Sourdough and semi sweet chocolate? Who can resist this amazing duo? Certainly not me! This is the perfect recipe for soft and chewy sourdough chocolate chip cookies!
Keep reading to learn helpful baking tips, how to store sourdough chocolate chip cookies and tips for baking beautiful and swoon worthy drop cookies! This is hands down the best sourdough cookie recipe on the internet, promise!
What makes this recipe work
In my humble opinion, there are three key points to a perfect chocolate chip cookie: a soft and chewy texture, generous amounts of chocolate chips and a shape that is nice and even. I get frustrated when my cookies are domed in the center and thin and crispy on the edges. Don't worry, that will NOT be a problem with these!
These soft sourdough chocolate chip cookies are a simple cookie dough that is easy to bake and very forgiving. I have tried this recipe several ways, including chilling the dough before baking and freezing the dropped dough balls before baking. The dough consistently created cookies that were an even thickness!
how to make beautiful drop cookies
Drop cookies that bake evenly and have that fresh from the bakery shape can be achieved at home! A drop cookie is any cookie that is quite literally dropped by a scoop or spoon onto a baking sheet rather than being pressed or shaped.
Here are a few helpful cookie baking tips:
- take care to thoroughly whip the butter and sugar into a light, fluffy dough. This adds air and puffiness to the cookie that will help it to hold a loftier shape during baking.
- Use a dough scoop to get consistently sized cookies. If you do not have a scoop, use a spoon to measure consistent scoops of dough.
- Once the dough balls are dropped onto the baking sheet, press a few extra chocolate chips into the cookie. This will create a cookie that shows a gorgeous preview of the tasty chocolate hiding inside.
- I like to freeze my dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and pull them out prior to baking. The chilled dough flattens out slowly and evenly during baking and even though it takes an extra two minutes, can be well worth it!
Can I freeze cookie dough to bake later?
One of my favorite time saving hacks is to make a double batch of cookies and freeze the extras to bake later. These sourdough chocolate chip cookies can be formed into dough balls and flash frozen. To do this, simply line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop the dough balls onto the sheet, close together but not touching. Since we aren't baking these, they don't need to be spaced apart.
Let the dough freeze for thirty minutes to an hour and then place the dough balls in a freezer bag or vacuum sealed bag. Store the dough balls in the freezer for up to three months and bake small batches as desired. When I bake frozen dough balls, I keep the oven temperature the same, but I let the dough sit on the baking sheet on the counter while the oven preheats. This gives the cookie dough a few minutes to thaw slightly. I increase my baking time by two minutes and the cookies come out perfectly!
ingredients for soft sourdough chocolate chip cookies
- All-Purpose Flour
- Oatmeal
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Butter
- Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Sourdough Starter Discard
- Chocolate Chips
how to make sourdough chocolate chip cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. These same baking sheets and parchment paper can be reused for the remaining batches of cookies!
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, oats and sea salt. Set aside.
- Cut up the cold butter and put it in the bowl of a stand mixer with the sugar and brown sugar. Beat for 2-3 minutes until well combined and the texture is light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, vanilla and sourdough starter discard. Beat one minute more.
- Slowly spoon the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl. Continue mixing while the dry ingredients are being added. The dough will be thick and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Bake at 350° for 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies. Let the cookies sit in the pan for 5 minutes after baking before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container or freezing.
how to store drop cookies
On the rare occasion that the cookies are not immediately devoured after baking, allow them to cool completely on the counter. Once the cookies have fully cooled, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They will be freshest if eaten within three days.
For a long lasting treat, after the cookies have cooled they can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. Use a freezer bag or vacuum seal bag to keep them fresh and then simply thaw on the counter when you are ready to serve the sourdough chocolate chip cookies!
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. For more delicious recipes from scratch and homesteading tips, follow me on instagram @NinnescahHomestead
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- stand mixer or mixing bowl
- baking sheets
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 4 cups All-Purpose Flour
- ½ cup oatmeal rolled or steel cut
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt or gray French salt
- 1 ½ cups butter cold
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 3 eggs large
- 3 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ cup sourdough starter discard fed or hungry
- 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. These same baking sheets can be reused for the remaining batches of cookies!
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, oats and sea salt. Set aside.
- Cut up the cold butter and put it in the bowl of a stand mixer with the sugar and brown sugar. Beat for 2-3 minutes until well combined and the texture is light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, vanilla and sourdough starter discard. Beat one minute more.
- Slowly spoon the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl. Continue mixing while the dry ingredients are being added. The dough will be thick and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Bake at 350° for 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies. Let the cookies sit in the pan for 5 minutes after baking before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container or freezing.
Nutrition
If you love sourdough, be sure to try my Simple Sourdough Guide! Learn how to make a sourdough starter from start to finish, bake a loaf of artisan bread and trouble shoot common sourdough challenges.
When I'm in the mood for cookies, I have a hard time deciding between my Dark Chocolate Bourbon cookies or Browned Butter Snickerdoodles.
Jessica Robinson
This is absolutely one of my MOST favorite cookies! They are absolutely delicious.
Meg
I'm so glad you love them, Jessica!
Bambi
Made these chocolate chip cookies tonight!! I was so excited because it's the first thing I've made with my sourdough discard. They were great cookies!! My whole family loved them. Thank you for a great recipe!
Meg
Thank you, Bambi! I'm so glad your family liked them!