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These Sourdough Chocolate Orange Cookies are irresistibly soft and chewy, filled with melty chocolate chips and bright orange in every bite. Topped with a Terry’s Chocolate Orange slice, they deliver indulgent Christmas cookie flavor.
It’s not the holiday season without festive cookies baking in the oven! These Sourdough Chocolate Orange Cookies are sure to be your new holiday tradition. This recipe is a play on the blog favorite Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.
More cookies to add to your holiday baking list include Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies, White Chocolate Peppermint Sourdough Cookies, Sourdough Snickerdoodles and Iced Oatmeal Sourdough Cookies.
Why you will love this recipe
- Large indulgent cookies – These cookies are large bakery-style cookies, making them the perfect holiday treat!
- Flavorful – These Sourdough Chocolate Orange Cookies are filled with a chocolatey orange flavor that everyone is sure to love!
- Great addition to your cookie box – This is a recipe that will impress friends and family, and makes a great neighbor or teacher gift in a cookie box with other Sourdough Cookie Recipes.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Sourdough Discard – You can use room temperature or straight from the fridge. If you do not have discard, you can also use an active sourdough starter instead.
- Orange extract – The orange extract adds a delicious orange flavor throughout the cookie although if you don’t have any you can skip it.
- Orange zest – The fresh orange zest helps amplify the orange flavor.
- Chocolate chips – I also love to use chocolate chunks for bigger bursts of chocolate.
- Terry’s Chocolate Orange – One slice of Terry’s Chocolate Orange is added on top of the cookie for decoration and flavor. This chocolate is popular during Christmas time and is usually found right next to Christmas candy or the Christmas aisle. If you are making these cookies at a different time of year and cannot find it, you can also just omit it if needed.
See all the ingredients and amounts in the recipe card below.
Instructions to make Sourdough Chocolate Orange Cookies
Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl, add the sugar and orange zest. Rub the orange zest and sugar together to help release the oils in the zest. Add in the softened unsalted butter and beat together until light and fluffy with the paddle attachment or hand beaters.
Step 2: Beat in the large egg, sourdough discard, orange extract, and vanilla extract until combined.
Step 3: Stir in the baking soda, salt, and all-purpose flour.
Step 4: Fold in the chocolate chips.
Step 5: Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, stack two scoops of dough on top of each other to form a tall cookie. Or you can use a single scoop using a 4-Tablespoon cookie scoop.
Step 6: Bake 6-9 on a lined pan in a preheated 350°F oven for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. Top with a slice of Terry’s Orange Chocolate.
Recipe Tips
- If you do 2 trays of cookies at once, be sure to rotate the pans halfway through the baking time.
- For smaller cookies, you can do just one 2-tablespoon scoop and reduce the baking time.
- Add the cookies to a cooling rack to cool so that they do not over-bake on the cookie sheet.
- Right after you pull the cookies from the oven, use a large mason jar lid or a small round bowl to “scoot” them into shape. Place it over each cookie and gently swirl in a circular motion until the edges are perfectly round.
Storage instructions
After the cookies have cooled completely, add them to an airtight container and store them at room temperature on the counter for up to one week.
You can also freeze the baked cookie. To freeze, wait until the cookies are completely cooled. Place the cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper in between each layer. Or freeze the cookies on a cookie sheet first, and then place the frozen cookies in a freezer-safe bag. Cookies stay fresh up to 3 months in the freezer.
Recipe FAQ
Yes! If you would like to long ferment the cookie batter I recommend scooping the cookies into the dough balls and then placing in the fridge covered. You can ferment the dough for up to 3 days.
Yes! 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.
Yes, either sourdough starter or discard will work great in this recipe.
More sourdough cookies
Sourdough Discard Recipes
The Best Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sourdough Discard Recipes
The Best Sourdough Oatmeal Cream Pies
Fall Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sourdough Discard Recipes
The Best Sourdough Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Tried this Sourdough Chocolate Orange Cookies or another recipe from the site? I’d love to hear about it! Drop a star rating and share your thoughts in the comments—can’t wait to see what you’re baking!
Sourdough Chocolate Orange Cookies
Ingredients
- 300 grams sugar, 1½ cup
- 9 grams orange zest , 1 Tablespoon
- 170 grams butter, softened, ¾ cup
- 1 large egg, 50 grams
- 75 grams sourdough discard, ⅓ cup
- 5 grams vanilla extract , 1 teaspoon
- 5 grams orange extract, 1 teaspoon
- 5 grams baking soda, 1 teaspoon
- 5 grams salt, 1 teaspoon
- 360 grams all-purpose flour, 2½ cups
- 150 grams milk chocolate chunks or chips, 1 cup
- 1 Terry’s chocolate orange
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl, add the sugar and orange zest. Rub the orange zest and sugar together to help release the oils in the zest. Add in the softened butter and beat together until light and fluffy with the paddle attachment or hand beaters.300 grams sugar, 9 grams orange zest , 170 grams butter
- Beat in the remaining wet ingredients to the mixture.1 large egg, 75 grams sourdough discard, 5 grams vanilla extract , 5 grams orange extract
- Mix in the dry ingredients.5 grams baking soda, 5 grams salt, 360 grams all-purpose flour
- Fold in the chocolate chips.150 grams milk chocolate chunks or chips
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, stack two scoops of dough on top of each other to form a tall cookie. Or you can use a single scoop using a 4-tablespoon cookie scoop.
- Bake 6-9 on a lined pan in a preheated 350°F oven for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides and the tops have lost their sheen. If you do 2 trays of cookies at once, be sure to rotate the pans halfway through the baking time. Top with a slice of Terry’s Orange Chocolate.1 Terry’s chocolate orange
Notes
- Right after you pull the cookies from the oven, use a large mason jar lid or a small round bowl to “scoot” them into shape. Place it over each cookie and gently swirl in a circular motion until the edges are perfectly round.
- I highly recommend using the gram measurements to ensure precise baking and consistent results.
- For smaller cookies, you can do just one 2-tablespoon scoop and reduce the baking time.
- Add the cookies to a cooling rack to cool so that they do not over-bake on the cookie sheet.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are a winner, even after being frozen. I made them for a Christmas party and they were a hit.
So happy to hear you like them! Thanks for sharing.
I love Terry’s chocolate oranges and it turns out they are even better on top of a cookie! These are so delicious and indulgent.
I love this recipe! The cookies are light, chocolatey, and delicious! I will definitely be making these EVERY holiday season…and during the rest of the year too!