Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies are loaded with chocolate chips and so easy to make when you use your sourdough starter discard. No electric mixer is needed for this recipe (just your muscles), and you can have a soft, cakelike cookie or bake a little less time for a chewier cookie. Try my original Chocolate Chip Cookies recipes for another delicious recipe on this favorite classic cookie.
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Once you have a sourdough starter, you might as well use it as often as you can! For these Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies, you will use your sourdough starter that has not been fed for a couple of days or sourdough starter discard. There’s no reason to waste any of your starter when you have recipes like this or my Sourdough Blueberry Pancakes! With all the ingredients mixed in one bowl, it’s so simple to get the dough ready to be baked into a delicious cookie.
Baking Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Once you have the dough prepared, it’s time to bake the cookies!
But, baker beware…a mere two minutes can be the difference between a softer, fluffier, more cake-like cookie and a chewier, flatter cookie. I made them both ways, as you can see in the next couple of pictures. For all of the cookies, I used a 3-tablespoon scoop of dough.
If you want the more cake-like cookie, bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. For a chewier cookie, bake for only 6-8 minutes. The baking temperature for both is 350°F.
Be sure to bake the cookies to the doneness you prefer, which can VARY depending on the water content in your starter, the size of your eggs, the humidity, and your oven. You will want to bake the cookies and start checking at 6 minutes. Keep adding an additional 2 minutes until you reach the desired doneness.
The Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies you see on the top picture above were baked in that 6-8 minute range. They have a chewier texture and did not ‘puff up’ like the more cake-like cookie below it. The cake-like cookie was baked in the 8-10 minute range. You can see the difference in the picture below as well. The cookies on the left were baked in less time than the cookies on the right.
This may vary in your oven.
How to Freeze Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cookies can be easily stored in the freezer. To freeze the cookies, let them cool completely. Then, lay the cookies flat on a piece of parchment paper, put them in the freezer for a few hours, and then store them in a zipped plastic freezer-safe bag. Remember to label the bag with the date. Cookies will stay fresh for up to 3 months. Let them sit out at room temperature overnight to thaw.
Can I Freeze the Dough Before Baking?
Yes! First, form the dough into the balls as if you were going to bake them. Instead, place the balls of dough in the freezer until solid (about an hour). Then, store the dough balls in freezer-safe containers. When ready to bake, just add a couple of minutes to the baking time.
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Mixing bowl I like using these glass mixing bowls
- Baking sheet This pan from Nordic Ware works great!
- Parchment paper I use this brand
- Kitchen scale (optional)
Ingredients
- 14 tablespoons (1 stick + 3/4 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 cup sourdough starter, unfed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups (16 ounces) large chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the softened butter and sugars. (Make sure the butter is soft enough to mix with the sugar by hand.)
- Add the egg to the mixture, stirring until incorporated.
- Stir in the sourdough starter and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour, salt, and baking soda, careful to not overmix.
- Finally, incorporate the chocolate chips and let the dough refrigerate for 15 minutes or refrigerate up to overnight. (I have made them without refrigeration and they get more cake-like in texture.)
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F. (Let the refrigerated cookies come to room temperature.)
- Drop spoonfuls (2-3 tablespoons) of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. (I use a 3 tablespoon ice cream scoop.) Bake 8-10 minutes for a cake-like cookie. Bake 6-8 minutes for a chewier cookie. (My recommendation!) The cookie MAY appear a little wet in the center and that is ok. It will continue to bake and be cooked throughout after being out of the oven for a few minutes.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
My kids told me best cookies i have ever made and have baked for 34 yrs lol so got to be very good!
The dough was nothing like i have ever made so rich and creamy!
I followed the recipe and had to adjust bake time I have a large industrial gas oven 7 min at 350 was perfect. These cookies are like gourmet top notch 👍🏻
These cookies disappeared like crazy one of the best sourdough recipes I tried
I love these. I have been looking for a recipe for cookies like these. A chewy cookie with chocolate chip overload. The edges browned, but not the bottom. Six minutes was perfect. I used 12oz.guittard chips. Froze log of remaining dough. The second bake I baked 8 minutes in a hotter oven. I wanted to see if the bottom browned. The cookie was cake like. I’m having to adjust for an oven that runs about 40 degrees under thermometer. :/ but it is not consistent between convection and bake. Struggling with the oven. 350 for 6-8 minutes is what I will try next. I might add a bit more salt next time.
When you say “1 cup sourdough starter, unfed” how many grams is that?
These are delicious! They tasted and looked very similar to scones. We batch tested and found out 15-18 mins at 350F worked for us. I know it sounds like a long time but that’s what worked for our oven. PS, We skipped eggs and replaced with egg replacer powder and reduced sugar by 25%. Thanks for the recipe!
My first time baking cookies with a sourdough starter. I followed the recipe and did not alter it at all. I baked mine at 350 for 7 minutes to start and noticed they needed more time. Put them in for two for minutes and that was good. They are not as “firm” as I typically like. I will use a little more flour next time as the batter seemed thinner than I prefer. However, with this being my first time I wanted to follow the recipe completely before making any changes. I thought they turned out good and they taste great!
Additional note- I’m also baking at high altitude which is always a contributing factor to the rise of the dough.
Hi, Abbey! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. At a higher altitude, it’s always good to add up to 2 tablespoons of flour for every cup in the recipe. You could also try the recipe again and decrease the amount of sugar and baking soda. I hope this helps, and have a great day!
I loved these cookies! Do you think it would be possible to freeze the dough and bake later?
Hi, Shannon! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. I am glad you loved the cookies! We know they freeze well after baking, but we have not tested the cookies after freezing the dough. I would recommend portioning out the dough before freezing. Let us know how they turn out if you try it, and have a great day!
These taste AMAZING! I highly recommend this recipe. I did bake a couple minutes longer but still obtained that chewy cookie texture.
So glad you enjoyed them, Kaitlin!! <3
i made these cookies many times fabulous! this time i substituted 1 cup flour for two cups rolled oats they are fabulous again!! and added 1 cup chopped walnuts just scrumptious!!! cant get better than this!!
I made these as instructed with unfed AP/WW/Rye starter, though they did take a bit longer to cook in my oven. I just gauged on color and consistency. I used the scoop, spoon and level method of measuring the flour. The dough wasn’t quite as thick/dry as traditional cookie dough, was a little less sweet and had more of a “dough” taste to it. I left them in the fridge overnight. They are definitely more cake-like, but still delicious! I tried a slightly lesser time on some and they were less cake-like as stated in the instructions, but were so tender they fell apart. It’s possible that each sourdough starter makes a difference, used a smaller egg or because I measure my flour more conservatively. Still tasted great!