Perfect Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies (With Discard Option!)
Updated Feb 10, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Transform your sourdough starter into an irresistible treat — sourdough chocolate chip cookies! This easy recipe works with both active starter and discard, creating perfectly balanced cookies with a subtle tang that’ll have everyone asking for seconds.
There’s something magical about the moment when chocolate chip cookies come out of the oven – but add sourdough starter to the mix, and you’ve got something truly special on your hands. As a longtime sourdough baker, I’ve discovered that incorporating sourdough starter into classic cookie recipes adds an incredible depth of flavor you just can’t get any other way.
Sourdough chocolate chips cookies are one of those simple pleasures and surprises that you might not have known you could make with your sourdough starter or the discard.
They are full of flavor thanks to the tang of the sourdough and great balance of salted butter and two kinds of sugar and are a fabulous treat for any afternoon snack or party!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love These Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Active Starter or Discard: You can use your active sourdough starter or sourdough discard to make this sweet treat. You’ll never have to waste sourdough discard again!
- Perfect Texture: The cold butter technique creates perfect cookie texture every time — the best tip for these cookies!
- Customizable: You can mix up the flavors by using other types of chocolate chips or even nuts.
- Bulk Baking: These cookies are perfect for batch baking and freezing! Make ahead on the weekend and stick in the freezer so you have treats to throw in lunchboxes on busy mornings.
24 Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes Ever!
Recipe Ingredients
- Butter — No margarine or shortening substitutes, please! Only real butter for this recipe.
- Sugar — brown and granulated (white) sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Sourdough starter — If you would like a more traditional and less sour chocolate chip cookie, use sourdough starter and not the discard.
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- All-purpose flour
- Chocolate chips — Any combination of semi-sweet, milk chocolate, or white chocolate chips will work.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Step 1: Beat the cold butter and two types of sugar together with a hand or stand mixer about three minutes. Then add the egg and vanilla and mix it in.
- Step 2: Now add the sourdough starter and mix until just combined. Do not over beat it!
- Step 3: Add all of the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until just combined and then add in the chocolate chips.
- Step 4: Form cookies into balls of a heaping tablespoon and bake at 350° F for about 10 minutes. Let them cool on the pan a couple minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe FAQs
You can use semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate chips, or any combination of these. I prefer milk chocolate in these because it complements the sourdough tang nicely.
Yes! White chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts or milk chocolate chips and walnuts would both be good options.
Let the cookies cool completely before putting them in an airtight container or zip-top bag. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow the cookies to thaw at room temperature for an hour to two before eating.
Expert Tips
- Butter Only: Don’t use margarine or shortening here! Real butter is where it’s at with this recipe because it helps with the texture of the finished cookie.
- Mixing Helper: It’s a little hard to get the cold butter worked in by hand so it’s best to use a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
- Vanilla Flavor: The 2 full teaspoons of vanilla extract in this recipe goes nicely with the tang of sourdough. Don’t skimp on the vanilla extract!
- Lunch Goodies: Stick a frozen cookie in a lunch box and it will be thawed by the time lunch comes around.
- More or Less Tang: Most people don’t pick up on the sourdough tanginess when I use my active starter, so if you want less tang, use an active starter. If you want more sourdough tang, then use the discard to make this recipe.
🍞 18 Easy Sourdough Recipes!
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes to Try
Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal Coconut Cookies With Dark Chocolate Chunks
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mason Jar Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Original Nestle Toll House Cookie Bars
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup cold butter, (1 stick)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup sourdough starter,, active or discard
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips,, semi-sweet or milk chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer add the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar and beat to combine well. Beat until fully mixed, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add the sourdough starter and mix until just combined.
- Sprinkle the baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl. Add the flour. Mix to combine.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Scoop a heaping tablespoon of the cookie dough onto a baking mat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart.
- Bake until the cookies are golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes before removing to finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
- Store extra cookies in an air-tight container.
Notes
- If you want less tang in these cookies, use a bubbly active starter for this recipe. If you like the tang, use your sourdough discard. If you are neutral, start by using your mature starter to see how that goes first.
- Once the starter is added, it’s important not to beat it too much because you will develop the gluten in the cookies and you’ll end up with a more chewy and cakey cookie.
- You can use a whole wheat sourdough starter or an all-purpose sourdough starter. The flavor will vary depending on the unique circumstances of your starter.
- Store in an airtight container or freeze for up to three months.
Nutrition
More Sourdough Recipes to Consider
Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Cinnamon Swirl Bread – A Perfect Breakfast Loaf
Sourdough Recipes
No Knead Sourdough Bread {Easy Beginner’s Recipe}
Sourdough Recipes
How to Feed a Sourdough Starter: Prepping for Perfect Loaves
Sourdough Recipes
Soft & Fluffy Sourdough Challah Bread
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup cold butter, (1 stick)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup sourdough starter,, active or discard
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips,, semi-sweet or milk chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer add the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar and beat to combine well. Beat until fully mixed, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add the sourdough starter and mix until just combined.
- Sprinkle the baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl. Add the flour. Mix to combine.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Scoop a heaping tablespoon of the cookie dough onto a baking mat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart.
- Bake until the cookies are golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes before removing to finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
- Store extra cookies in an air-tight container.
Notes
- If you want less tang in these cookies, use a bubbly active starter for this recipe. If you like the tang, use your sourdough discard. If you are neutral, start by using your mature starter to see how that goes first.
- Once the starter is added, it’s important not to beat it too much because you will develop the gluten in the cookies and you’ll end up with a more chewy and cakey cookie.
- You can use a whole wheat sourdough starter or an all-purpose sourdough starter. The flavor will vary depending on the unique circumstances of your starter.
- Store in an airtight container or freeze for up to three months.
I’ve had lots of compliments on these cookies 🙂 I’ve never tried one of your recipes I didn’t love! Thank you!!!
Best compliment ever Kenzi! Thank you!
Kids loved the cookies! I did coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and kids couldn’t stop eating them!
They are great!! I placed on a cooking r sheet and made into half a. Baked around 13. – 13 1/2 minutes at 350. I sprinkled sea salt on half. .oh my yum. I doubled the recipe to fit as a bar cookie
I will make these again!!
This is my lazy go to for my week day discard!
My family and I really enjoyed these! I have been making a recipe from a different blogger for a while now, and it is great, but you REALLY taste the sourdough starter in it. These are a fun use for my starter while only having a subtle sourdough taste (for me at least), which my family appreciates, and they are super yummy! Thank you!
I love how easy these came together and to have another use for my sourdough/discard – so good!
Ummmm how much flour do we add? You don’t have any listed.
It says 1.5 C flour