These sourdough chocolate chip cookies are loaded with chocolate chips, brown butter, and sourdough discard for a super soft, gooey, chewy, and flavourful treat you’ll want to bake all the time! Bookmark this recipe so you’ll be ready whenever a craving hits!
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Jump To:
- Why is this Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe the BEST?
- Key Ingredients for Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- How to Make Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Variations on Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- How to Freeze Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Tips for Success
- The Best Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Why is this Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe the BEST?
- Using browned butter and only egg yolks means we can pack these cookies full of sourdough discard! Discard helps make these cookies soft and chewy, and adds a delicious tang to the flavour. And the browned butter itself adds plenty of deep and complex flavour to the cookies.
- Since you’re going to be browning the butter, there’s no need to bring it up to room temperature—straight from the fridge is fine!
- Extra milk powder is added to the browned butter so it gets toasted, adding even more nutty and caramelized browned butter flavour to the cookies.
- They’re absolutely loaded with chocolate chips or chunks!
- You can ferment the cookie dough in the fridge for several days to further deepen the flavour. Some people might even find the cookies easier to digest after a longer fermentation!
Key Ingredients for Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe takes the nostalgic chocolate chip cookie we all know and love, and levels it up with a few special ingredients:
- Unsalted butter is browned to drive off its water content. That means you can lots of sourdough discard as possible without altering the optimal texture of the cookie dough. As a bonus, the process of browning butter caramelizes the milk solids in the butter, adding amazing flavour to the cookies. Learn more about browned butter here!
- Powdered milk is basically just milk solids. You’ll add the powdered milk to the butter after it’s all melted, and it caramelizes along with the milk solids already present in the butter. It’s an optional ingredient, but a great way to amp up the nutty and caramelized flavours in the browned butter.
- Sourdough discard makes these cookies soft and chewy, and gives them a subtle tangy kick. The longer you leave the dough in the fridge (up to about 5 days) the more the flavour will deepen. You can use active sourdough starter instead of discard, but the dough may turn out a little stiffer. If you don’t have any yet, you can make your own sourdough starter from scratch. I promise it isn’t hard to do! And if that’s not something you want to tackle, you can buy dehydrated starter online or ask a local sourdough bakery if they can share or sell you some of their starter.
- Maple syrup is an optional ingredient that lends some softness and moisture to the dough. It also adds to the complex depth of flavour in these cookies. You can use any grade of maple syrup in this recipe. You’ll only use a small amount, so the flavour won’t be prominent.
- Egg yolks are used instead of whole eggs. Egg whites contain a lot of water, and leaving them out means being able to include even more sourdough discard. And as a bonus, all those egg yolks in the dough adds even more richness!
How to Make Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Once it’s all melted, add the powdered milk (if using). The powdered milk will want to stick to the bottom of the pan and start burning, so whisk constantly as you add it.
- Keep heating the butter over medium heat while stirring constantly, until the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and turn a deep golden brown, and the butter smell nutty and very buttery. Pour the butter into a large mixing bowl.
- While the butter is still warm, add both the sugars and mix to combine. Add the egg yolks, sourdough starter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until completely combined.
- Add the all-purpose flour, baking powder and soda, and salt, and fold into the wet ingredients until just combined. Finally, throw in your chocolate chips or chunks (or whatever mix-ins you want!) and fold in until evenly distributed.
- Use any size cookie scoop (I like using a 3 oz. scoop or a ¼ cup measuring cup for bakery-size cookies) to scoop balls of dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. You can place the balls of cookie dough right next to each other. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap or a reusable baking sheet cover. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Arrange your oven racks so one is in the top third, and the other is in the bottom third of the oven. Form the dough balls into tall oblong towers to prevent the cookies from spreading too thin while baking. Place no more than 6 dough portions on a half-sheet baking pan, leaving at least 3 inches in between.
- Sprinkle a little flaky sea salt on top of each tower of dough, if you wish.
- Bake up to two sheets at a time, for 15-18 minutes. Rotate the sheets 180 degrees and switch their positions in the oven about halfway through. You can tell the cookies are done baking when they’ve spread and are starting to get golden brown on the edges. Leave to cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Variations on Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Leave out the chocolate chips, and this is a great base cookie dough recipe that you can treat like a blank canvas! Have fun experimenting with adding any mix-ins you like. Throw in some M&Ms, chop up your favourite candy bar, or crush up some pretzels. Or do a mix of milk chocolate and semisweet chocolate chunks. Leave me a comment to tell me all about your cookie adventures. I’d love to hear about what you make out of this recipe!
How to Freeze Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
The best way to freeze these cookies is to scoop the dough on a lined baking sheet, and freeze the dough balls until firm. Then transfer the dough balls to a freezer bag, and simply take a few out whenever you’re craving some cookies! You can bake them straight from the freezer, but may need to add a minute or two to the bake time.
Tips for Success
- Chill the dough balls in the fridge for at least 2 hours before baking. This prevents the cookies from spreading out too much in the oven.
- You may want to form the dough balls into towers before baking as well. It’s more insurance against the cookies spreading out too much!
The Best Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sourdough chocolate chip cookies with brown butter, packed with chocolate chips for a soft, gooey, and chewy treat. A delicious way to use up sourdough discard!
Ingredients
Method
- Add 225 g unsalted butter to a light-coloured pan or skillet. Melt over medium low heat. Once melted, add 30 g powdered milk while whisking constantly. Keep heating while stirring regularly, until the milk solids in the butter turn brown and the butter smells nutty and very buttery.
- Transfer the butter to a large mixing bowl. While it's still warm, add 220 g granulated sugar and 220 g brown sugar, and stir until combined.
- Add 3 large egg yolks, 1½ tsp vanilla extract, 240 g sourdough discard or active starter, and 2 tbsp maple syrup and stir until smooth and completely combined.
- Add 450 g all-purpose flour, 1½ tsp baking powder, ¾ tsp baking soda, and 1½ tsp fine sea salt. Fold until almost combined.
- Add 500 g chocolate chips or chunks and mix until distributed evenly through the dough. You may find it easier to use your hands here.
- Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to portion out the dough into balls. Place on a lined cookie sheet and cover. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C). If baking two sheets at once, arrange your oven racks so one is in the top third and the other is in the bottom third.
- Arrange dough balls on lined baking sheets so they're at least 2" apart. you may want to form the dough balls into towers to prevent them from spreading too much in the oven. If you wish, sprinkle on some flaky sea salt on top of each cookie before baking.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until cookies have spread and are starting to look golden brown on the edges. Leave cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- You can leave these on a tray or plate at room temperature for up to 3 days.
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