Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies

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If you’re looking for a way to use up your sourdough starter discard, might I suggest these chewy sourdough chocolate chip cookies? Made with brown butter and sourdough discard, they are a great way to prevent food waste. You’re going to love this delicious cookie!

Seven sourdough chocolate chip cookies laying on parchment paper.

When I first started making sourdough, I quickly realized that I needed to devise a game plan to use my sourdough starter and not be so wasteful. The thought of throwing out precious food made me feel uncomfortable.

So I committed to getting creative and finding new ways to use my sourdough discard to bake more delicious food beyond just sourdough bread. I have so many ideas for muffins, cookies, and cakes, so buckle up, because this is just the beginning!

These may be one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. I love the tanginess the sourdough adds to these cookies. It’s such a unique flavor!

If you’re looking for more chocolate chip recipes (that don’t require you to have your own sourdough starter) check out these tahini pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, caramel chocolate chip bars, chocolate peanut butter krispie treats, or these Oreo chocolate chip cookies!

Closeup picture of three sourdough chocolate chip cookies sitting on parchment paper.

Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Chip Sourdough Discard Cookies

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies – These are perfectly chewy cookies with golden brown crispy edges.
Simple to Make – I do love keeping things simple. The one caveat to that is you will need to chill the cookie dough if you want the best results. You don’t *have* to chill these cookies, but I highly recommend chilling them for 2-24 hours ahead of time.
Brown Butter Makes These the Ideal Cookies – Browning the butter before adding it to the dough removes excess liquid. This results in a chewier cookie instead of a cake-like cookie.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Picture of ingredients needed for sourdough chocolate chip cookies. All-purpose flour, sourdough discard, vanilla extract, eggs, butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, salt, semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Brown Butter – You’ll need to brown the butter. I use salted butter, but unsalted butter works too. Just add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the dough.
Granulated Sugar – I use a mix of white sugar and brown sugar in this recipe (similar to these caramel chocolate chip cookies
Brown Sugar – I use light-brown sugar, but dark brown sugar works great as well!
All-Purpose Flour – I use all-purpose flour for these cookies, but bread flour would also be a great option!
Eggs – Room-temperature eggs work best here. Take them out an hour or two before baking. If you forget, you can also set the eggs in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes beforehand. For an (even more) chewy texture, you could use 1 egg and 1 egg yolk.
Sourdough Discard – Make sure the discard is at room temperature. You could also use an active sourdough starter if you have a lot to use up. An active starter would give a more fermented flavor.
Vanilla Extract
Baking Soda and Salt – Baking soda is a leavening agent that gives rise to these cookies. The salt adds a depth of flavor and helps offset the sweetness of the cookies.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – You could also use dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks.

See recipe card for quantities.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Butter cubed in a sauce pan preparing to become browned butter.

Step 1: First, you need to brown the butter. Cube the butter and add it to a saucepan on the stove over medium heat. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, mix continuously as the butter begins to melt and boil.

Step 2: Keep mixing until a foam appears on the top and the butter underneath it is brown! Remove from heat and set aside–allowing it to cool slightly before making the dough.

Creamed brown butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl.

Step 3: Use an electric mixer or the paddle attachment on a stand mixer to cream together the brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Gradually add the eggs one at a time.

Brown butter, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, sourdough discard, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl.

Step 4: Add the vanilla extract and sourdough discard.

Dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking soda) added to the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl with a spatula in the bowl.

Step 5: In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients thoroughly.

Semi-sweet chocolate chips added to the cookie dough in the mixing bowl with a spatula sitting in the bowl.

Step 6: Fold in the chocolate chips. Next, it’s time to chill the dough. You can keep the dough in the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, or use a cookie scoop (or your hand) to scoop it into dough balls (about 2 teaspoon-sized) and place on a baking tray. Then cover with plastic wrap and allow the cookies to chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours if you’re looking for more of a sourdough flavor. When it’s time to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the cookie balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart from each other. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Allow to cool slightly on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool further.

A few sourdough chocolate chip cookies laying on parchment paper with a cookie sheet of cookies in the background.

Helpful Hint:

You’ll know the cookies are ready to be taken out of the oven when the outside edges are crispy and golden brown, but the middle is still a bit under-baked. They will bake further on the baking sheet.

Equipment

Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer – either work to make these cookies!
Mixing Bowl
Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper – I like to line my cookie sheets with parchment paper to easily remove them once baked.
Rubber Spatula – I use this to help scape the ingredients from the bowl to make sure I am incorporating all of them evenly.
Wooden Spoon – to mix the butter as it browns.
Medium Saucepan – to brown the butter on the stove.
Cookie Scoop – Not necessary, but helps keep the cookies all similarly sized.

Storage

Store Already-Baked Cookies – Store these baked sourdough cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them by storing in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months.

Freeze Cookie Dough – If you want to freeze the cookie dough, store it in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. If you want to easily bake the cookies straight from the freezer, chill the cookie dough balls first and then transfer the dough balls to a plastic bag and store in the freezer.

Bake Frozen Cookie Dough Balls – When it’s time to bake the frozen cookie dough balls, simply bake straight from the freezer. Add an extra minute or two to bake time.

Top Tips for Baking the Best Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Use room temperature ingredients. Let your eggs, butter, and sourdough discard sit at room temperature before making the cookie dough.
Bread flour or all-purpose flour would be great options for these cookies. You could also use half-bread flour and half-all-purpose flour. For ease and accessibility, my recipe uses all-purpose flour.
Chill the dough. I know it can be a pain, but if you make these in advance, it’s well worth it to give the dough time to chill. It helps keep the cookies from spreading too thin and getting crispy. The longer the cookie dough chills, the more tangy the cookies will taste due to the sourdough.
Feel free to add nuts or different flavored chocolate chips or chunks, such as white chocolate, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate.

Did You Make These Cookies and Love Them?

If so, please leave a review and/or comment below. Your review truly makes a difference!

Freshly baked sourdough chocolate chip cookies on parchment paper.

FAQ

What’s the purpose of using brown butter for these cookies?

Brown butter adds a rich, nutty flavor to these cookies. It also adds complex flavor and results in chewier cookies. More importantly, browning the butter gets rid of excess liquid which is necessary when baking cookies with sourdough discard!

My cookies are flat and crispy. What happened?

You need to make sure that all the ingredients are mixed evenly. Also, chill time is very important and will prevent these cookies from getting flat or thin.

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