I like my cookies to have a nice chewy bite, be soft in the middle, and have crispy edges. Oh, who am I kidding? I like my cookies in any form as long as they are fresh out of the oven. I pretty much have zero standards for cookies other than that they be homemade. All that said, this cookie comes out soft in the middle with crispy edges. It’s pretty darn great. It’s not overly sweet or difficult to make.
A little about sourdough starter…
I wrote this recipe specifically to use up extra sourdough starter. I think the starter helps to give the cookie its excellent crumb and softness. Your starter can be well fed or just your discard. The recipe does call for a full cup of starter, but it can easily be divided in half, depending on how much starter you have available.
And some words on flour…
Whole grain flours really make this cookie. If you only have all-purpose flour on hand, go ahead and use it. But if you’d like to increase the flavor, fiber and nutrients of your baked goods, be sure to give these a try with your favorite whole grain flour. My standard go-to for this cookie is normally a soft white wheat or a spelt flour. Both will make a chocolate chip cookie that has a nice mild flavor with slightly more depth than you’d find using all-purpose flour. But honestly, try this with any flour you have on hand. My favorite flour that I’ve tried with these cookies was buckwheat flour. Let me know in the comments what flours you try them with.
Sour Dough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups + 2 tablespoons (380 g) of soft white whole grain wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature or softer
- 3/4 cup (180 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (120 g) light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (240 g) sour dough starter discard
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Directions
- Combine the dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a medium sized bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Combine the butter and both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes. The sugar butter mixture should be light colored and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, on at a time to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
- Add the sour dough starter and the vanilla extract to the butter mixture and beat for 2-3 minutes until well combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the stand mixer. Combine on low speed, just until the flour is incorporated.
- Add the chocolate chips to the dough and mix until just combined.
- The dough can be baked right away, but it benefits from at least 30 minutes rest in the fridge. Wrap the dough in parchment paper and rest in fridge for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Drop heaping tablespoons on dough on the pan and bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on the pan for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
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