Description
These sourdough chocolate chip cookies cleverly incorporate discarded starter by removing excess moisture through browned butter and egg yolks, creating a perfect balance of tang and sweetness. The dough needs at least an hour of rest time to develop flavor and achieve crisp edges with a gooey center.
Ingredients
- 226 grams (1 cup, 2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 220 grams (1 cup) light brown sugar
- 100g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 250 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 5 grams (1 teaspoon) baking powder
- 3 grams (1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ½ teaspoon Morton) kosher salt
- 1 grams (¼ teaspoon) baking soda
- 42 grams (3 large) egg yolks
- 9 grams (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 220 grams (1 cup) sourdough starter discard (unfed, 100% hydration)
- 196 grams (7 ounces, heaping 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips; or chopped semisweet chocolate
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Place the butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter until it starts to foam and sputter, about 3 minutes. Whisking often, continue to cook the butter until it starts to quiet down, smells nutty, and turns deeply golden brown, 5-7 minutes. As you whisk, try to lift any browning milk solids that are stuck to the pot. Remove from the heat and immediately pour into a large heatsafe bowl placed over a digital scale, making sure to scrape in as many browned bits stuck to the pan as possible. You should have about 180-190 grams butter remaining. Whisk both sugars into the hot brown butter until combined. Let the mixture cool slightly while you prep the dry ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla into the butter and sugar mixture until combined. Whisk in the sourdough discard until smooth. Switch to a spatula and fold in the flour mixture and the chocolate. Transfer the dough to the fridge to let it rest for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- When you’re ready to bake, the dough rests, preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC) with a rack in the upper and lower third, and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Use a #16 (2-ounce; ¼-cup) cookie scoop to portion out mounds of dough (each should weigh about 70 grams). Roll each mound into a ball and then arrange 4 balls evenly on each sheet pan. It will seem like you could fit more: don’t be tempted! These are big cookies and they spread—make sure there’s at least 3 inches of space between each dough ball. Store remaining dough balls in the fridge until you’re ready to bake.
- Bake two pan of cookies at the same time, swapping oven racks halfway through baking, until the cookies are golden and set at the edges and slightly matte and barely set in the center, 11 to 13 minutes. If the bottom or top of your oven runs hotter, check that tray of cookies at the earliest finish mark. They may look quite puffy at this point, but will settle into wrinkles as they cool. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with flaky salt. Let cool on the sheet pans for 5 minutes before eating or transferring to cooling racks. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
