Brown Butter Sourdough Discard Maple Cookies
These sourdough discard maple cookies are enhanced with a note of caramel flavor thanks to the browned butter. Drizzle with a simple maple glaze for THE PERFECT autumn cookie! No chill time is required for this cookie recipe! Simply make the dough and bake the cookies.
It’s time to pull on a cozy sweater, brew a pot of coffee, and light a candle because we are baking the most fall cookies of *all* the cookies today. Is that too much? Nah, I didn’t think so either.
Looking for other sourdough discard recipes? Check out these sourdough discard cinnamon rolls, sourdough discard apple walnut coffee cake, sourdough discard brownies, or sourdough discard lemon poppyseed cupcakes!
New to the idea of sourdough bread baking? This beginner sourdough bread recipe is so simple and delicious!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Perfect Fall Cookie – Maple syrup, caramel (thanks to the browned butter), and brown sugar join together for the best fall cookie but without the typical pumpkin or apple flavor.
- Unique Flavor – Chocolate chip cookies are a classic. But sometimes we’re in the mood for something different. That’s when this recipe comes in! The maple icing truly brings these cookies to life!
- Brown Butter – Seriously, the key to these cookies being so scrumptious is the browned butter. If you’ve never browned butter before, I promise it’s painless and worth the additional 5-10 minutes. You won’t regret it!
Looking for other unique cookie recipes? Try these carrot cake cookie sandwiches, strawberry crunch cookies, or Oreo chocolate chip cookies!
Ingredients
- salted butter – you’re going to brown it for this recipe. The steps are simple! Browning the butter gives the cookies a caramel flavor and also removes some excess liquid which is necessary since the recipe calls for sourdough discard (which has plenty of liquid).
- brown sugar – brown sugar provides more depth of flavor than granulated sugar does.
- maple syrup – pretty self-explanatory here, right? It’s the star of the show! I use high-quality maple syrup–*not* pancake syrup. These two things are not the same!
- egg yolks – another way to reduce the liquid content in this recipe–remove the egg whites! We’re using egg yolks only here, folks.
- vanilla extract
- sourdough discard – I use inactive sourdough discard that I keep in the fridge for recipes like these. You may also use an active (fed) sourdough starter if you’d like to add a tangy flavor to the cookies! There is no fermenting in this recipe.
- baking soda – this leavener is needed for the cookies since we aren’t fermenting active sourdough.
- all-purpose flour – I love the King Arthur brand, but any brand will do. I just recommend good-quality flour. It makes a big difference!
- salt – helps balance out the sweet flavor of these cookies.
For the maple icing:
- powdered sugar
- maple syrup – gives the maple flavor we’re looking for, plus helps thin the icing to make it easier to drizzle over the cookies.
- melted butter – salted butter is what I always use in the kitchen. You can also use unsalted butter, but add a pinch of salt to the mixing bowl!
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step One: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Brown the butter. To do this, cut the two sticks of butter into tablespoon-sized cubes. Add the cubed butter to a medium-sized saucepan and bake on medium heat over the stove.
Stir continuously as the butter melts and starts to brown. Be careful not to burn it!
The butter is browned when it is, you guessed it, BROWN and there is foam on top.
Remove from heat and let it cool before making the cookie dough.
Pro Tip: Set the saucepan in a bowl of ice (make sure to use a glass or stainless steel bowl for this. Plastic bowls can melt from the hot saucepan) to help cool down the browned butter faster.
Step Two: Add the browned butter to a large mixing bowl. Make sure to scrape it all in there–especially the sediments you see at the bottom of the pan!
If your brown butter sat a little too long on the bowl of ice, that’s just fine–scrape the solidified brown butter into the bowl.
Next, add the brown sugar and maple syrup to the bowl and cream all the ingredients together for a minute or two on medium speed with a mixer.
Step Three: Add the eggs one at a time as you mix the ingredients. Add the vanilla extract and sourdough discard.
Step Four: Sift together the baking soda, flour, and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to incorporate all the flour.
Use a spoon or 2-teaspoon-sized cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough balls on the baking sheet. Separate each cookie by at least 2 inches to allow them to rise as they bake.
Bake for about 9 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown but the center of the cookies are still soft and slightly undercooked. The recipe makes about 24 cookies.
To make the icing: Whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and melted butter in a medium-sized bowl. Drizzle over the cookies (I recommend doing this over parchment paper to make clean-up time less of a hassle!).
Helpful Tips for Making These the Best Cookies
Cool the Brown Butter
Do not make the cookie dough until the brown butter is cooled off! You must let it sit for 20 minutes after browning it, or throw the saucepan on top of a glass or stainless steel bowl full of ice to allow it to cool down faster.
I recommend resting it on ice because that’s the fastest way to cool it.
With that said…
If you do use browned butter that is not completely cooled off, you must chill the cookie dough before baking.
Throw the bowl of cookie dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes. This will set the dough and prevent the cookies from spreading too thin while baking.
Brown Butter Sourdough Discard Maple Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown butter 2 sticks of salted butter, browned
- 1/2 cup brown sugar light or dark works
- 1/2 cup maple syrup not pancake syrup
- 2 large egg yolks exclude the egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sourdough discard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
For the maple glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons melted butter salted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Brown the Butter: Cut the two sticks of butter into tablespoon-sized cubes. Add the cubed butter to a medium-sized saucepan and bake on medium heat over the stove. Stir continuously as the butter melts and starts to brown. Be careful not to burn it! The butter is ready when it is brown in color and there is foam on top, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool before making the cookie dough.
- Pro Tip: Set the saucepan in a bowl of ice (make sure to use a glass or stainless steel bowl for this because plastic bowls can melt from the hot saucepan) to help cool down the browned butter faster.
- Add the browned butter to a large mixing bowl. Make sure to scrape it all in there–especially the sediments you see at the bottom of the pan! If your brown butter sat a little too long on the bowl of ice, that's just fine–scrape the solidified brown butter into the bowl.
- Make the Cookie Dough: Next, add the brown sugar and maple syrup to the bowl and cream the ingredients together for a minute or two on medium speed with a mixer.
- Add the eggs one at a time as you mix the ingredients. Add the vanilla extract and sourdough discard.
- Sift together the baking soda, salt, and flour in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to incorporate all the flour.
- Scoop the Cookie Dough: Use a spoon or 2-teaspoon-sized cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough balls onto the baking sheet. Space each cookie dough ball about 2 inches apart to allow them to rise as they bake.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake for about 9 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown but the center of the cookies are still soft and slightly undercooked. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to further cool on a wire race. The recipe makes about 24 cookies.
- Make the Maple Icing: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and melted butter. Drizzle over the cookies. Let the icing harden before serving. Enjoy!
