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Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies

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These Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies are super soft and have a melt in your mouth texture that is so irresistible! This no-chill recipe is going to be your new holiday favorite cookie. 

star and christmas tree sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles

‘Tis the season for holiday baking and cookie decorating! Sugar cookies are a classic holiday recipe that everyone knows and loves and this version uses sourdough discard to create a super soft cookie. They have a sweet vanilla flavor and do not need to be chilled before you cut them out into your favorite festive shapes. This Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookie recipe makes 3 dozen cookies, which makes it perfect for gifting or bringing to holiday parties this season. Or if you are looking for a festive no-roll recipe try my Sprinkle Sourdough Cookies!

Reasons you will love this recipe

  • The cookies have a super soft texture and a sweet vanilla flavor. 
  • You do not need to chill this recipe, unlike many sugar cookie recipes, making this a quick and easy recipe. 
  • You can add a ferment to make the cookies easier to digest if you desire, although it is not necessary. 
  • This cookie dough is only made with 7 simple ingredients you likely already have at home!
  • You can bake the cookies for a shorter amount of time for a super soft cookie, or leave them in for a few extra minutes for a crispy cookie.

What is sourdough discard?

You can think of sourdough starter discard as leftover starter. After your starter peaks it begins to fall back down and is no longer ideal for leavening breads and other baked goods, but don’t let the name deceive you! Although it is called “discard” it can be used for many different discard recipes such as Sourdough PancakesBiscuits and Crackers. It also is an ingredient that makes sourdough cookies moist and full of flavor, like in my Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies. You can learn more about Sourdough Discard in this post here

baked sugar cookies with stars, Christmas trees, and stockings

Fermenting the dough

The sourdough discard has beneficial bacteria that will ferment the added flour in the dough. This fermentation process breaks down the gluten and neutralizes the phytic acid, which makes the cookies easier to digest. To have a long ferment with the Sourdough Sugar Cookie dough, create the dough and then store it in the fridge for 12-24 hours before rolling out and cutting out your shapes. 

Helpful tools to make Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies

  • Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer – You can use an electric hand mixer to cream the sugar and butter together for this recipe as well, but using a stand mixer just makes the job so much easier.
  • Measuring Cups and Spoons or kitchen scale – the recipe has measurements in cups and grams for both methods of measuring the ingredients, however measuring with the scale will be more accurate. 
  • Baking Sheet & Reusable Baking Mats– I love reusable mats for all my baking needs, but you can also just use parchment paper to prevent the cookies from sticking. 
  • Cooling Rack – To prevent the cookies from over baking and becoming hard, remove them from the pan about 5 minutes after they come out of the oven, and place them on a cooling rack.
  • Cookie Cutters – Use whatever festive and fun cookie cutter shapes you would like!
  • Rolling Pin– This is the rolling pin I love to use!

Ingredients for Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies

  • Butter – Use softened butter so that it blends with the sugar smoothly. 
  • Powdered sugar – I like to use powdered sugar over granulated sugar because it helps make a super soft cookie.
  • Egg – To bind the dough.
  • Vanilla extract – The vanilla extract flavors the sugar cookies. 
  • Sourdough discard –Sourdough discard adds moisture and flavor. 
  • Flour – I like to use unbleached all-purpose flour in baking. 
  • Baking powder – Used to leaven the cookies.

Instructions to make Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. 

Add the butter and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and cream together using the paddle attachment. Alternatively, add to a medium bowl and beat together with hand beaters. 

Add in the remaining wet ingredients. Add in the egg, vanilla, and sourdough discard, and mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is mixed together. 

Next, add the dry ingredients to the mixture. Add the flour and baking powder and mix until combined. 

sourdough discard sugar cookie dough in a bowl

Divide the dough into 3 to make rolling out easier. Roll out the dough on lightly floured parchment paper to ⅛ inch or ¼ inch for a thicker cookie. Cut out cookies with your cookie cutters. If the dough is sticky when rolling it out add a light dusting of flour. 

rolled out sourdough sugar cookie dough and then ones with cookie cutters placed on top

Place cookies on a cookie sheet lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper about ½ inch apart. 

unbaked sugar cookies with stars, Christmas trees, and stockings

Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes until cookies have lost their sheen. If you want a crispy cookie bake an extra minute or two until the edges are lightly brown. 

baked sugar cookies with stars, Christmas trees, and stockings

Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack and then decorate them with icing.

Storage for Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies

To store the sugar cookies, add them to an airtight container and store them on the counter at room temperature. The cookies don’t store well in the refrigerator because the humidity can make them soggy. However, they do freeze great! I recommend wrapping them in plastic wrap and then storing them in a freezer bag or air-tight container. Then when you are ready to eat let them thaw on the counter for a couple of hours. 

star and christmas tree sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles

Icing for Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies

To decorate your sugar cookies, you can use either buttercream or royal icing. Buttercream is made with butter and has a thicker consistency that stays softer. Royal icing is thinner but will dry and harden and is made with water, powdered sugar, and meringue powder. I personally like to use royal icing that is a flood consistency (which refers to how thick the icing is). This is the icing recipe I use but I do find I have to add more powdered sugar than it calls for to get the right consistency.

Use this recipe for any holiday or occasion

The best thing about this recipe is that you can use it year-round for any holiday or occasion! Use heart cookie cutters and pink frosting for Valentine’s Day, pumpkins and orange frosting for Halloween, or any other shape and decorations you’d like!

X and O shaped cookies next to heart-shaped cookies with pink frosting for Valentine's Day.

More sourdough cookie recipes

Sourdough discard sugar cookies cut in a tree, star and stocking shape with icing and sprinkles.

Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies

Emily Christensen
These Sourdough Discard Sugar Cookies are super soft and have a melt in your mouth texture that is so irresistible! This no-chill recipe is going to be your new holiday favorite.
4.62 from 18 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 3 dozen cookies
Calories 107 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 227 grams butter 1 cup
  • 180 grams powdered sugar 1 ½ cup
  • 1 egg 50 grams
  • 13 grams vanilla extract 1 Tablespoon
  • 75 grams sourdough discard ⅓ cup
  • 390 grams flour 2 ¾ cup
  • 9 grams baking powder 2 teaspoons

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350℉
  • Cream together butter and powdered sugar.
    227 grams butter, 180 grams powdered sugar
  • Add in the egg, vanilla, and sourdough discard and mix.
    1 egg, 13 grams vanilla extract, 75 grams sourdough discard
  • Add in flour and baking powder and mix until combined. 
    390 grams flour, 9 grams baking powder
  • Divide the dough in 3 to make rolling out easier. Roll out the dough on lightly floured parchment paper to ⅛ inch or ¼ inch for a thicker cookie. Cut out cookies with cookie cutters. If the dough is sticky when rolling it out add a light dusting of flour. 
  • Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet about ½ inch apart. 
  • Bake at 350℉ degrees for 8-10 minutes until cookies have lost their sheen. If you want a crispy cookie bake an extra minute or two until the edges lightly brown. 
  • Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack and then decorate with icing. 

Notes

  • If the dough is sticking when rolling it out add a sprinkle of flour on top of the dough.
  • I use this icing recipe but find I need to add more powdered sugar to get it to the right consistency so it doesn't drip off the cookie.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 107kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 1gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 137mgSugar: 5g
Keyword Christmas cookies, holiday baking, powdered sugar, sourdough discard
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More sourdough recipes

4 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Perfection! This recipe was SO easy to follow, and the cookies are so pillowy soft & delicious. We will be making these for every holiday!

  2. 5 stars
    These cookies are so easy to make. They dough is a dream to work with. They are the perfect sweetness (especially if you’re frosting them) and deliciously buttery. The texture is perfect too! I will never make sugar cookies with a different recipe ever again. Thank you so much for sharing this perfection!

  3. 5 stars
    I knew I HAD to make this as soon as I saw you were perfecting them! They were so easy and taste amazing. I had zero issues with the recipe or baking. Will definitely make these again.

4.62 from 18 votes (15 ratings without comment)

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