Description

An easy, yet decadent recipe for homemade chocolate chip cookies with sourdough starter (so soft and chewy!). The dough can be made in advance and baked straight from the fridge. Recipe adapted from The Cookie Book, by Rebecca Firth. I’ve also included the original non-sourdough version in the recipe notes below.

Ingredients

8 tbsp. (115 g) unsalted butter
1 cup (210 g) light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (96 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup (158 ml) sunflower seed oil or other neutral oil
1/2 cup (100 g) bubbly, active sourdough starter OR leftover sourdough discard (100% hydration)
1 tbsp. milk, room temperature
1 tbsp. real vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (238 g) all purpose flour (see notes below)
1 1/2 cups (204 g) bread flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
2 1/2 cups (300 g) chopped dark, semi sweet, or milk chocolate (or a combination)

Notes & Substitutions

This recipe can be made without sourdough stater. Simply decrease the amount of all purpose flour to 1 1/2 cups (204 g) total.

Instead of chopped chocolate chunks, you can go the traditional route and use (1x) 340 g bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead. My kids prefer the chips to chunks because the latter is too rich for them (they’ll learn one day).

Rebecca’s original recipe calls for only 1 tsp of salt with the optional dusting of flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, to sprinkle on top of the cookies. I didn’t have any flaky salt when I made this recipe. So, I increased the total amount of salt to 1 1/4 tsp instead. Delicious!

I used King Arthur Flour for this recipe. Their bread flour contains 12.7% protein and their all purpose flour is about 11.7%. If you’re using another brand with a lower protein content, or you choose to make these cookies with all purpose flour only, the dough might be too sticky. Please add additional flour (not too much!) if necessary.

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Instructions

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the oil, sourdough starter, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add this to the wet mixture (in batches) and mix on low speed until just combined.

Fold in the the chocolate chunks with a wooden spoon. Check the bottom of the bowl to make sure the ingredients are fully blended. The dough should be soft and not stick to your hands.

Cover and chill the dough for 1 hr. The dough can be baked cold.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Set the oven rack to the top third, about 6 inches from the heat source. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Portion the dough into 2 heaping tbsp. balls (about 30 g each). Then gently roll by hand like a meatball. Place onto the baking sheets 3 across and 4 down, about 2 inches apart. Bake 1 pan at a time.

Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. They will be light golden brown when ready. Cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes to set up, and then transfer to a wire rack.

Notes

Do not over bake these cookies. They will become more crisp but still fantastic to eat!