Yeasted cakes are nothing new. Yeasts were the only leavening agent available for centuries. Baking soda is a relatively modern innovation. So, when looking for ideas on what to do with sourdough starter, I was unsurprised to see lots of recipes for cakes, biscuits, waffles, pancakes and, of course, breads. What I was not expecting to see was cookies! I've never heard of yeasted cookies before, let alone long-fremented sourdough cookies! This is something a bit different for sure. I can't wait to see how they come out.

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Slightly adapted from Deliciously Organic

Ingredients

• 1 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. (~100g) fed sourdough starter
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 100g oat flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 200g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped or chocolate chips

Directions

1. Cream butter with sugars and beat until light and fluffy.
2. Mix in starter, vanilla, and egg.
3. In a separate bowl combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Mix dry ingredients into wet.
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Cover and place in fridge to ferment for 72 hours.
7. Make little balls of dough (~2 Tbsp. each) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Flatten the balls slightly.
9. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 14-16 minutes.

Update:

I initially did this write-up while the cookie dough was still fermenting in the fridge. I've since had a chance to bake them off and try them. They tasty, but a bit more cake-y than I'd ideally like for a cookie, especially a chocolate chip one. I think next time I'd try swapping the proprotions of brown and granulated sugar, adding an extra egg, and leaving out the baking soda to help remedy this. Melting the butter and skipping the creaming step to avoid adding extra air should also help. And I do wonder how much the oat flour is contributing to the more cake-like texture. I'll leave it alone for now, but if they still come out less chewey than I'd like, I might try adjusting that next. I'd also be tempted to swap out half the all-purpose flour for whole wheat. Not as a texture thing, just to see how it affects the flavour. So, with that in mind, here're my suggestions for chewier sourdough chocolate chip cookies.

Chewier Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 c. unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. (~100g) fed sourdough starter
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 150g whole wheat flour
• 100g oat flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 200g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped