Easy and Tasty Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies

These sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies strike the perfect balance between sweet and tangy, thanks to the unique addition of sourdough discard in the batter. The subtle tanginess from the sourdough discard adds a depth of flavor that complements the sweetness of the chocolate chips perfectly. It’s a delicious twist on a classic cookie that will have you reaching for seconds.

Background & Inspiration

The sweet tooth queen is back! I used to be addicted to chocolate chip chewy cookies from Sam’s Club and Whole Foods. While delicious, once I looked at the ingredients, I felt the conviction. If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, this is the ingredient list for Member’s Mark Chocolate Chunk Cookies:

Ingredients: semisweet chocolate (sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate processed with alkali, soy lecthin, vanilla extract, salt), butter with natural flavor (cream, natural flavors), bleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), brown sugar, enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, bittersweet chocolate (unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter soy lecithin, vanilla extract, salt), water, inver sugar, fructose, natural flavor, eggs, food starch- modified, baking soda, salt, whey protein concentrate (milk), soy lecithin, distilled monoglycerides

Sam’s Club Item # 980098298

Since the start of 2024, I’ve removed all seed oils and soy from our foods, snacks, and desserts. Did this mean I had to break up with my sweet tooth? Nope! Falling down the sourdough bread rabbit hole, I discovered that I could make all kinds of delicious desserts with sourdough discard. It’s a great way to reduce discard waste, too!

As I said, I have a weak spot for chocolate chip cookies. After a few trials and quite a few errors, I perfected my cookie recipe using allergen-free chocolate chips. The combination of sweet with savory browned butter makes for the perfect sourdough discard chocolate chip cookie recipe! I always have friends taste-test my goodies, and they confirmed that these are the best cookies they’ve had!

Looking for more sourdough discard recipes? Try my sourdough discard pumpkin bread or my sourdough discard blondies!

@renaissance_lana

Turning sourdough discard into delicious chocolate chip cookies 🍪✨ Not only are these cookies chewy and rich, but they’re also a great way to reduce waste in the kitchen. Who knew leftovers could taste this good? #SourdoughDiscard #ChocolateChipCookies #BakingReels #WasteLessBakeMore #HomemadeCookies #CookieLovers #SourdoughBaking #FoodieLife #BakingFromScratch #EasyRecipes

♬ Summertime Magic – Childish Gambino

Tools

• Glass Mixing Bowls
• Baking Sheet
• Parchment Paper
• I didn’t use a stand mixer for this recipe, but if you choose to, use the whisk attachment and the paddle attachment.

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

Butter: I buy my butter in bulk from Sam’s Club since I do a lot of baking. Salt is my kryptonite, so I use salted butter. Feel free to use unsalted butter! You can easily switch out the butter with coconut oil to make this recipe vegan (it does change the taste a bit)

Granulated Sugar: I used organic granulated cane sugar. If you’re interested in using maple syrup instead, replace the 1 cup of white sugar with 2/3 cup of maple syrup.

Brown Sugar: I used light brown sugar, but you can use dark brown sugar too!

Egg Yolks: Using egg yolk instead of a whole egg (removing the egg whites), helps with the moisture of the dough and cookie. I used pasture-raised eggs that were at room temperature. You can easily switch the eggs with 1/4 cup of applesauce per egg to make this recipe vegan!

Sourdough Starter Discard: I used a sourdough starter discard that was a few days old that I had stored in my refrigerator. You can use an active starter in place of discard. You will get a tangy flavor with discard than with active sourdough starter, which I prefer! A tangy sourdough starter will have been in the fridge for 3+ days.

Vanilla Extract: Vanilla is the perfect complement for extra flavor.

Dry Ingredients

All-Purpose Flour: I like to use King Arthur All-Purpose Flour for baking, but my homemade sourdough starter is made with whole wheat flour. You could switch out the AP flour for whole wheat for a grainer textured blondie. Bread flour can be substituted here as well.

Baking Soda

Baking Powder: I like to use baking powder that has no added aluminum (I’m not a fan of aluminum foil either)!

Salt: If you haven’t tried Redmond’s Real Salt, you’re missing out!

Chocolate Chips: Enjoy Life Baking Chocolate is by far my favorite choice for chocolate chips. They have no allergens, only unsweetened chocolate, cane sugar, and cocoa butter. I’m surprised by how many chocolate chips include soy! You can switch out for semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks.

How to Make Chewy Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Remove from heat when the butter has completely melted and turned golden brown. The browning helps give the butter a nutty flavor. Pour melted butter into a large glass (or heatproof) mixing bowl. This large bowl will be what you add all the ingredients to by the end of the recipe. Allow to cool until it is no longer warm to the touch.

Add brown sugar, white sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla extract to melted butter. Mix until combined.

Add sourdough discard to wet ingredients mixture and mix until fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, 1/3 at a time. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until thoroughly combined.

Add chocolate chips and fold them into the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours (in high-altitude, I freeze for an hour). When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop (I used a cookie scoop) 2 tablespoons of dough into your hand and roll into a ball. Repeat for each cookie, placing them on the parchment-lined baking sheet at least two inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are beginning to turn golden brown (cookies will look soft on top, and bottoms will be golden brown. You don’t want crispy edges!). Transfer cookies to a wire rack and allow them to cool before serving.

Remove from the cooling rack and store these sourdough cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days. For an extra taste, you can top with an addition of flaky sea salt. I add the salt before putting the cookies in the oven. Some of the flaky salt bakes on top, the salt that falls around gets incorporated as the dough spreads during baking.