The Best Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you want to make the best cookies of your life this Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is a must! These cookies are so soft and every bite is full of melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chunks. Whip them up in minutes and bake immediately to satisfy your sweet tooth or ferment the dough overnight for enhanced digestion.

Why You’ll Love These Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are so many reasons to love these cookies but here are just a few!

• Incredibly soft- I much prefer a soft and chewy, ooey-gooey treat over something crunchy and hard. These cookies melt in your mouth when you eat them and stay soft for days.
• Made with chocolate chunks- While you can absolutely use chocolate chips, the chocolate chunks are the way to go. If you like an explosion of chocolatey goodness in every bite you will want chunks, trust me.
• Flexible timing- Whether you bake these cookies right away or refrigerate the dough for a day or two, they still turn out amazing. Plus if you need to you can even freeze the cookie dough balls to bake at a later date.
• Use up sourdough discard- When you have excess sourdough discard these cookies are the way to go. The discard adds flavor and depth to the cookies making them extra delicious. Plus if you ferment the dough you get the fermentation benefits of sourdough.

Looking for other sourdough discard recipes? Here are some of my favorites!

Sourdough Granola

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Sourdough Cheez-it Crackers

What’s Sourdough Discard?

The secret ingredient in this cookie is sourdough discard. The two most common terms for sourdough starter in a recipe are active and discard. Active sourdough starter refers to starter that has recently been fed and is at “peak”, meaning bubbly and doubled or more in size. Discard refers to starter after it has past its peak and begins to fall back down. At this point the starter is no longer able to leaven dough. Learn more about the benefits of using sourdough discard. If you are new to sourdough and don’t have a starter yet, I can help! Find my sourdough starter recipe. Or get a dehydrated sourdough starter for free (if you live in the US) when you sign up for my Sourdough Master Class.

Ingredients

• Butter– I have used salted and unsalted butter in this recipe. Both will work and I haven’t noticed much of a difference in flavor or texture. To control the amount of salt in your recipe use unsalted.
• Sugar– This combination of white and brown sugar is the perfect pair. The brown sugar keeps it soft and moist while the white sugar helps make it thick and fluffy.
• Egg– Binds your cookie together.
• Vanilla– Enhances and balances the flavor.
• Sourdough Starter- You can use sourdough discard or active starter in this recipe. When pulling my sourdough discard from the fridge I don’t even worry about letting it come to room temperature first, I just add it cold.
• Baking Soda– Helps your cookies rise.
• Salt– Brings out the flavor and balances the sweetness.
• All-Purpose Flour– When adding the flour you want to find the right balance. Too much flour and your cookies will be dry and crumbly. Too little flour and your cookies will spread. Add the flour slowly incorporating enough flour that your dough is no longer super sticky.
• Chocolate Chunks– While you can use chocolate chips I love the big chunks of chocolatey goodness that you can only get with chocolate chunks. I love the semi-sweet chocolate chunks, from Aldi or Trader Joes. For a richer cookie you can use milk chocolate chunks or chips. You can even do a mix of both!
• Optional Add-ins: English toffee bits bits are so good in chocolate chip cookies. Sea salt caramel chips are another incredible add-in. Unfortunately my favorite sea salt caramel chips are only available seasonally, around Christmas, at Trader Joes.

Tools for Making Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here are just a few tools you can use to make cookies.

• Stand Mixer- You can make these cookies with beaters but I much prefer using a stand mixer. I used to use a 4.5 quart Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer with the cookie paddle attachment. I loved my Kitchen Aid but needed something bigger with more power so I got a Bosch. The Bosch is a great addition especially if you want to make a double batch of this dough! My only note with the Bosch is you need to make sure your butter is at room temperature before creaming it with the sugars. Cold butter can’t be used with the cookie paddles.
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Baking Sheet
• Reusable Baking Mats– While you can just use parchment paper I love these reusable baking mats.
• Cooling Rack

Why Refrigerate Cookie Dough?

In a pinch you can get away with not refrigerating the dough but there are a lot of benefits to allowing the dough to sit in the fridge overnight. Allowing the dough to ferment for a long period of time breaks down the gluten and neutralizes the phytic acid which makes the cookies easier to digest. Chilling cookie dough also helps to solidify the fats in the recipe which prevents spreading. It also enhances the flavor and texture creating a delicious, chewy cookie.

How to make Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Start the process by mixing room temperature butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. This is important as it will aerate the dough which ensures a light, fluffy cookie. If you don’t set your butter out early just place it in the microwave for a few seconds, but be sure not to melt it.

Beat in the egg, sourdough discard and vanilla until combined.

Mix in the baking soda, salt, and flour.

Fold in the chocolate chunks and any other mix-ins.

Scoop the cookie dough into balls with a 1/3 cup. This will make 18 large cookies.

Quicker Option: If you have time, refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes to help the cookies from spreading. If not, you can bake them at 375F for 14-15 minutes or until lightly browning on the sides and they will still be delicious!

Longer Ferment: Refrigerating the dough for 12-24 hours is my preferred method. The cookie holds shape nicely and the texture and flavor are perfect. If you want to save yourself time when you go to bake them, line a large Tupperware with parchment paper. Scoop the cookie dough into balls and place in the Tupperware with the lid on. Or you can place them on a cookie sheet and cover with foil. Once ready to bake place them on a lined cookie sheet and bake. Cold dough typically takes a little longer to bake so anticipate 15-17 minutes, especially when making bigger cookies.

How To Freeze Cookie Dough or Baked Cookies

To freeze cookie dough scoop the dough into balls and place on a lined cookie sheet. Place the cookies in the freezer until frozen. Once frozen transfer the dough balls to an airtight container or ziplock bag. Cookie dough is good up to 3 months in the freezer. Bake directly from the freezer, but keep in mind the dough balls will most likely need a few extra minutes to bake.

To freeze baked cookies wait until they are completely cooled. Place the cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper or wax paper in between each layer. Or freeze the cookies on a cookie sheet first and then place the frozen cookies in a ziplock bag. Cookies stay fresh up to 3 months in the freezer.