If you keep a sourdough starter, you know the feeling of staring at a jar of discard and wondering what to do with it. These cookies are a tasty answer. The discard goes straight into the dough, and you end up with a soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie that doesn’t taste like a science project.
This is also a small-batch recipe, making just 9 cookies. That makes it a good fit when you want a fresh treat without a whole tray of leftovers. Everything is mixed in a couple of bowls, there’s no chilling, and the whole thing takes about 24 minutes. With a 4.9-star rating from 245 votes, it’s clearly a keeper for sourdough bakers.
Recipe Card
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 9 minutes (the instructions say 8 to 11 minutes)
- Total time: 24 minutes
- Servings: 9 cookies
- Calories: 184 kcal per cookie
- Course: Dessert or snack
- Cuisine: American
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Kitchen scale or measuring cups
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment (optional)
- Cookie scoop
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (93.75 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ scant teaspoon salt (scant = a little less)
- ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar, light or dark, packed
- ¼ cup (58 g) sourdough starter discard, unfed
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (60 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Before You Start
Weigh your dry ingredients. The recipe’s top tip is to use a food scale and weigh them in grams. That’s the most reliable way to get the right amount.
Use unfed discard. The recipe specifically calls for discard that hasn’t been fed.
Soften the butter and the yolk. Both the butter and the egg yolk should be at room temperature.
Know what “scant” means. The salt is listed as a scant half teaspoon, which means a little less than a full half teaspoon.
How to Make Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies
Part 1: Make the Dough
- Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). If you like, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. The recipe lists this as optional.
- Cream the butter and sugar. In a medium or large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together for 2 to 3 minutes. They should be very well combined.
- Add the wet ingredients. Mix in the sourdough discard first, then the egg yolk and vanilla extract.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Stop as soon as the streaks of flour disappear.
- Add the chocolate. Mix in the chocolate chips until they’re spread through the dough.
Part 2: Scoop and Bake
- Scoop the dough. Use a cookie scoop to portion out dough balls of about 2 tablespoons each. Place them on a baking sheet, 2 to 3 inches apart.
- Add extra chips, if you like. Press a few more chocolate chips on top of each ball. This step is optional.
- Bake. Bake on the middle rack until the edges are lightly golden, which takes 8 to 11 minutes.
Part 3: Scoot and Cool
- Scoot the cookies. The recipe recommends this step. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, set a slightly larger round object over each one, like a biscuit cutter or a large cup. Gently move it in a circle so the edges are pulled in, which shapes the cookie into a neat round.
- Add flaky salt, if you like. The recipe says you’re welcome to sprinkle on flaky salt.
- Cool on the pan. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet until they’re firm enough to move, about 5 to 10 minutes. Then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Tips and Variations
Use a scale. Weighing the dry ingredients in grams gives the best results, according to the recipe.
Cream the butter and sugar well. Take the full 2 to 3 minutes so they blend completely.
Don’t overmix the flour. Stir only until the flour streaks are gone.
Bake on the middle rack. This is where the recipe says to bake the cookies.
Look for lightly golden edges. That’s the sign the cookies are ready, so keep an eye on them toward the end of the 8 to 11 minutes.
Try the scoot. It’s recommended for perfectly round cookies. It works best when done right out of the oven.
Finish with flaky salt. It’s optional, but the recipe suggests it.
Add extra chocolate chips. Pressing a few on top before baking is optional, too.
Choose your sugar. Light or dark brown sugar both work.
You might like: Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies: Soft, Chewy, and Tasting Like Banana Bread
Serving Suggestions
The recipe doesn’t list specific pairings. Once the cookies are firm enough to move, serve them from the cooling rack, plain or with a pinch of flaky salt on top.
Final Thoughts
These cookies are a handy way to put sourdough discard to work. They’re soft, chewy, and quick, and the small batch means you don’t need to commit to a full tray. If you bake with sourdough, keep this one in your back pocket for the next time your jar needs a clear-out.
If you try this recipe, leave a comment and tell me how your cookies turned out. I’d love to know whether you tried the scoot trick or the flaky salt.