Description: Food Network Kitchen's Sourdough “Discard” Chocolate Chip Cookies. Keywords: Dark Brown Sugar, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Sugar, Egg, Vanilla Extract, Sourdough Starter Discard, Semisweet Chocolate
Recipe courtesy of Alexis Pisciotta for Food Network Kitchen

Sourdough “Discard” Chocolate Chip Cookies

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 8 hr 40 min (includes chilling time)
  • Active: 40 min
  • Yield: about 28 cookies
If you refresh your starter often, it can be a challenge finding ways to use it. Nobody in my house has ever complained when I make more chocolate chip cookies, so this combo was a no-brainer. The sour starter combined with dark brown sugar makes for a softer, chewier cookie with a complex flavor that develops as the dough chills. This recipe was created for a 100% hydration starter (fed equal parts flour and water), but a starter fed at a different ratio will work, too; you’ll just get a slightly different result. The cookies might be flatter, denser or cakier—but they will still be delicious.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and sandy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the sourdough starter, scraping down the bowl as needed to be sure it is completely combined, about 1 minute more. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture. Once the flour is moistened, increase the speed to medium and beat until uniform. Fold in the chocolate by hand and then refrigerate, covered, for 8 to 24 hours.
  2. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 
  3. Scoop heaping tablespoons (1 to 1 1/4 ounces each) onto 2 large ungreased baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. (You might need to do two batches.) Bake until the edges are light golden and just set, but the tops are still soft, 12 to 18 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. Let cool a few minutes, then transfer the cookies using a thin spatula to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.