Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients For Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

You won’t need anything fancy here, just a handful of classic cookie ingredients plus your sourdough discard.

• Butter – Softened unsalted butter gives these cookies richness and helps create that soft, tender bite. If you only have salted butter, you can use it and slightly scale back the added salt. Browned butter is also a great option if you want a deeper, nuttier flavor, just let it cool before mixing it into the dough.
• Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar – This combination gives you the best of both worlds: moisture and chewiness from the brown sugar, plus crisp edges from the granulated sugar. Dark brown sugar will give you a slightly deeper molasses flavor, while light brown sugar keeps things a little lighter and more classic.
• Sourdough Discard – This is the ingredient that makes these Sourdough Discard Cookies so good. Unfed discard works perfectly here and adds that subtle tangy flavor along with a softer texture. If your discard is very thin and runny, your dough may feel a little softer, so you can mix in a bit more flour if needed.
• Egg – One large egg helps bind everything together and gives the cookies structure. If you’re out of eggs, a flax egg can work in a pinch, though the texture will be a little different and slightly less rich.
• Vanilla Extract – Vanilla rounds everything out and gives the dough that warm bakery-style flavor. If you have vanilla bean paste, that’s a great swap for an even more pronounced vanilla flavor.
• All-Purpose Flour – All-purpose flour keeps the cookies tender while still giving them enough structure to hold all that chocolate. If needed, a measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend can be used, though the texture may be a bit more delicate.
• Baking Soda and Baking Powder – Using both gives these cookies a great texture with a little lift, soft centers, and nicely golden edges. Make sure both are fresh for the best results.
• Salt – A little salt balances the sweetness and makes the chocolate flavor pop. Fine salt works best in the dough, and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top is always a good idea if you love that sweet-salty finish.
• Chocolate Chips – Semisweet chocolate chips keep the sweetness balanced and give you plenty of melty chocolate in every bite. You can swap in dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or chopped chocolate depending on what you love most. A mix of chips and chunks makes the cookies feel extra bakery-style.

How to Make Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. It’s a simple step, but it gives the cookies a softer, better texture.
2. Mix in the sourdough discard, egg, and vanilla until smooth. If the mixture looks a little curdled at first, that’s totally normal.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until the flour disappears.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips and any extra chopped chocolate. The dough should be thick, soft, and loaded with chocolate.
5. Chill the dough before baking. Even a short chill helps, but a longer chill gives you thicker, chewier cookies with even better flavor.
6. Scoop the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, or use a silicone baking mat, spacing the cookies a couple inches apart. Bake until the edges are lightly golden and the centers still look a little soft.
7. Let the cookies cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Finish with flaky sea salt while they’re still warm, if you like.