Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

If you’re looking for a delicious way to use up sourdough discard, these decadent chocolate chip cookies are buttery, chewy inside, crispy outside, and laced with notes of vanilla, caramel, and toasted nuts. Unlike regular chocolate chippers, their flavor is balanced by sourdough's underlying tanginess, which also adds complexity and makes them something truly special.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Chill Time: 12

Servings cookies

Calories 223kcal

Author Faith Gorsky

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sourdough discard or active starter (see Notes)
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
100 g chopped dark chocolate (or 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks)
Flaky sea salt for topping (optional)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Brown the butter. Add the butter to a small skillet over medium heat. Once melted, adjust the heat down to medium-low, and let it cook until it butter is light golden brown and smells nutty, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Make the dough. Immediately pour the hot butter into a bowl (scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the skillet), and stir in the brown sugar until well-combined (it’ll look like wet sand). Stir in the egg yolk and vanilla extract, and then stir in the sourdough discard. Stir in the flour.
Chill. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 12 hours for the best flavor. Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chopped chocolate right before you want to bake the cookies. (TIP: I find the easiest way to incorporate these ingredients into the cold dough is by hand. I put on food safe gloves and knead in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and then gently fold in the chocolate.)
Bake. Preheat the oven to 350F. If you want easy cleanup, you can line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper.
Portion the dough into 16 equal portions (about 2 tablespoons each). Roll the dough into balls, arrange them on the baking trays, and top each with a sprinkle of flaky salt.
Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, rotating once halfway through. After 12 minutes, remove the trays from the oven and carefully tap each 4 times on a hard surface. Return the trays to the oven and continue baking until the cookies are golden along the outside and on the bottom, and are puffed in the center (about 2 to 4 minutes more).
Remove the cookie trays from the oven and carefully tap each 2 times on a hard surface. Let the cookies cool before using a thin metal spatula to remove them.

Notes

Sourdough Discard or Active Starter: Either will work fine, but I prefer sourdough discard for tangier flavor here, and I let the dough cold ferment for 12 hours.
If You Want to Let the Dough Cold Ferment for 24 Hours: I recommend using sourdough starter instead of discard so your cookies aren't overly tangy.
Storage: Store in an airtight glass container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Or layer the cookies between pieces of parchment paper in an airtight glass container and freeze for up to 3 months.

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