Sourdough Discard Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

This recent sourdough renaissance has produced many sourdough discard recipes worth making, and this recipe is no exception. Sourdough discard oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are famously delicious and they too will make your house smell like a bakery. Plus, you get to use some of that sourdough discard produced in maintaining your bread starter. The only downside that I can find is these sourdough discard oatmeal chocolate chip cookies tend to vanish quickly when left out in plain view.

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Our house smells like a French bakery most mornings with a fresh sourdough boule cooling on the counter. We can’t get enough sourdough which means we are always feeding our sourdough. Occasionally we have a bit too much. Instead of wasting our sourdough discard, we put it to use in other recipes.

Why I love these Sourdough Discard Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These sourdough oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are thin, soft, and full of flavor. The sourdough discard along with the oatmeal creates very soft cookies. Not only are they delicious, but they are super easy to make. While there are many ways to use your sourdough discards, this is definitely one of the yummiest!

Ingredients in the Sourdough Discard Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

As you can imagine these cookies have sourdough discard, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. There are a few other ingredients as well!

• Sourdough Discard: You can use unfed sourdough discard. Because these cookies are cooked shortly after baking you don’t have to worry about the yeast growing. Using an unfed starter will create a more sour flavor. My starter tends to be a 1:1:1 ratio. If your starter has more moisture, you may need to add more flour or oats.
• Oatmeal: I use basic quick-cooking oats.
• Chocolate Chips: We get the Costco bag of chocolate chips. It’s easy and cheap! This is an area where you can splurge and use dark chocolate instead.
• Flour: I use just all-purpose flour for these cookies. The moisture level of the sourdough starter will be a factor in these cookies. If you need to add more dry ingredients, add some flour 1 teaspoon at a time.

The rest of the ingredients are general chocolate chip cookie ingredients, like eggs, sugar, butter, and spices.

Optional Ingredients to Add to the Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Since these cookies have oatmeal in them, they also benefit from a few additional ingredients. While I have already included cinnamon in the recipe, consider adding nutmeg for a nice Fall flavor.

I also love adding chopped pecans and dried cranberries for some extra flavor and nuttiness. The dried cranberries pair well with the sourdough discard.

How to Make the Sourdough Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Let’s make sourdough discard oatmeal chocolate chip cookies:

Preheat the oven: Set your oven to 350°F and prepare for your house to smell like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!

Wet Ingredients: Get 2 separate bowls out, one for the wet ingredients and one for the dry ingredients. Soften the butter and mix it thoroughly with the sugar, egg, and vanilla. We will add the sourdough starter later.

Dry Ingredients: In the other bowl, combine the dry ingredients including the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. We will fold in the oats later as well.

Combine the ingredients: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until well combined. This smooth dough will be our base for the rest of the ingredients.

Add the sourdough starter: Once your dough is thoroughly mixed, stir in the sourdough starter and stir to combine. This dough will feel wetter than traditional cookie dough but the addition of the oats will make these the perfect texture.

Add the oats and chocolate chips: Gently stir in the oats until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips by hand, feel free to use more or less depending on your personal preference. This is also where you would add other optional ingredients like chopped nuts or dried cranberries.

Cookie Sheet: With a spoon for scooping and the back of another spoon for scraping, add spoonful-sized lumps of dough onto the cookie sheet. No need to flatten them out, as cookies bake, they flatten out into a cookie shape by themselves. Be sure to leave a few inches of space between each dough ball.

Bake the Cookies: Slide the cookie sheet into the oven for 16-18 minutes. How long you bake them comes down to preference. 16 minutes should give you a cookie that is set and done, while leaving them longer will continue to bake and dry them out giving the edges a more crispy texture.

Rest the Cookies: Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes. This will allow the cookies to cool a little and make them easier to transfer to a wire cooling rack or a brown paper grocery bag.

Enjoy: Enjoy the wonderful aroma that these cookies bring to your kitchen and home. Share them with your friends and family, and hide a few in various places if you want to enjoy some of them later, if you don’t, I’m afraid you will come back to an empty plate.