scoop and bake – Roll 1 ½ tablespoon sized cookie dough balls between your palms before placing on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 350F for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown.
- Salt and enjoy! Sprinkle the warm cookies with sea salt and let them cool completely on their baking sheets before enjoying.
SAM’S TIP: Never put cookie dough on a hot cookie sheet! Doing this can cause your dough to spread and result in super thin cookies. If you don’t have multiple cookie sheets, let your dough chill in the fridge in between batches while your cookie sheets cool down.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! In fact, I think these sourdough chocolate chip cookies tastes best after chilling the dough overnight. You can make this dough up to 4 days in advance, just note that if you do chill it longer than 60 minutes, it will be a bit tough to scoop at first (just let it sit at room temperature until scoopable).
I developed these sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies as a way to 1) use my sourdough discard instead of discarding it and 2) create an incredibly flavored cookie that’s a bit different from the norm.
No matter the recipe type, sourdough discard imparts flavor and also has some nutritional benefits too. That’s not to say these cookies should be considered health food though!
Yes! Follow the chilling step first, then freeze according to the instructions for drop cookies in my how to freeze cookie dough post.
I seriously can’t wait for you to try these!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- ⅔ cup (133 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (140 g) sourdough discard
- 2 ¾ cup (340 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (255 g) semisweet chocolate chips or 6 oz chopped semisweet or dark chocolate bar
- Flaky sea salt for sprinkling
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Brown the butter. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly. Butter will sizzle and pop. Once popping slows or stops and you notice the butter is beginning to turn golden brown (there will be brown flecks on the bottom of your pan) immediately remove from heat. Pour into a large heatproof mixing bowl and allow to cool until no longer warm to the touch before proceeding.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- Once butter has cooled, add sugars, eggs yolks, and vanilla extract and stir until well-combined.1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ⅔ cup (133 g) granulated sugar, 2 large egg yolks, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add sourdough discard and mix well, until fully incorporated.⅔ cup (140 g) sourdough discard
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.2 ¾ cup (340 g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until thoroughly combined.
- Use a spatula to fold in chopped chocolate until well incorporated.1 ½ cups (255 g) semisweet chocolate chips or 6 oz chopped semisweet or dark chocolate bar
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30-60 minutes (or, my preference, overnight).
- Once dough is ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop chilled dough into 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized balls, for neat, uniform cookies roll between your palms to make them round. Place on prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are beginning to turn golden brown (centers will still be soft and may appear slightly underdone).
- Within several minutes of removing cookies from oven, sprinkle all over with flaky sea salt.Flaky sea salt
- Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before removing and enjoying.
Notes
Storing
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Momi
Amazing!.These are the best chocolate chip.cookies I have ever had! they are crispy on the outside and nice and chewy on the inside. The browned butter makes the raw dough hard to resist. Perfection. Thank you!.
Ken Smith
This recipe is spot on. We had tried another recipe and the cookies turned out cakey. We wanted soft and chewy. I tried yours and they are perfect. I did not rest them before baking. But my sourdough was quite sour so it wasn’t necessary to wait for the flavor to build. The recipe went into my cookbook.
LINDA
My first time trying something with my new sourdough discard and boy, what a hit! These cookies were SO good – my whole family loved them. The brown butter added a richness and your advice on using the chopped chocolate bar (over chips) was spot on! Thank you so much for sharing!
p.s. I really love how you mention the measurements for each ingredient again on each step. So much easier then referring back to the recipe. Nice touch!
Laurie Campbell
Awesome recipe! I used ghee because I had some to use and my son (adult) said you could sell these cookies! I also used Heath chips and white chocolate chips because thats what I had. Will make these again! (and again, and again….lol)
Ken Smith
A
I also used my home made ghee instead of browning butter. It is virtually the same.
Lora
delicious. however, the dough is very dry. it took a lot of mixing and smooshing the ingredients together to get it more dough-like. am I the only one? this is my second time making these.
I do sub in gf all purpose flour – but I wouldn’t think that would matter?
Sam
Hi Lora! I’m so sorry to hear this is happening! While I’m not familiar with the gf flour you are using, it sounds like it could be causing some issues. I would try using a little bit less next time. 🙂
Elise
Please no hate… but anyway I could just make “sourdough discard” just for this recipe? I am not a sourdough maker yet but would love to make these cookies! Is it easy enough to make that part needed for the recipe? Thank you!!
Sam
Hi Elise! It’s actually a several week process to get your sourdough ready to use so unfortunately you can’t just make the discard portion. 🙁 Once you get that starter established it can be kept for very long periods of time and it’s very versatile. 🙂
Elise
Thank you!!! Well maybe this is the kick in the pants I need to start!!
Rachelle
Absolutely! Keep in mind it takes a long time for starter to establish and become strong – it’s not a one time kinda thing. I maintain a sourdough for everything but bread. I keep a small jar active and “discard” to a big jar in the fridge. Starter also works wonders as a thickener for sauces & soups.
Nicole
These cookies are Amazing 🤤 I’m hooked on sourdough recipes, specifically yours!! Keep them coming. I need a shortcake recipe for strawberry shortcake!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Nicole! You can make my strawberry shortcake, but substitute my sourdough biscuits. 🙂
Nicole
Okay, I’ll do that. For the biscuits, for timing purposes I need to make them on a Sunday, to eat on a Thursday. Would you suggest freezing them before baking, or after baking?
Sam
I haven’t actually tried keeping them that long without baking. I’m afraid they would keep rising so I would probably freeze the biscuits. They will take a bit longer to bake from frozen. 🙂
Kate
These cookies are amazing! Mine came out perfect with a light crunch on outside and soft inside. The only request or feedback I have is to add the measurement of brown butter needed after the browning process. Each brand of butter can have a different percentage of water present so 1 cup of butter to be browned can lead to different results for people. Otherwise, delicious keeper recipe and sharing with others!
Ethel Wright
This is a great recipe I added a few chopped nuts let chill about 1.5 hours the flavor of these cookies is amazing love the recipe Thank you!
Trina Woodlief
These are amazing cookies. Hope you do not mind I shared the link on Sourdough for beginners.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Trina! I appreciate when links to my website are shared. 🙂
Ariel
hi Trina I’m also on sourdough for beginners page lol
Michelle
These were the BEST cookies I’ve ever made in my life! And I’ve made a lot! They did spread out at all, hardly, & I wanted them to.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Michelle! Did they just stay in balls when you baked them? If so you may have accidentally added a little too much flour.
kris
I’m an experienced baker so I think I did everything exactly the way instructed. I browned the butter and it looked beautiful, just like the video. I only used yokes, etc., etc. I let the dough chill for 2 1/2 hours, and used parchment. The first tray spread out like small saucers. I used a new pan and put the dough in the freezer for about 30 minutes before baking the second tray. Thought maybe it was too soft. Second pan came out the same way. I finally used my cupcake tins so they could not spread out and I put much less dough for each cookie. They were a little better, but these were the greasiest cookies in the world! I have never had a baking flop as bad as this. Not sure what the issue was, but they did not taste different enough to ever try this recipe again.
Sam
Hi Kris! I’m so sorry to hear they didn’t turn out for you. 🙁 The most likely cause of these cookies spreading and being greasy is adding the sugars to the butter when the butter is still warm. 🙁
Elizabeth
Can I just say that it is amazing that you put the measurements for your ingredients within the recipe!! Genius and everyone should do it!!
Anna
They were a hit!! ❤️
Kara Tegmeyer
These were fantastic! I made 12 giant ones. I can definitely taste the tang from the sourdough. Great recipe!
Kat O
I’ve been experimenting with SD cookies for a little while now and these are by far the best! I made these for the first time this morning and committed to a double batch. My first screw up was that I added the dry ingredients to the wet and stirred a few times before realizing that I’d forgotten to add my SD discard so I got that in there and stirred again. At first I thought I had ruined it because all I could get were pea sized crumbles, but I squished it all together into a ball, covered it and stuck it in the frig for an hour. Second mistake was forgetting to add the chocolate chips after I had already shaped the cookies and put them on parchment so I just threw them all back in the bowl and kneaded the chips in. So twice I screwed up and shockingly, when I baked them, they turned out amazing!! Thanks so much for this yummy recipe, it’s definitely a keeper!!
Sam
I’m so glad you were able to save them and still enjoy them, Kat! 🙂
Susan Todd
Can this dough be frozen in balls for later use?
Sam
Hi Susan! I don’t think you’ll have any issues freezing this dough. 🙂
Kevin A Kohlhase
I made a batch of these a couple weeks back. They turned out amazing. Shared them and they loved them.