These vegan sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies are chewy with crisp edges
and flaky sea salt on top! The perfect way to use up some discard!
I’ve been baking a lot of sourdough lately, but on the days where I am maintaining my sourdough starter, I have a lot of discard. I’ve been experimenting with different recipes lately that use sourdough discard (like this banana bread) and these chocolate chip cookies are just like my original ones but use some sourdough discard instead!
I’ve seen so many different versions of baked goods with sourdough discard, I figured I might as well throw some into my usual cookie recipe to see how it did. Honestly I LOVED these, and thought you might too, so here’s the recipe for my sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies!
Lately I’ve been trying to branch out with different cookie types and baking different things, but I keep finding myself craving the same ol’ same ol’ chocolate chip cookies, even after baking raisin bread, English muffins, or cinnamon rolls.
It’s not really productive for me as a food blogger to just want the same things over and over, but hey, I am who I am! My favourite cookie is the classic chocolate chip cookie I guess! Although I do want to try baking more of a lemony cookie soon, since these ones were so light and crisp when I over-baked them.
Life these days has been a little all over the place (I mean, whose hasn’t?). The days seemed to blur together, and my penchant for not adhering to any sort of life routine has meant that some days I’ll wake up at 8 AM like a normal, well-adjusted adult, and other days I’ll wake up at 11:30 AM, bleary eyed and a bit disoriented. Whoops.
Also, the whole, staying up until 3 or 4 AM to finish a really good book thing probably hasn’t helped my sleep schedule. Last year I made a goal to read 20 books by the end of 2020, and I BLEW past that goal at the end of summer and decided to make 30 books my stretch goal! AND THEN, I read 20 books in October, and found myself sitting at 60 read books at the end of the year.
I posted a few videos about how/why I got back into reading on my channel, and then a video of my top 10 books of 2020, and now I’m 8 days into 2021 with 4 books read already! My goal this year is to read 100 and I think I’m well on my way so far. I joined 2 book clubs, and started my own on Discord, and that’s led me to reading a lot of fun books I wouldn’t have though to read if it were for a collective effort with friends to diversify the authors that I read!
I also abandoned GoodReads in favour of The Storygraph since it’s independently owned, better designed, more user-friendly, and frankly better at giving my suggestions for books without spoiling me with reviews from other people when I’m trying to just add it to my To-Read list.
It’s been really cool to see the data from all the books I’ve read but turned into fun graphs (hence the StoryGRAPH). I’ve lauded The Storygraph on basically every platform I have (YouTube, Instagram, Discord, all of my book clubs… LOL) I’ve been having a great time reading and discovering new authors that I wish existed back when I was a younger reader (and a voracious reader at that)
Anyway, enough rambling about books. COOKIES!
For any of you who are more visual learners, here’s my YouTube video for these sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies! I felt like experimenting with the format of my videos so there’ll be more higher quality food footage and not just me holding my camera into a pot. I think I’m digging this format and I’ll probably film a lot more videos this way!
Vegan Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 227 g room temperature vegan butter 1 cup or 2 sticks of vegan Becel butter sticks
- 140 g 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 150 g 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 110 g ~1/2 cup sourdough discard at 100% hydration
- 5 mL 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 300 g 2 cups all purpose flour (you may need to add a couple tbsp extra if you’re measuring by volume)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 85 g 1/2 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp Maldon salt or any flaky sea salt to top
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the vegan butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the sourdough discard and vanila extract, and mix until JUST combined. Avoid overmixing.
- In another bowl, sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add half of the dry mix to the mixing bowl with your wet ingredients, stir until just combined, then add the remainder of the flour mixture. Do not overmix.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir until incorporated. Cover and let chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so the dough can relax.
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C) while cookies rest in the fridge.
- Use a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop to portion out cookie dough balls on a lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each dough ball. Sprinkle with some flakey sea salt (like Maldon) on top, and then bake for 10-12 minutes. 10 min will yield a very soft, chewy cookie, 12 min will yield crisp edges with a chewy centre. Bake according to your preference :)
- Remove from oven after 10-12 min and let rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Bake the remaining cookie balls (you should get about 36 cookies).
- Enjoy!
Notes
Brenda says
I ditched goodreads for the Storygraph this year too! And I’m half-listening to your top 10 books video while I write this, because I am a true sucker for book content. :)
Brenda says
Update: Having gotten to the end of the video, I am happy to report that half those books were already on The List, so your list didn’t make my list balloon too much, hooray!
Lisa Le says
Hahah that’s always nice to see your own TBR confirmed by other recs XD I will message you on FB for your storygraph handle hehe
Milou says
Made these tonight and loved them!! :)
holly says
when you back from frozen do you thaw first?
Lisa Le says
Nope I bake straight from frozen but add another 2-3 minutes to the bake time :)
Jill says
These are SO good! New favorite cookie recipe. So soft and addicting.
Nickee says
Amazing cookies!! However, I had to bake them for like 20 mins lol.
Shannon says
I’ve been branching out into new ways to use my sourdough starter. I finally made these and they turned out awesome! The dough smelled amazing! The cookies turned out just as I like them – chewy and soft, with a bit of crunch on the outside. I had to bake them slightly longer than I expected, but could be just the variance of my oven. I loved the addition of the flaky salt on the top. I didn’t have Maldon salt, so I used the coarse Kosher salt that I have and it still worked great. Thank you!
Alexi says
Just made these! I halved the recipe and reduced the sugar by ~25%; otherwise made as-is. Baked for about 13 minutes to get them just slightly crispy on the edges. Super good!
Amy says
I totally admit this comment won’t be of use to many readers (I’m going to say, “great recipe, I only changed [everything]”). …Lisa great recipe! I had so much fun with it and it is getting posted inside my cupboard door with my regulars! I halved it, then forgot I was halving and used the full starter, soda, and b pwdr. Used whole wheat. Didn’t have enough sugar, so used sugar + hot cocoa mix. And baked it in the waffle iron. Because it was sitting there, daring me. I’ve never waffles sweets, and it didn’t waffle well. Stuck to both plates and split in half. So now I’m eating cookies crumbs. Taste great! I expected the extra liquid and leaven to make them more cakey and judging by the crumbs, they would have been. It’s only me to eat them, so I’ve frozen the rest for later. Loving it.
Lisa Le says
LMAO this comment made my day. I’m glad you liked…it? I do hope you try it as is though ahah, they are very good cookies XD
J says
These are fantastic! Already made twice. My favorite sourdough discard recipe! FYI for others, coconut oil works in place of vegan butter.
Lisa Le says
I’m so glad you enjoy these!! Thanks for the substitution tip, I’m sure others will find it very helpful!
Cassy Barfield says
Yesss that’s what I was needing to know the coconut oil swap! Thanks
Becca says
I left the dough in the fridge over night for about 16 hours. I didn’t see the note about max. 12 hours until it was too late. They still came out great! I did find that I needed to bake them for about 15 minutes. Great recipe! Thanks. I’m always looking for fun ways to use up my Shakira discard.
Sourdough Sarah says
OMG these are soo good! I can’t stop eating them! I’ve been trying to find sourdough discard vegan recipes and this recipe came up. Definitely sharing with my sourdough-making friends!
Cheers!
Maddie says
These are maybe the best chocolate chip cookies ever! A HUGE hit with non-vegan friends…I’m asked to bake these at lease once every few weeks. Culinary genius!
Sara says
Can I use gluten free all purpose flour?
Lisa Le says
I haven’t tested it myself, but I don’t see why not. If you want your batter to be GF though, I’d suggest making sure you’re using a GF sourdough starter as well.
Cindi says
Can I leave off the flakey sea salt at the end? I try to keep sodium as low as possible, and I’m not much of a salty+sweet kind of gal.
Lisa Le says
Of course!
Claudia Vero says
These are a favorite for family and friends. I’ve only changed it by adding walnuts to the recipe but have found – a) works best with active discard b) when ingredients are weighed on the scale c) baked for just a few minutes more…but I use a big icecream scoop AAANNND… i froze a small batch and brought them camping and baked them in a bbq I and have also used them for vegan icecream sandwiches…thanks for this. It really is my go to….I may have an addiction 🫣
Brittany says
These are the best cookies ever! What is the best way to store them?
Lisa Le says
I feel like the same way any other homebaked cookie is stored! Air tight container for a few days? For longer than a few days I’d recommend freezing :)
Jilian Prough says
My FAVORITE ever vegan cookie recipe! I’ve tried so many but nothing beats these. They are perfect. So soft and delicious.
Anna says
Can I bake these and then freeze them ? Or should I freeze just the dough before baking ?
Lisa Le says
I would freeze as balls, then flash freeze on a pan then store in an airtight container, and then bake for an extra minute or two until they’re you’re desired doneness
Marie says
these taste nice, but they dont really get much color, which is a bummer. Does anyone have any tips?
Lisa Le says
You could add more sugar if you want them to have a darker caramelized colour?
Melissa says
Thank you for this recipe! I made these the other day and some people who tried them said they were the best cookies they’ve had in a long time. I didn’t have quite enough sourdough discard (80g instead of 110) so my dough was quite dry at first, but I added soy milk (probably 2 tbsp) until it had a cookie dough like consistency. I used unsalted becel margarine blocks, so I added 1/2 tsp of salt, and didn’t initally add salt to the top. They weren’t salty enough so I added a tiny bit of fine sea salt to each of them while warm, and they tasted much better. Going to try these with the right amount of sourdough discard today to see how they compare! Do you use salted butter in your recipe?
Lisa Le says
Yes I typically use the tub vegan becel, so that is salted.
Kate says
Hi there. I want to make these but I’m not sure what you mean by the starter being 100% hydration? Do I mix it with the same weight in water before using it? Can you clarify please x
Lisa Le says
It means that the amount of flour and water you added to feed it would have been equal. (Some people have their starters at 80% hydration which would make the end mixture a bit thicker)
luca says
made this recipe last night and turned out amazing! i made bigger cookies so the baking time was obviously longer. i’m so glad i found this recipe and don’t have to throw out my sourdough discard!