Sourdough Discard Double Chocolate Cookies

Deeply chocolatey sourdough discard cookies with crisp edges and chewy, bendable centers, studded with milk chocolate chips that offset the dough’s deep cocoa flavor and subtle sourdough tang.

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup (160g) light brown sugar, packed
• 2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup (76g) sourdough starter, unfed/discard
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups (160g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (42g) cocoa powder (Triple Cocoa Blend or Dutch-process)
• 1 cup (170g) milk chocolate chips or chopped milk chocolate

Directions

Key ingredients

Baking Soda & Baking Powder · Salt · Vanilla Extract

1. Heat the butter until melted, then add both sugars and whisk for 1 minute until creamy.
2. Add the salt, baking powder, and baking soda; whisk to combine.
3. Add the sourdough discard, egg, and vanilla; whisk until homogenous with no streaks visible.
4. Switch to a spatula and stir in the flour and cocoa until few dry patches remain. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon portions (approximately 50g each). Place on a baking sheet, cover, and chill 2 to 12 hours. Alternatively, chill the dough in the bowl, then let it temper at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before scooping.
6. Preheat the oven to 350F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
7. Distribute the chilled 2-tablespoon dough portions evenly among the prepared sheets.
8. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the cookies appear matte on top but still feel slightly soft (they firm as they cool).
9. Cool completely on the baking sheets before serving.

Notes

Cocoa: use King Arthur’s Triple Cocoa Blend or Dutch-process cocoa for the deepest color and flavor. This is a drop-and-bake double chocolate cookie (cocoa dough plus milk chocolate chips), not a powdered-sugar crinkle, so there is no sugar coating. Chilling the dough 2 to 12 hours is important for flavor and to prevent spreading. Uses unfed/discard sourdough starter, which lends a subtle tang that complements the deep cocoa; active/fed starter can be substituted with similar results. Storage: keep in an airtight container at room temperature for several days. Freezing: freeze scooped dough balls solid (about 1 hour), transfer to a freezer-safe container, and freeze up to 2 months; add 2 minutes to the bake time when baking from frozen. Adapted from King Arthur Baking (recipe by Sarah Jampel), rated 4.8/5 stars across 104 reviews.