A thick, chewy recipe for sourdough chocolate chip cookies! A delightfully complex brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe that uses sourdough discard.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
This is a brief summary of the recipe. Jump to the recipe to get the full details.
Prep Time
19 minutes
Cook Time
13 minutes
Freeze
2 hours
Total Time
2 hours 32 minutes
Servings
30 cookies
Difficulty
Easy to Intermediate. The browning butter step requires attention, but the rest is straightforward.
Calories *
254 kcal per serving
Technique
Brown the butter, make cookie dough, freeze cookie dough before baking
Flavor Profile
Nutty, deeply caramelized with subtle sourdough tang.
* Based on nutrition panel
I’ve been making chocolate chip cookies for 20 years, and THIS is now my new go-to recipe. The brown butter and sourdough combination is absolutely genius. My family couldn’t believe I made these!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lauren
Why You Will Love this Recipe
- A cookie with depth and complexity. Brown butter is known to add richness to standard gooey chocolate chip cookie recipes, but the addition of sourdough starter amplifies that nuttiness and tempers the typical sweetness. The combination of brown butter and sourdough discard creates something truly special – cookies with depth and complexity that you simply can’t get any other way.
- The perfect use for sourdough discard. I wasted a decade giving sourdough discard recipes the side-eye, and I was wrong! The older the discard, the more pronounced the sourdough flavor, which beautifully balances the sweetness.
- Tested & updated by a professional pastry chef. Every detail has been refined through multiple tests to ensure you get perfect results every time.
Table of Contents
These sourdough cookies are what happens when classic meets complexity. The brown butter base provides that nutty, caramelized foundation that cookie lovers crave, but it’s the sourdough discard that makes these cookies truly special. That subtle tang cuts through the richness, creating a cookie that’s endlessly craveable without being cloying.
If you’ve tried my brown butter chocolate chip cookies, you already know how transformative brown butter can be. This sourdough version takes those same principles and amplifies them. If you find yourself wondering what else sourdough discard can amplify, head over to these sourdough blueberry muffins, start your day with these sourdough pancakes, or ease into something lighter like sourdough crepes.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Cake Flour: This is the secret to the tender crumb. Cake flour has less protein than all-purpose flour, which means less gluten development and a softer cookie. You can substitute with all-purpose flour, but your cookies will be slightly less tender.
- Cornstarch: Keeps the cookies tender and soft even after they cool.
- Sourdough Starter Discard: This recipe works with sourdough discard of any age! I used a discard that had been in the refrigerator for at least 4 weeks. Fresh discard will give a milder sourdough flavor; older discard adds more complexity and tang. If you don’t have a sourdough starter, you can head over to this sourdough starter recipe and start your journey!
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds moisture, chewiness, and a hint of molasses flavor. You can use dark brown sugar as well for a richer molasses flavor, like in these brown sugar cookies.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Add mix-ins: Stir in chopped toasted walnuts or pecans along with the chocolate chips. Sprinkle flaky salt or sea salt on top before baking for a delightful contrast.
- Different chocolate: Use all bittersweet, semisweet chocolate chips, a chopped chocolate bar, or use M&Ms for a fun variation. Sometimes you will even catch me using milk chocolate chips or white chocolate as I do in these red velvet chocolate chip cookies.
- Spice it up: Add a pinch of cinnamon or espresso powder to the dry ingredients to enhance the chocolate flavor.
Professional Tips
- The overnight freeze is non-negotiable. With melted butter in the dough, chilling the dough overnight is critical. Just like with these brown butter cardamom snickerdoodles! If you absolutely cannot wait, freeze for at least 2 hours, but freezing overnight produces superior texture and flavor. The cold dough spreads less and makes a thicker cookie with better browning.
- Don’t overbake! These cookies are easy to overbake. The centers will still look underdone even after 16 minutes. Pull them when the edges are set and just beginning to brown. They’ll finish cooking on the baking sheet.
- Cool the cookies completely before serving. I know it’s tempting, but letting these cookies cool allows the center crumb to set properly and finish baking. The texture improves dramatically as they cool.
- Use convection if you have it. I preferred these baked at 325°F with the fan. The consistent heat circulation gives more even browning and better texture. The same even heat principles apply when baking rustic breads like my ciabatta bread recipe. If using conventional, bake at 350°F and make sure to rotate the pans halfway through.
How to Make Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Use these instructions to make thick, gooey sourdough chocolate chip cookies! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Brown the butter. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring frequently with a silicone spatula, until the butter turns a deep golden brown. You’ll see brown bits forming on the bottom of the pan, and it will smell wonderfully nutty. Transfer to a large bowl, making sure to scrape in all those flavorful brown bits. Let cool to room temperature (photos 1 & 2).
Tip on browning butter: The slower you go and the more frequently you stir, the more pronounced the nutty flavor will be in your cookies. Slowly browning the butter allows the flavor to permeate all the butter and not just the browned fat solids. Like I say in my brown butter brownie recipe, it is best to give the butter your full attention.
Step 2: Mix dry ingredients. In a small bowl, combine all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk together thoroughly and set aside (photo 3).
Step 3: Combine wet ingredients. Once the brown butter has cooled, add the sourdough discard, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract to the bowl. Whisk together until smooth and homogenous – the mixture should be glossy and well combined (photo 4).
Step 4: Add dry to wet. Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the brown butter mixture. Using a large silicone spatula, fold and stir the dry ingredients into the wet until no visible flour remains. The dough will be thick and cohesive (photos 5 & 6).
Step 5: Stir in the dark chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the dough (photo 7).
Your butter needs to be at room temperature; otherwise, the chocolate chips will start to melt if mixed into a dough with warm butter.
Step 6: Scoop and freeze. Using a medium cookie scoop (or weighing to 60g each), portion the dough into 30 balls. Place the cookie dough balls on parchment-lined sheet pans wrapped in plastic wrap and freeze overnight (photos 8 & 9).
If you’re short on time, freeze for at least 2 hours, but overnight yields the best results.
Step 7: Preheat your oven to 350°F conventional (no fan) or 325°F convection (with the fan). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 8: Place frozen cookie dough 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the sides begin to brown and the edges are set. The centers will still look underdone – this is correct! Rotate baking sheets after 8 minutes for even baking (photos 10 & 11).
Step 9: Allow cookies to cool before serving. This lets the center crumb set properly. You can cool them directly on the baking sheets or transfer to a cooling rack (photo 12).
Recipe FAQs
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the fridge for a week. They also freeze beautifully – place in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
I cannot in good conscience recommend making this recipe without brown butter. Brown butter is fundamental to the flavor profile, and browning cooks out some of the excess water in the butter. If you don’t want to take that step, make my soft chocolate chip cookie recipe, which uses melted butter without browning. You could also make these olive oil chocolate chip cookies, or you’re after something ultra-simple, my 4 ingredient peanut butter cookies are a great no-fuss option.
Yes! Active starter works perfectly. The flavor will be slightly less tangy than with older discard, but the cookies will still be delicious.
The butter should be a deep golden brown color with visible brown specks (milk solids) at the bottom of the pan. It will smell nutty and toasted, not burnt. If it smells burnt or looks too dark, you’ve gone too far.
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If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I love hearing from you and your comments make my day!
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, measured before browning
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup sourdough starter discard
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring frequently with a silicone spatula, until the butter turns a deep golden brown. You'll see brown bits forming on the bottom of the pan, and it will smell wonderfully nutty. Transfer to a large bowl, making sure to scrape in all those flavorful brown bits. Let cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk together thoroughly and set aside.
- Once the brown butter has cooled, add the sourdough discard, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract to the bowl. Whisk together until smooth and homogenous – the mixture should be glossy and well combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the brown butter mixture. Fold and stir the dry ingredients into the wet until no visible flour remains. The dough will be thick and cohesive.
- Stir in the dark chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (or weighing to 60g each), portion the dough into 30 balls. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F conventional (no fan) or 325°F convection (with the fan). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place frozen cookie dough 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the sides begin to brown and the edges are set. The centers will still look underdone – this is correct! Rotate baking sheets after 8 minutes for even baking.
- Allow cookies to cool before serving. This lets the center crumb set properly. You can cool them directly on the baking sheets or transfer to a wire rack.
Notes
Presentation –These cookies are easy to overbake; the centers should still look slightly underdone when you remove them from the oven. The cookies continue to cook on the baking sheet.
Variation – This recipe halves beautifully if you want to make a smaller batch, especially when mixing by hand. You can also make larger batches!
Technique – The overnight freeze is critical; it intensifies the brown butter flavor and prevents excessive spreading. Don’t skip this step!
Storage – Store cooled cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze unbaked dough balls for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this sourdough discard cookie recipe! Check out our other cookie recipes, like these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies or these snickerdoodle cookies!
I used a discard that had been sitting in my fridge for nearly a month, and the flavor it added was incredible! These have to be the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made! The overnight freeze felt like forever, but the cookies baked up thick and perfectly chewy with crisp edges and gooey centers, exactly as promised.
Hi Lindsey,
I’m excited to try these. However, I’ve been making copycat the size of the famous bakery, it small like yours in this recipe. Will the cookies turn out well, if I use a giant scoop, freeze them and then bake them? Thanks so much for your help!
Hi JJ! For giant cookies, keep the freeze step the same, then bake about 18–22 minutes at the same temps (350°F conventional / 325°F convection). Watch for set edges amd soft centers rather than the clock. They’ll finish setting as they cool! Happy baking! ~gvd team
Hi Lindsey,
I have a giant scoop, because I make copycat Levain cookies monthly. Can I continue to use it to make your recipe? IF yes, I’m guessing, just the bake time will change, yes?
Thanks for your help and sharing your recipes! I’m so excited to make this one?
Hi JJ! Yes, your Levain scoop will work great! Bigger cookies will just need more time. For giant scoops I’d estimate 18–22 minutes (watch the edges, not the center). Same freeze and spacing rules apply. Can’t wait to hear how they turn out! ~gvd team
I’ve been making chocolate chip cookies for 20 years, and THIS is now my new go-to recipe. The brown butter and sourdough combination is absolutely genius. My family couldn’t believe I made these!