Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

This recipe makes 9 flavorful, large chewy cookies. To get the texture we all love in a cookie, chewy with crispy edges, don’t substitute any ingredients, and don’t skip browning the butter.

Sourdough Discard. Use a 100% hydration sourdough discard. For this recipe, I prefer a runny discard that’s free of bubbles, but an active discard will work too. Don’t worry about a sour taste: the baking soda neutralizes any tanginess. This is a perfect way to use up your starter in sourdough discard cookies.

If you’re using a thick, active starter instead of a runny sourdough discard, reduce the amount of all-purpose flour by 1 tablespoon (about 8 grams).

Egg. We’re using a whole egg here. Every time I have an extra egg white from a recipe, I never know what to do with it, and eggs are too expensive right now to waste any part.

Brown Butter. Browned butter gives these cookies a rich, nutty, toasty flavor that really makes them stand out. It also reduces excess moisture, which helps balance the hydration from the sourdough, ensuring a chewy dough that doesn’t spread too thin. Brown butter sourdough cookies are truly something special!

Chocolate Chips. I prefer dark or semisweet chocolate chips for this recipe, but white or milk chocolate chips are also great. For gooey, bakery-style pockets of melted chocolate, use chopped chocolate or chocolate chunks.

Sugar. Use both brown and white sugar for the perfect chewy texture. If using measuring cups, make sure to pack the brown sugar. Either light or dark brown sugar works for this recipe.

Cornstarch. Don’t leave this out! It might seem like a small amount (just 1 tsp) but it makes a big difference. Without cornstarch, your cookies could turn out thin.

Sea Salt. This one’s optional, but I love sprinkling it over the cookies before baking. It balances the sweetness and adds a gourmet touch.

How to Make Them

Step 1. Add butter to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally as it melts and foams. Once brown flecks appear and the liquid turns golden, remove it from the heat and transfer to another container to cool.

Step 2. In a large bowl, combine the browned butter, brown and white sugars, sourdough discard, egg, vanilla extract, Add baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk until the mixture has a ribbon-like consistency.

Step 3. Add flour and chocolate chips, stirring until all the flour is incorporated and no dry spots remain. The dough should be soft but not overly sticky. Cover and chill the dough for at least 4 hours.

Step 4. Use a cookie scoop or spoon and your hands to shape the dough into balls. I typically make 9 large cookies with this recipe.

Don’t skip chilling the dough! I like to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight for the best flavor (and for preventing these cookies from spreading too much). You can chill the dough for up to 72 hours.

Step 5. Place the dough balls at least 1 inch apart so they don’t spread into each other. Don’t flatten them! If using sea salt, sprinkle it on top just before baking.

Step 6. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and the edges are golden. If you’re making smaller cookies, reduce the bake time to 9–12 minutes.

When they’re out of the oven, let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes: they’ll finish baking as they cool. They’ll be soft at first but will firm up as they set.

For perfect circles, use a round biscuit cutter to "scoot" them into shape while still warm.

Storing and Making Ahead

You can make the dough up to 3 days ahead. If it’s too firm to scoop, let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before shaping.

These cookies stay fresh for up to 5 days if stored correctly at room temperature. Keep them in an airtight container and away from direct sunlight.

You can also freeze these cookies, or the unbaked dough for later. If freezing baked cookies, place them into a freezer-safe bag and store for up to 2 months.

If doing so with dough, scoop and shape into balls, chill them, then freeze. They’ll keep for up to 2 months. You can bake them straight from frozen, just add 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.